The Increase in Attempts to Ban Books is a Sign of Danger
Here are several reasons why this indicates danger in a society
Attempts to ban books in the United States surged in 2021 to the highest level in two decades, according to the American Library Association.
According to the American Library Association data, the biggest reasons for banned books are racial issues, damaging lifestyles (“damaging” seems a relative term since a damaging lifestyle to me might not feel damaging to someone else…), blasphemous dialog, sex (uhh…last time I checked, sex was a totally natural and normal, vital aspect of humanity?), violence/negativity, witchcraft, religion, politics (really? So we want our kids to grow up ignorant of what’s going on in America right now?), or just age-inappropriate (again, super relative term).
Schools, school libraries, and public libraries are the institutions that constantly challenge written work. The states with the most challenges are Texas, North Carolina, and Oregon.
Interestingly, most targeted titles as of late are about Black and L.G.B.T.Q. people, which suggests that as much progress as we’ve made, we are still quite the racist, prejudiced, fearful country. Hence all this rampant attempt on banning books…
