What do you feel about banned books?

Question

Should people ban books, from public libraries?

Answer 1

Censorship is wrong. Books should never be banned. No one has the right to decide what others can or cannot read, they only have the right to decide for themselves what they themselves can or cannot read.
If a person does not want to read a book for whatever reason, then they can decide not to read that book. BUT, just because they do not want to read that book does not mean they can decide that others should not have access to that book.

Answer 2

You should read Milton's essay, "Areopagitica." It was an appeal to the Parliament of Cromwell's time not to set up a special approval system for books (which meant that any book not approved was banned). Among other things, Milton said that the only time books had ever been banned by any government had been for blasphemy against the gods or treason; that censorship would increase the appeal of the forbidden books; and that a person of discernment would either choose for himself not to read, or else would find what good could be found in the forbidden book.
All I can add to that is that things haven't changed at all since the 17th century!

Answer 3

No books should be banned from a public library.

However, I do think it's ok for a librarian to request parental conscent if a book has obvious adult themes. Just as a minor can't walk in to a video store and rent an "R" rated movie, there are some books that should probably have similar treatment.

But banning in public is a "no".

Answer 4

no, I don't believe that books should ever be banned. Look at the classics's we would have lost...like Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. I do believe that parents should monitor, read and advise their children on the suitability of books...there are some that are not for children. Just as there are shows that should not be watched by children. Every parent has the right to decide if their child should/can watch a movie, listen to un-edited music, watch a tv show...why wouldn't they do the same about a book? You have to be involved and informed. So you have to get out there and read!!

Answer 5

Never. Parents have inherited, and are passing on the inherited sexual repression, where the need to explain and discuss sex is supressed. It is considered rude, and many honest works of literature, peering into the lives of ordinary people, have been censored because of this. In America, have any of you noticed censorship unknowingly enforced by teachers and parents? They try to stay away from going deeper into the motivations of Hitler, the workings of Fascism and why it had such a psychological impact on its believers, anything that doesn't not agree with the State's adopted "neutral" idea. This is a tragedy, because you cannot fully explore both sides without going beyond the traditional boundaries. Mein Kampf is biased, written from the personal view of Hitler, but should not be censored.

Answer 6

Sure, well I find it very funny. I think it is a good idea to ban books, not that we should not be able to read them. Banned books are the books that are good and actually deal with the problems of human race. Banning a book is like death of a human, though this human doesn't know what their crime against them is, but we excute the human's the same way we excute the books. I use to be really bothered by banning books, but now I find it very funny, and you realize that is one of the greatest books ever, why would they ban it, if it wasn't?

Answer 7

Personally, I think people just ban books because they have to have something to complain about. I mean, they banned Harry Potter. That's just crazy. If a book is banned, it makes me want to read it more, because that means that you may have found a book that will change you're way of thinking, like Grapes of Wrath changed so many's way of thinking when it premiered.

Answer 8

Hell no. Anyone who thinks banning books, works of art, in a public forum is just plain ignorant. Censorship of literature is one of the worse forms of censorship our country has forced upon us. Why would anyone want to burn or ban books just because they don't agree with what the author wrote?

Don't we have freedom of speech and freedom of the press? It's just sad that some kids won't be able to read classics (or even modern day 'classics') because their fascist parents think the books are 'evil.' Sick.

Answer 9

No books should be banned, but on certain books an age restriction should apply.

No need for a 12 year old to read Mein Kampf, right?

Although, the manual "How to build an atomic bomb" might also be not so suitable for potential terrorists and politicians.

Answer 10

No. Books are usually banned because people don't want their contents to be read. But unlike movies or music, the reader must be able to read and want to read it. To me, anything that someone is willing to read will not damage their minds.

If it is a question of revealing truths about life, they should be revealed. True facts may be disturbing, but it's better to know your world than pretend for as long as you can that everything's ok.

If it is a question of sharing a fictional story, it is the reader's parents/examples that should teach them of the differences between reality and fiction. Again, they need to learn somehow.

If it is a question of a non-fiction book of questionable credibility, it is also the parents/examples responsibility to teach them that these kinds of books are only theories.