Banning books is as American as apple-pie, and, luckily, reading these banned books is just as America. It lets us exercise our First Amendment rights and our liberty as well as often engaging with the most thought-provoking and iconoclastic material there is.

Of course, the banning of literature is a world-wide phenomenon- even the Vatican had its Index Librorum Prohibitorum, a list of banned books started in 1556 and formally gotten rid of in 1966 that consisted of works by such authors as Emmanuel Kant, John Locke and John Milton.

The banning of books is usually done in order to keep stable the status quo, and to leave social mores and taboos unfettered by keeping any subversive material out of the hands and minds of the children (it’s always for the children) ,and also letting conformist attitudes be maintained. As the American Library Association puts it, “books usually are challenged with the best intentions—to protect others, frequently children, from difficult ideas and information.” Of course, the censorship of books usually backfires, making a book an even more desirable read and letting the public-at-large know that: "this book was banned, there must be something challenging, fun or important in it!"

Former ALA president Carol Brey-Casiano, stated that “not every book is right for every person, but providing a wide range of reading choices is vital for learning, exploration, and imagination. The abilities to read, speak, think, and express ourselves freely are core American values.” Pat Scales, author of Teaching Banned Books: 12 Guides for Young Readers, also sees the value in banned books, and suggest that, when read with a parent, “subversive” material can help the youth-

• Deal with real-life issues
• Learn about how societies can change
• Foster cognitive growth
• Expand their imagination
• Appreciate the wide-variety of literature available

The first case of censorship in the New World was Thomas Morton’s New English Canaan in 1637. New English Canaan was a multi-volume set that dealt empathetically with the Native Americans and also poked-fun at the Puritans, who of course in good ol’ Puritan fashion, detested the author and wished to censor the books. Morton constantly engaged in satirizing Puritan patriarch William Bradford, and eventually, after Morton’s own colony known as Merry Mount was destroyed by the Puritans, he was arrested in Boston and banished to Maine in 1644.

Attempts at banning books continue to this day- modern books like the Harry Potter and Twilight series have been banned from certain schools, and even The Diary of Anne Frank is still occasionally challenged. And the list of some of America’s favorite books that were either banned for a certain period of time or that were challenged is long: To Kill a Mockingbird, Where the Wild Things Are, The Scarlet Letter, The Red Badge of Courage, In Cold Blood, The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Catcher in the Rye- to name only a few!

There is a week of each year that now celebrates banned books, and it is appropriately known as Banned Books Week. The event lasts from September 27 to October 3. Yet this is a cause that ,in actuality, lasts all year long, and it is imperative that we deny censorship of any kind in the realm of literature. Should young children be reading A Clockwork Orange, Lolita or Blood Meridian? I’d say no, but it often comes to pass that the books that are deemed different or shocking are later recognized as classics. Just because we may not agree with a certain message, or we’re offended by something written, does not mean that we cannot learn something from it, especially in a free society - even if it’s only an acknowledgement of other people’s differing ideas.

I like to end with quotes, so here is one from Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses-a book that in 1989 got him a fatwa from the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran issuing that the author be killed (the fatwa is still in place, but luckily Salman is still with us): “What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.”