If you want to scare yourself silly, go to Google and look up a complete list of books that have been banned or challenged in recent years. I’d wager that if you’re reading this blog (which, in my opinion, qualifies you as a literate person) you have read, and/or own, many of those books.
Banned Books Week, which begins today, celebrates the freedom to choose not only what to read, but the freedom to express one’s opinion in writing. The First Amendment states, in part, “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…” and yet challenges to books, even those considered to be classics, continue to take place today.
So when you curl up with a cup of tea on a quiet afternoon to reread Harry Potter, or when you share the delightfully fun poetry of Shel Silverstein with your children, count your blessings that the First Amendment is alive and well, and you have the freedom to decide what you will and will not read.
That said, many thanks for being a faithful reader of my blog. It’s not on the banned or challenged list, but that doesn’t mean it won’t make you think!