Censorship

Have you ever been told that you cant read certain books? I have, when the Harry Potter series first came out everyone wanted them and everyone was reading them everyone but me. My mother and several other parents had watched a christian video on the books and had decided to take a stand and protest the books and the soon to follow movies. I was constantly ridiculed by other students but I never once broke moms rule about the books or movies and still today when if i wanted i could read or watch Harry Potter I haven't and not because of mom because what no one realized back then was that I agreed with my mother. However; I do not believe that the government should decided what may be read and by whom it should be a personal or parental decision. There are tree main reasons I believe this way Research, Religion, and Culture.
My first reason is research. Many times students are ask to write papers about topics relating to current events such as war, politics, and other mature items. In tenth grade i wrote a paper on abortion and some of my research was pretty gruesome. If our town would have imposed censorship on our town library then i would not have been allowed to look up and research what I needed for my paper due to its graphic content.
Religion is another reason I believe censorship is wrong. There have been many times where I have been curious about religions other than my own. With the way many people think some of the religions I looked into would have been "to much" for my young mind in there eyes. If children under eighteen are the ones who would be prevented from reading these books for there Violence , Sexual Content, and Language is it not possible that some children wouldn't be allowed to read the bible. I mean it has brutal beatings, and sexual content. Some children wouldn't be able to learn about there own religion. Even books religions of ancient civilizations could be banned. Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice was banned from classrooms in Midland, Michigan in 1980 due to its portrayal of the Jewish character Shylock.(Http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/banned-books.html) If Michigan can ban Shakespeare for a Jewish character whats to stop Arkansas from banning a book on Greek mythology or Hindu religion.
Culture is another important reason for censorship not to be allowed. Students learn who they are and what the world has in it, and they learn to use there imagination and explore. There are so many good books that have been banned from school Libraries across the country. Black Beauty has been removed from the shelves because it depicts cruelty to animals. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been banned because it contains the word "nigger". " We're not talking soft porn, racist drek and subversive witchcraft propaganda. Among the most banned books are some of the best-loved modern classics." said Suzanne Fisher Staples in her essay "What Johnny Can't Read Censorship in American Libraries"(http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/winter96/pubCONN.html) There are tons of books that have been banned without regard for the amount of culture that they contain and how that will help students learn. There are many times in history classes where we have been learning about culture and I all but fall asleep but in books I learn every bit of what I missed out on in class plus books make it easier for kids to learn history and culture because it makes it fun it helps them make it real.(
Each book has its own gifts to offer, story's to tell, and lessons to teach but the freedom to choose which to read is what teaches some of life's most important lessons. Such as; trusting yourself, knowing what you believe in, and tolerance all of which become harder to learn once you are an adult. I believe censorship is wrong because it limits research, censors religions, and stifles children's abilities to learn about culture. If we allow Censorship to continue how can we ever expect our children and children of future generations to be able to learn freely and make up their own minds becoming their own person.