Banning books

In 30 A.D. Jesus Christ, one of the most influential people of all time, was crucified. He’s teachings were later written down and have become one of the most controversial books of all time. In 1951 J.D. Salinger published The Catcher in the Rye, one of the most banned books in American history. In 2005 Stephenie Meyer challenged these two juggernauts with her Twilight series. Although failing to spark a crusade or inspire an assassination, Stephine did gain a notable amount of fame in elementary schools across the nation. Primary schools have been banning Twilight since it was released for sexual content and possibly encouraging suicides. In this paper we will look at what you need to do as a parent, concerned citizen, or patriot to ban this horrific novel in the Madison County Public Library. We will also look at some reasons why to ban books.

The process of banning a book in the Madison county public Library, although seemingly straight forward, has some grey areas. The first requirement to ban is a book is to decide which book he or she would like to ban. The process is fairly long so it is important to choose your book(s) wisely. The second requirement is that the patron must be a resident of Madison County and hold a valid borrower’s card. Once all these requirements are met a “Request for Reconsideration From” must be submitted to the Executive Director. The following procedure will be followed when a request for Reconsideration is submitted:
• The Executive Director will appoint a staff committee to study the request and determine if the material meets the Library’s selection criteria. The committee will prepare a written recommendation of its findings.
• The Executive Director will consider the committee’s recommendation and will respond in writing to the person who submitted the request.
• In the event the person who initiated the reconsideration request is not satisfied with the decision of the Executive director, he/she may request in writing within five (5) working days of receipt of the decision that the matter be forwarded to the Board for final review.
• The Executive Director will present the reconsideration request to the board at its next regularly scheduled meeting. Based on the information presented, the board will make a final determination of the matter.
• The Executive Director will send a written response detailing the Board’s decision to the person who submitted the request.
The decision on reconsideration of a specific title will remain in effect for three years.
During the review process, the Library will take appropriate action to insure that the item will continue to be available to the public(Library).

The process is a long one and if failed a patriot can’t try again for three years, so it is very important for one to get his or her facts straight on Twilight before they attempt to ban it. Twilight has been banned for numerous reasons but the one recurring theme is the sexual content. Capistrano Unified School District banned the book from their middle school libraries on a Friday for this exact reason, but reinstated the next Tuesday for unknown reasons(Scott). In some extreme cases suicide has also be a byproduct of reading the Twilight series(Sam Bam). The book has also been challenged in some high schools although schools are not the only institutions that have acknowledged the dangers of vampirism. Deseret Book, a Mormon book store, has also removed the book from their shelves and only offer it on special order(Dave).

Although privately owned businesses have their say in what they will and will not sell, public schools do not. If the Twilight series is not banned from public schools it will open a door way for all types of obscene material to enter our schools. If we don’t start banning stuff now pretty soon the schools will be filled with pornography and Nazi propaganda. The mind of an adolescent is easily confused and corrupted, to let them read Twilight would be a disservice to the child’s psyche. In 2001 George signed the No Child Left Behind act into law, with the intentions of leaving no child behind. Kids in elementary school who read Twilight, which sits at an eleventh grade reading level, are leaving their peers, along with mediocrity, behind. The last thing we need our kids believing is that they can fit into some weird niche or society and actually be happy. The drug companies would be able to sell anti-depressants to kids and preteen suicides would plummet. This is not a world we know and therefore is scary. The Twilight series should be banned wherever and whenever possible with complete disregard to human rights and liberties. I will admit that the act of banning books does have a negative appeal to it, but there are ways around that. I propose new air conditioners installed in school libraries capable of maintaining a comfortable 451 degrees Fahrenheit. V.V. Trofimov said it best:
Never write about bureaucrats,
Officers or soldiers,
About strikes, political movements,
Clergy, intellectual ferment,
About peasants or ministries,
Executions or Cossack atrocities,
About police, arrests,
Robberies or manifestos,
But everything else--
Must be exposed without fail!
And when you write--make sure that you see
"128" and "103" . . .