I know this is two blogs in one day, but I thought it best to just get ahead on these blogs. Also, I was thinking of a topic for my 'free' entry and I wanted to write about it while it was fresh.
Recent debate has sprung up over the Harry Potter series use of witchcraft but in actuality is one that has been going on for quite some time. The separation of church and state has been over the news since the beginning of our country. While some religious communities believe that books should be banned, advocates of free press believe that all books should be allowed. Book burning was certainly a part of many cultures past and is still a part of some. Authors like Ray Bradbury have warned against it in Fahrenheit 451 and banning books is a more modern approach. Harry Potter is a prime example having been named one of the most banned books last year(http://www.education-world.com/a_admin/admin/admin157.shtml).
My opinion is on the side of freedom of press, however, I think the religious communities provide an interesting point. If I believed the plot of these books was evil, of course I would not want my children to read them. A lot of the country think the 'religious zealots' should calm down about harry potter and let children read about a fictional story. In fact the religious community at large is divided on book banning. I know families on both sides of the issue and both have valid opinions. Some believe that a fictional story can be read by children as fiction and is meant purely for entertainment. Others believe that children can be very impressionable (I definitely believed Hogwarts was real in 4th grade).
I find banning books to be offensive to the very nature of them. While some families may not want their children reading material that contradicts their beliefs, banning these books is not the right step. Books should be available for all to read and individual discretion used from that point on.
I agree with you in saying that people should be allowed to write whatever they want to write about. I feel that children should be able to realize that not everything they read is true, that some things are fictional. In addition, I think that if some people feel so strongly about not letting their children read the books, then they shouldn't allow their children to read the book. They don't have to push their beliefs on these books on everyone else.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I might have been waiting for a letter from Hogwarts on my 11th bday. :D
I tend to get really passionate about this topic, and then I remember that there have been some extraordinarily inflammatory books that have incited negative reactions in many people (extreme example - Mein Kampf by Hitler). The flip side is that by reading these books I become exposed to the other opinion and then better informed in my dissent.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that parents don't want their kids reading Harry Potter, etc. makes me think that it might be fear-based. They're possibly afraid that their kids will find something in that text that they will like or identify with, and then move away from what their parents know and have taught them.
I agree with freedom of press. I think that if a book is published it is there for everyone to read. Overall religion and state are separate, and I think that banning Harry Potter books is more of a religious and moral ideal. I consider this ideal a personal disagreement than something that incorporates the law.
ReplyDeleteThis blog reminds of a personal experience I had. I remember I went to the movie with family friend and her kids. At that time the first Harry Potter movie had just come out, and she todl us that we are not allowed to watch it. I asked why and she basically said that it valued witchcraft.
I have no problems with books being banned by schools that have religious affiliations or at other private institutions; that is their prerogative (and right, since they are not state-funded). But banning books in a public school? That's like trying to teach creationism alongside the theory of evolution in the science classroom.
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