The Argumentative Essay Of Banning Books

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One of our greatest freedoms as Americans is under attack, the freedom to read. The freedom to read and write what we want is essential to the sharing of ideas and how our country is operated. Books are censored today because some people want to avoid controversial views and moral corruption. If books are constantly removed in order to shield people from controversial views, then our very own freedom is stripped away. Americans must be trusted to make their own decisions about what they read and follow. For the most part, banning books inhibits the sharing of new ideas by limiting our freedom to read what we want. I disagree with book banning for three main reasons. First, the government should not restrict literature because that is a violation of the first amendment, which states the …show more content…
The first amendment gives the right to express ideas freely as well as have access to the ideas of others. Free communication is essential to maintaining an open and creative society and is one of the main ways that new ideas are presented and shared. In “The Freedom to Read” the American Library Association states the importance of making all perspectives available to the public for open inquiry even if some of the views are offensive or detested. This is important because most new ideas start out as unpopular or unorthodox but the only way to encourage change is to present these new ideas. If the government restricts the sharing of ideas then no change will ever take place and the government can acquire all of the power. Even just the fear of being censored or ridiculed by government officials could prevent the authors of these new ideas from presenting their thoughts. In “The Freedom to Read” the ALA states “Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours.” I completely agree with this statement, some ideas may be dangerous, but the suppression of ideas is much