Banning the Best Books

THERE HAS BEEN SOME SPECULATION concerning what books in particular are being removed from American public and school libraries most often, in our current frantic far right wing book ban craze. Opinions vary, and reliable, comprehensive statistics are not available, so specualtion is mostly based on anecdotal evidence. Below are some of the most often mentioned titles, and suggested reasons for their removal. All these books have one thing in common; they are of excellent literary quality, with profoundly true messages and themes based on critical examination of society. In essense, the higher the quality of the book, the greater the chance it will be removed from library shelves. Book removal, often called "banning", is a current conservative censorship craze, happening all the "red states". The msot freuently mentioned title of all seems to be Harper Lee's classic "To Kill A Mockingbird". This great novel is being removed because it harshly condemns mainstream white American culture for the racism it has fostered, and fosters. Conservatives hate acknowledging racism..."The Catcher in teh Rye", by J. D. Salinger,uses a sexual theme to describe the anxieties of being a teenager. It was banned when I was in high school, fifty years ago. I read it anyway, as did all my classmates. "Huckleberry Finn" is often "removed", it seems. This is another book which deals a bit too intimately with racism and culture, and may be as repugnant to intolerant liberals as conservatives. "Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is a shocking story related to the holocaust, maybe just a bit too intense and reflective of humanity's dark side for our fragile, sensitive American children. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is an attack on mainstream society, and its values, which reduces nononformists to the status of criminals and mental patients - for failure to conform. "Lord of the Flies", by William Golding, is highly critical of the establishment. "Animal Farm", by Huxley or Orwell, (are they the same author?), same complaint; too negative a view of established societal norms. "The Scarlet Letter", by Nathanial Hawthorne". Well, let's see, now. Is the idea of a young maiden getting pregnant by a priest too shocking for our modern sensitivities? She gets all the blame, poor Hester Prynne, forced to wear a big, red "A" on her chest, signifying "adulterer". The priest, Reverend Dimmesdale, gets off Scot free. You can almost see this being very offensive to modern progressives; maybe once again its the libs who want to throw out this American literaly classic."1984", by George Orwell. I remember when I read this book in 1971 for tenth grade English class, the teacher, a bright young woman, expressed the hope that when the year 1984 finally came and went,and Orwell's novel had not precisely come true, that the world would not reject the book as invalid. It turns oout, she needn't have worried. No unimportant book is being banned, as you have perhaps surmised. To be on the index of forbidden books in American libraries is a great honor, accorded only to the very best books of the highest, most enduring literary quality. "Fahrenheit 451", by Ray Bradbury. This one is easy. People who are banning books do not want to allow a book about how horrible it is to ban and burn books to go unbanned. If you were banning books, would you?