I usually don’t have time to read books, but over spring break I made it an issue to read at least two books. The first book was Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. The second book was The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I chose to read Catcher in the Rye because it was one of my favorite books in high school and it has been 10 years since I have read it. I chose to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower because it was my wife’s favorite book in high school and also because it had a similar theme as Catcher in the Rye.

Last night, my wife and I sat down in front of the T.V. and noticed we had a new episode of South Park saved on our DVR, so we decided to watch it. The first thing mentioned in the episode was Catcher in the Rye and the fact it has been banned from schools and is controversial. All of the students (including Cartmen, Kenny, Kyle and Stan) were required to read it. With the book being hyped up to the students, they couldn’t wait to get home and read the book. After all of the students had read the book, they were furious because they couldn’t believe it’s on the banned book list. I couldn’t agree more.

This South Park episode struck a cord with me, so I thought I should do some research on some of the banned books in the United States. There are a few books that are, in my opinion, that should be read by everyone at some point in their life. The first two are listed above, then some of the others include: The Grapes of Wrath, Huckleberry Finn, Lord of the Flies and etc. All of these books have been or still are banned in the U.S.

My issue is that all of the books I have listed are or have been banned in high schools in the past for a variety of reasons. Catcher in the Rye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower have both been banned because of their language and their sexual content. Parents that think these books should be banned bug the heck out of me. First, yes, there is dirty language and sex, but it’s not rampant in either book. Second, these books have valuable lessons and deeper meanings. These books could be helpful to a lot of today’s youth. Third, of all of the places that books should be banned, a school is not one of them. Schools are there for learning, even if we don’t agree with it. If you don’t like it, don’t hide it from your children, teach them from it instead. Plus, all of the themes in these books can easily be found on any television. Sex, violence, and language are no longer considered risque on T.V. Plus, if kids had a proper sex education, then the sex in these books should be nothing strange to them. And even if they didn’t see it on T.V., they are going to get it from their friends since there is a 50/50 chance that they know someone who is sexually active.

Here is my thought. I want my children to be exposed to this kind of material. These books are not smut, but they controversial and are something they should encounter so they are not uncomfortable or creeped out by similar situations in the future. I want my children to be exposed to difficult situations so they know how to handle them. This boils down to the fact I have issues with parents who shelter their children from the real world.

So, to those parents, who coddle their children, how do you expect them to deal with difficult situations in the real world? You can not! You have done nothing but raise a bunch of children that can not and will not be able to handle difficult and complex situations. Your children will someday be running this country, and they won’t be able to handle the stresses of the job. I see this country slowly going down the drain because today’s youth is so sheltered.

Instead of taking these books and hiding them in closets or burning them, lets use them to learn some valuable life lessons. These books can teach us that we all are not the same and we all have differences. It can teach us to look at things form the other side of the table. It can teach us not to be so judgmental and to be more tolerant of other people. I guess I should also be more tolerant of those sheltering parents, but creating weak minded children is dangerous for this country. Then again, this just my opinion.

I am glad my parents raised me the way they did and I am fortunate to have gone to a school where these books were not banned.

Tags: Banned books, Books, education, Reading, censorship, Racist, Sexist, Profanity, Religion, Catcher in the Rye, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Teen, Teenager, Angst