American Library Association: Banned and Challenged Books
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Political correctness is a monster. People feel that if a book has something they are uncomfortable with or don't like, then the book should be banned. Most books have deep messages that are ignored if the book is banned.
Most of the classics in the high school English curriculum have been banned. For example, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, Of Mice and Men, Animal Farm, A Separate Peace, and Things Fall Apart are some of the books I have read in my three years of high school English, all of which are on ALA's Banned and/or Challenged Classics list.
But what doesn't make sense to me is the fact that The Lord of the Rings, Charlotte's Web, The Wind in the Willows, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and even Winnie-The-Pooh are also on the list of banned classics. Why would a children's classic be banned? This just proves that society is causing people to lose their sense.
The ALA has a page on statistics: challenges by year, reason, initiator, and institution. The years in which the most challenges occurred are 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008. The most common reasons are sexual content, language, unsuited for an age group, occult, and violence. The most common (and pretty much only) initiator is parents. And finally, the most common institutions to challenge a book are schools, school libraries, and public libraries.
I'm beginning to think that political correctness played a major role in the banning of classic books.
--Amber
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Political Correctness, Free Expression, and Social Networking
Guess why they call it Myspace? It's time for adults to grow up.
An article by Gary Stager
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First of all, I want you to know it took me forever to find this article. It was one of the articles on my English exam, and it was one of the impetuses for this blog.
Political correctness is a major issue in today's society. It's gotten to the point that we can't really say anything that would otherwise offend someone. For instance, the Urban Dictionary lists terms that people would've normally said before the Tolerance era, such as "vertically challenged" instead of short, or "big-boned" instead of fat.
Society has twisted and conformed to something like a Reign of Terror, where people can't say something without worrying if they'll offend someone. Life was so much simpler back in the days when kids could climb the neighbors' trees without the neighbors worrying about getting sued if the kid falls out of the tree, or in the days when kids could roam around the neighborhood with the other kids without their parents worrying about sexual predators and kidnappers. But now those days have vanished, along with our sense.
School is a breeding ground for political correctness. According to Gary Stager in his article, "schools endanger the very students they seek to protect when they bubble-wrap kids and the curriculum." Classics have been banned from the curriculum all in the name of keeping students "safe."
So, the issue here is whether or not social networking sites should be banned. Parents are in an uproar about their kids becoming prey to sexual predators and other garbage on sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and other social networking sites. Gary Stager argues that social networking sites puts students in control of people they "friend" and some unwanted guest can be blocked from viewing their profiles at the click of a button. Besides, it's all a matter of sense. Adults must assume that kids are completely vulnerable and innocent to the dark and perverted world around them. But if kids are taught some sense, such as "don't get in the car with a stranger" and the Internet equivalent "don't share information with a stranger online", they will be better prepared to deal with social networking sites. Call it Internet 101.
Besides, social networking has benefits. It allows kids to communicate with their friends halfway across the world (where phone service would be basically useless due to the time differences), channel their angst at their parents (I do it), and share news and events. The communication aspect of social networking sites comes in handy to me, because I have friends that live in Europe. I never could talk with them on the phone due to the nine hour time differences, so social networking sites allow me to send my friends messages asking how they're doing and such. Events such as "join the March of Dimes" and other worthwhile causes can be organized on social networking sites, and it raises awareness to friends about certain causes.
The issue here is the benefits of social networking, and the realization that political correctness has muddled the sense of everyone.
What do you have to say about it? But please, nothing that would otherwise offend anyone.
--Amber
An article by Gary Stager
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First of all, I want you to know it took me forever to find this article. It was one of the articles on my English exam, and it was one of the impetuses for this blog.
Political correctness is a major issue in today's society. It's gotten to the point that we can't really say anything that would otherwise offend someone. For instance, the Urban Dictionary lists terms that people would've normally said before the Tolerance era, such as "vertically challenged" instead of short, or "big-boned" instead of fat.
Society has twisted and conformed to something like a Reign of Terror, where people can't say something without worrying if they'll offend someone. Life was so much simpler back in the days when kids could climb the neighbors' trees without the neighbors worrying about getting sued if the kid falls out of the tree, or in the days when kids could roam around the neighborhood with the other kids without their parents worrying about sexual predators and kidnappers. But now those days have vanished, along with our sense.
School is a breeding ground for political correctness. According to Gary Stager in his article, "schools endanger the very students they seek to protect when they bubble-wrap kids and the curriculum." Classics have been banned from the curriculum all in the name of keeping students "safe."
So, the issue here is whether or not social networking sites should be banned. Parents are in an uproar about their kids becoming prey to sexual predators and other garbage on sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and other social networking sites. Gary Stager argues that social networking sites puts students in control of people they "friend" and some unwanted guest can be blocked from viewing their profiles at the click of a button. Besides, it's all a matter of sense. Adults must assume that kids are completely vulnerable and innocent to the dark and perverted world around them. But if kids are taught some sense, such as "don't get in the car with a stranger" and the Internet equivalent "don't share information with a stranger online", they will be better prepared to deal with social networking sites. Call it Internet 101.
Besides, social networking has benefits. It allows kids to communicate with their friends halfway across the world (where phone service would be basically useless due to the time differences), channel their angst at their parents (I do it), and share news and events. The communication aspect of social networking sites comes in handy to me, because I have friends that live in Europe. I never could talk with them on the phone due to the nine hour time differences, so social networking sites allow me to send my friends messages asking how they're doing and such. Events such as "join the March of Dimes" and other worthwhile causes can be organized on social networking sites, and it raises awareness to friends about certain causes.
The issue here is the benefits of social networking, and the realization that political correctness has muddled the sense of everyone.
What do you have to say about it? But please, nothing that would otherwise offend anyone.
--Amber
Friday, January 15, 2010
An overview
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees "freedom of expression" to all citizens.
Then why is there censorship?
It might have to do with today's society, in which everything is so tolerated people have become intolerant of intolerance, in which no one wants to offend or be offended, in which no one wants to break free of the crowd. Today's society has flipped our very lives.
I don't want to bore you with my dissertation in a blog entry. But I will.
My blog is basically angst about the society I live in. I am thankful for the blessings I have, yes, but I don't want to ignore the problems in my society and live like an innocent, naive infant. I don't wish to pretend that everything is fine and dandy. So this blog is a catalog of my issues with my infected society.
If this isn't your "cup of tea," feel free to leave at any time. Thank you.
--Amber
Then why is there censorship?
It might have to do with today's society, in which everything is so tolerated people have become intolerant of intolerance, in which no one wants to offend or be offended, in which no one wants to break free of the crowd. Today's society has flipped our very lives.
I don't want to bore you with my dissertation in a blog entry. But I will.
My blog is basically angst about the society I live in. I am thankful for the blessings I have, yes, but I don't want to ignore the problems in my society and live like an innocent, naive infant. I don't wish to pretend that everything is fine and dandy. So this blog is a catalog of my issues with my infected society.
If this isn't your "cup of tea," feel free to leave at any time. Thank you.
--Amber
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