- Position1 of 3›
- No, schools should not be able to ban books
Society has become far more interconnected, multicultural, and plural since the practice of book burning first began. Because of this, there is no need for censorship given our commitment to understanding and embracing content that is foreign to us and reflects different beliefs than we have.
The argument
Books started being banned around the Civil War era in the US, strictly prohibiting any material that included pornographic content. Since then, the United States has matured and tolerates more mature and graphic content as a whole. Restricting literature follows the historical custom of catering to the white upper class, and does not reflect the amount of diversity that exists in modern-day. Encouraging children to read various types of books reflects the world today, instead of resorting back to outdated opinions and practices.
Premises
Counter-arguments
Books continue to be banned and challenged today, so the practice is not outdated. Instead the reasons books are banned, such as violence, satanism, and sexual content, reflect the change of time and society. Instead of no longer prohibiting literature, the reasons for the prohibition have evolved to reflect current times.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P1] The first book banned on a national scale in the US was about slavery.