I grew up in a very liberal household, which makes the whole book banning issue something quite strange to get my head around. I've always been of the knowledge that reading is a good thing, regardless of the content. My reading habits were never controlled, I picked what I wanted to read without any outside influences. If there was ever harrowing or troubling scenes in what I was reading, then it never really fazed me, because books are supposed to be a reflection of things that happen in real life, so why would these things not be included?
To be honest, if baffles me that books are actually banned, it's something I can't quite understand. The thought that other people make the decision about what books other people can read is just mind blowing. I believe in freedom of choice, I believe in letting people make their own judgements and I believe in people having the power to chose which books they read, regardless of the content.
The power and joy of reading a book is a fundamental human right and I refuse to believe I have to confrom to other peoples views about literature. I refuse to let my reading habits and choices be dictated to me by others. I am my own person, I have my own opinions and i have the freedom of choice. I read Catcher in the Rye when I was in high school, this doesn't mean I cuss all the time. I love the Lord of The Rings books, and I don't have any kind of satanic thoughts. Books feed your mind, they are fountains of knowledge, and they should never be used as excuses. When books are challenged, it makes me want to say, if someone is going to act obscene, if someone is going to cuss all the time, they will. Regardless of what books they read. You can't censor peoples thoughts, so why censor their reading choices?