Schools and Book Censorship

The trend toward censoring books from public schools and libraries (“Besieged by Book Banners,” May 10) is very disturbing. I find this trend to be a direct challenge to the 1st Amendment’s freedom of speech and press provision. It may be that the crusade against all books “explicit” and “offensive” will backfire on its initiators and our society as a whole. The opening scene of Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” comes to mind.

There is a multitude of print, audio and video media that entertain one segment of society while offending an altogether different segment. Some of the classics portray blacks in a less than glamorous manner, which offends me as a black man. Notwithstanding, it would be ludicrous for me to launch a campaign to censor these time-honored works on the basis of the offense: The contribution to society outweighs any petty insult I may feel. What is more important is the individual’s right to choose to read or not to read explicit or offensive material, and to teach his or her children those values at home.

One solution may be to have school texts rated by content for each grade level. This rating would be given by a panel composed of parents of the school district. To ensure parents don’t get in an uproar about Junior’s and Sissy’s required reading, the text should be sent home for parental review. This would give parents that measure of control over their children’s cerebral digest while allowing treasured books to remain accessible to the public.

Otherwise, let the book burnings begin.

DARRYLL E. DENNIS

San Diego