Rich. White. Cis - Het. Republican. MEN. Have Freedom of Speech.

The rest of us have the Freedom to believe whatever they have to say.

America is supposed to be the "Land of the Free," yet, as far as the Freedoms of Speech and Press, we are ranked all the way down at 42 by the Reporters without Borders World Report. The First Amendment in our Constitution states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." Yet, books are being pulled off of shelves in abhorrent abundance ; in fact, Smithsonian Magazine online insists that a total of more than 1,600 books were ripped from shelves over just the last school year. "Between July 2021 and June 2022, the report—Banned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in SchoolsLinks to an external site.—found 2,532 instances of individual bans, which covered 1,648 unique books" (Feldman, 2022). This same report states that, "96 percent of the bans did not follow the best practice guidelines for book challenges outlined by the American Library Association (ALA) and the National Coalition Against Censorship. About 41 percent of the banned titles explicitly address LGBTQ themes, making these the biggest target of the bans. Books involving sexual content—such as stories about teen pregnancy, sexual assault and abortion—account for 22 percent of the titles. About 21 percent directly address race and racism, while 40 percent feature major characters of color" (Feldman, 2022).

Which book has the biggest target on its back seems to be debatable, however. Feldman says it is Maia Kobabe’s, Gender Queer: A Memoir ; however, after just a quick google search, other outlets are debating whether it is George Orwell's, 1984 , or , J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. Most interesting and terrifying though, (at least for me and my community,) is that the American Library Association reports that, "The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2021" ; out of the over 1,600 books on the list, six of out the top ten were banned for LGBTQIA content. Other reasons in the top ten included anti-police themes, profanity, and abuse. This is a theme that the ALA has reported on since the year 2000. Each of the reports for every year show the same, but in increasing numbers. But it is not just about adult content. Harry Potter has been on this list almost every single year since its publication for "occult, [and] religious" reasons ; (but aren't we supposed to have that Freedom too?) Other shockers on the list are...

• Charlotte's Web (for themes of death,)

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (offensive language,)

• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (offensive language,)

• Bridge to Terabithia (occult/Satanism,)

• Of Mice and Men (racism,)

• Perks of Being a Wallflower (LGBTQIA,)

• The Lorax (portrayed logging in poor light,)

• and the entirety of the Junie B Jones series (poor social values, and not a good role model ; they banned an entire series because a little girl is TOO strong.)

~ ~ ...but the one that really got under my skin... ~ ~

2005 - #1 most banned book,

1. It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health, by Robie H. Harris Reasons: abortion, homosexuality, nudity, religious viewpoint, sex education, unsuited to age group

(How in good conscience, do you ban a book for SEX EDUCATION?! - My mind is just absolutely BLOWN!)

But why are these books such massive targets for our government at all ; especially when our Freedom of Speech is supposed to be our number one, most important and significant Freedom.

My opinion - We are allowed to speak freely ; but, only when it is not against the rules and ideas of the system.

Are there countries that have it worse than us - 100%, most absolutely ; I am not even trying to debate that fact. The Reporters Without Borders Report MapLinks to an external site. makes this impossible to miss, even if we are blind to all other news of today. The United States is shown in orange, (only the second level, showing a "Satisfactory Situation") ; meanwhile there are three worse levels below us, ("Problematic, DIfficult, and Very Serious") ; and a total of 138 countries that have it worse. However, the countries in these red areas do not boast and brag to have these Freedoms. People in Iraq (#174,) China (#175,) Iran (#178,) and North Korea (#180 - the very bottom of the list,) do not anticipate being able to speak out about their government. People do not leave their home lands and "escape" to these places, the way people try to do with America. And then they get here - and are belittled, and persecuted, and retaliated against - just for trying to live their lives in a FREE LAND. (The Land of the Free - and Home of the Brave.)

Rich. White. Cis - Het. Republican. MEN. Have Freedom of Speech.

The rest of us have the Freedom to believe whatever they have to say.

American Library Association. (2022, September 20). Top 10 most challenged books lists. Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. Retrieved November 9, 2022, from https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10Links to an external site.

Feldman, E. (2022, September 23). Over 1,600 books were banned during the past school year. Smithsonian.com. Retrieved November 9, 2022, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/whos-behind-the-push-to-ban-books-in-schools-180980818/Links to an external site.