Banning books suppresses ideas and developing minds

The right to speak our mind and express ourselves freely is not something that should be taken lightly.

Therefore, when someone tells me that I can't express myself through writing nor can I read others' ideas or more specifically, when the topic of book banning is brought up, I feel it necessary to make sure the freedom of speech is kept alive.

The freedom of speech is a prized privilege we all have in this country.

It is given to us in the First Amendment as well as in the U.S. Constitution.

I remember when I was younger, one of my favorite books was Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

I read that book over and over again. Alice's adventures were so mind-blowing.

It was so much more interesting than going to school. Alice got to attend tea parties with the Mad Hatter and talk to the White Babbit.

She had peculiar friends like the Cheshire Cat and she got to hang out with a caterpillar who liked to smoke out.

Only in Wonderland was life so extraordinary.

The book opened my mind to creativity. I no longer saw things the way they were supposed to be.

Instead, I would think in terms of "what if?" scenarios. What if animals could really talk? What if I shrunk down to the size of a key? These what-if scenarios are what inspired me to write my thoughts and to write stories. They also made me question things in life.

Years later when I started college, I read that my favorite book had been banned in China in 1931. "Animals should not use human language," quoted the "Banned Books Week '92" packet for one of my English classes. "It [would be] disastrous to put animals and human beings on the same level."

Unbelievable! That banned book was the book that helped shape my creativity.

Without it, I would be living a hum-drum, linear life with hum- drum, linear thoughts. Sure, life might be more simple, but it would also be boring.

By banning books, our world becomes a little smaller. Books, whether they be fiction or non-fiction, expand our minds with ideas, opinions and knowledge. They bring us to places we've never been. They open windows to other lifestyles which then opens our eyes to our own lifestyles.

From books, we can see others' points of view and be more acceptable of all the different people in our growing world.

Without books, there would be less to compare with our own lives.

There is less chance we would question ourselves. Without the opportunity to question ourselves, there is also less opportunity to improve ourselves.

Christina Y. Chang is a reporter for the Daily Forty-Niner.