Banned Book Week: Protecting even the books you don't like

Hi everyone!

I discovered an article today that brought up a really wonderful point about book banning. Most can see why some books should never be banned, but what about those books that people assume were written out of hate, anger, or ignorance?

The Christian Science Monitor brought up a list of books that they think are five of the most offensive books out there. Their list is as follows:

1) Mein Kamph by Adolph Hitler.
2) Messages to the World by Osama Bin Laden
3) The Global Bell Curve by Richard Lynn
4) Did Six Million really Die? by Richard E. Harwood
5) The 120 Days of Sodom by Marquis de Sade

I have to admit, I'd be lying if I said that the topics of some of those books didn't make me feel like throwing them into a pit & burying them forever, especially Harwood's book that denies the entire Holocaust.

But even so, I have to keep reminding myself that banning one book could start an exceedingly slippery slope. If we censor or ban one person's opinion (no matter how much we disagree with it), then it might not be too long before others' opinions follow as well.