The subject of banned books has once again become a passionate debate. The interesting thing to me is that, if you look back through time, some of the books that have moved and inspired people the most—like The Grapes of Wrath and To Kill a Mockingbird—have been banned.
It’s the stories that make us the most uncomfortable that are often targeted; the ones that shine a light on things we’d rather not see. And yet exposure to these stories and the ideas they contain have the power to expand our understanding and make us more empathetic and better human beings. It’s a closed mind that threatens society, not an open book.