The Current 2020

September 22, 2020 | nsucurrent.nova.edu 11 Opinions Choosing not to participate in politics means ignoring those in need We should not eliminate controversial books in schools As election season comes and goes, you may see the familiar discourse happening around you. Families and friends arguing over social media, canvassers knocking on your door and all of these people promoting the politician they think is best for the job. While it can get annoying and tiresome, at least those people are using their voices and power to promote participation in society and politics. With every group of political activists, there is a group of people who become uncomfortable when faced with a political decision, especially seeing as things seem more divided than ever. When asked about their views, they laugh nervously and say something along the lines of, “I don’t like to talk politics.” While many people who want to avoid political discourse don’t mean any harm, the fact of the matter is, if you’re actively choosing to ignore politics, you are actively choosing to ignore people in need. A society is only as strong as its most vulnerable member; those without healthcare, housing and adequate income to provide for themselves and their families need people to have opinions and vote for officials who hold those same values. As individuals, the only way we can generate change is through voting. Right now, our country faces many George Santayana in “The Life of Reason” once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This year’s Banned Book Week runs Sept. 27 through Oct. 3 and is an annual awareness campaign that celebrates the freedom to read. All over the country, there have been instances of schools deciding to ban books from their libraries and class curriculum. Famous pieces of literature of various origins and genres, like “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, and “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker have all been banned and deemed inappropriate from an educational standing. According to the American Library Association, these classics and many more have been taken out of the school for reasons like “to avoid controversy,” “challenged and vandalized for LGBTQIA+ content and political viewpoints,” “vulgarity and sexual overtones,” “religious viewpoints,” and some even considered just “poorly- written”. These ironically controversial decisions have led to petitions and even banned book clubs where readers discuss the themes and ideas of those deemed issues. People are dying because they cannot afford the medical treatment they need without going into debt, individuals who belong to minority groups may be facing daily discrimination, young people may need to pay thousands of dollars on education just to get a decent job; all of these issues are happening in real-time and whole groups of people are simply ignoring them, and in turn, not generating change. Looking back at history, everyone likes to think that they would have been an agent of change. Everyone likes to think that they would have stood up in the face of injustice. However, when the time actually comes and real social issues emerge, many of those same people simply turn their heads the other way. People who are able to avoid discussing or even thinking about politics are only able to do so because of the privilege they hold. The problems affecting part of the population, no matter how dire, may not be affecting them. However, just because an issue isn’t affecting you doesn’t mean it isn’t affecting someone you know or someone you care about. Humans should be looking out for each other and keeping in mind those in our communities who may be struggling. If you are not staying up to date and at least doing minor participation in local and nationwide politics, you are not doing your part to fight for those who face injustice. While it doesn’t mean that inappropriate books. Deciding what should and what should not be taught to the youth of America is no easy task. The lessons taught to students go into shaping what the society of tomorrow will look like and what we will expect from each other. Ultimately, the goal is to prepare the students for the real world; but in our already flawed school systems, this is a step further in the wrong direction. Many ideas of philosophy and tales of oppression and facing adversity have been passed down through books. Banning literature for being controversial is not how we build a stronger nation. By instilling the idea that, if something is difficult to talk about, we should simply remove it and not talk about it goes against everything this country stands for. Instead of removing controversy, we should teach our youth how to ethically confront it because it is a vital skill if we want students to be able to function in the actual world. If you can’t create an opinion and ethically defend it, the world will not be a nice place as school systems always attempt to be. Some may consider this stance somewhat aggressive and that it makes an uncomfortable environment to learn in, and while we do want a safe environment for students to learn and grow, the adversity that will come in adult life should be taught and exposed through literature. How to deal with uncomfortable situationswith an appropriate curriculumshould be based on student grade level. To say that an upperclassman high schooler discussing and “ By instilling the idea that, if something is difficult to talk about, we should simply remove it and not talk about it goes against everything this country stands for. reading controversial topics is inappropriate is a reverse progressive ideology. PRINTED WITH PERMISSION BY F. MIRELES Harry Potter books have been banned for its mention of witchcraft. By: Sofia Gallus Arts & Entertainment Editor you should be arguing on every Twitter thread online or sharing obnoxious and false political propaganda on Facebook, the least you can do is educate yourself thoroughly and vote accordingly. It’s true that a single person cannot always change the world, but if every person who thought that their singular vote actually formed an opinion voted, people could actually make real change. “ If you are not staying up to date and at least doing minor participation in local and nationwide politics, you are not doing your part to fight for those who face injustice. PRINTED WITH PERMISSION F. SHABAN Senior, Farhan Shaban searching to vote by mail By: Gabriel J. Stone Contributing Writer