Muhlenberg, PA Bans Book 'The Buffalo Tree' by Adam Rapp

As a writer, freedom to express myself is very important. You don't have to agree with what I write. You don't even have to like what I write. But, I feel some safety in knowing that what I write is protected, and that we live in a free society that allows me to produce the story that is in my head. However, in our society today, there is a culture war. And literature is being placed somewhere in the middle.

In small town Muhlenberg, PA, a piece of literature has sparked a culture war leading to the banning of The Buffalo Tree by Adam Rapp. The story takes place in a detention hall where the life of a twelve year old boy that has been placed there is examined. It has been on the Muhlenberg, PA 11th grade reading list since 2000, but not know more.

Although the content and language is age-appropriate for 11th grade students, what has parents in an uproar is a brief passage where the young man is in a communal shower and notices another detainee has become sexual aroused. I hate to break it to parents, but just turning on daytime drama, primetime shows, and the news -- children much younger than the 11th grade are going to see more and learn more things much worse than that.

The town had gone to great lengths to "protect" its children from this book, even taking this book off the shelves and sticking them inside of a vault.

Banned books are on the rise. In 2003, 458 books were challenged. That number has risen to 547 in 2004. This is a trend that has happened when conservative politics has held control. Under Reagan, the number rose significantly as well. But, I ask, what does books really have to do with politics? Nothing. It is the us v. them attitude that both liberals and conservatives create, leaving nothing behind in the challenge of party lines.

I ask parents this: If you object to this reading material, why not simply allow your child to opt out of completing it? Or see if there is an alternative they can complete? Why ban an entire book from an entire school? Why not allow your children to decide if they want to read this book or not? Or, if you are worried about the material your children are learning in school, why not send them to a private school or home school them? It wasn't that long ago that I found myself in high school, and what I saw outside of class influenced me much more than reading a book for class.

In a country that has made freedom its battlecry, the whole concept of banning books dumbfounds me. We stand on our soapboxes and preach freedom. We go to war to countries on the premise of freedom. Yet, in our own backyard, freedom is being threatened every day because of the on-going cultural war zone that exists in our society.

It disheartens me, both as a parent and as a writer, the many facets that the current culture war and us v them attitude has affected the lives of those who it shouldn't affect: our children. Leave political games to the political parties, adults, and politicians and let our children learn.