“American Parents are Building Political Agendas: The Book Banning of 2022” by Alexandra Poletaev
Part of Doc Hoff’s BlogBlog Project
I’ve been sharing blogs written by my University of Delaware students since 2013. This blog, by Alex Poletaev, a senior majoring in Political Science with a minor in Legal Studies, was written for my Media & Politics class, and applies the idea of “agenda building” to the controversy around banned books.
Did you read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee in high school? Maybe you read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck instead. If you did, count yourself as lucky (or don’t) because these books are some of the most challenged books in the American high school education system. There have always been calls to ban books from schools due to conflicting moral beliefs. Some literature may contain material that is offensive to the reader (or the reader’s parents) and is subsequently challenged, which can lead to its removal from high school library shelves. Challenging of books has historically proven to be bi-partisan, with the left famously contesting books like To Kill a Mockingbird due to its derogatory treatment of minorities.
On the conservative end of the ideological spectrum, The New York Times reported that Americans are seeing shockingly high levels of outrage towards the content of books in schools that experts have not seen since the 1980s. In 2022, various conservative groups across America have called for the censorship of books in high schools that primarily include any topics related to LGBTQIA+ issues or race. Advocates for censorship argue that young students should not yet be exposed to controversial topics. Former Florida school board member, Tiffany Justice, argued to The New York Times that “there are different stages of development of sexuality in our lives, and when that’s disrupted, it can have horrible long-term effects.”
This year’s call for bans has become heavily politicized. Some Republican politicians have taken to using the outrage regarding controversial books to their advantage — for the sole purpose of agenda-building. As we read in Richard Perloff’s book, The Dynamics of Political Communication, agenda-building is defined as “a process through which the policy agendas of political elites are influenced by a variety of factors, including media agendas and public agendas.” The public agenda refers to the issues that the public views as most important, while the policy agenda refers to issues that political figures find most important. We see this process playing out in the banned books controversy because, as censorship in school libraries has gained more popularity, Republican politicians have capitalized on the issue’s attention on the public agenda to strengthen their own agendas.
The National Coalition Against Censorship’s executive director Christopher Finan believes that this movement has been amplified by calls-to-action on various social media platforms. Ex-school board member Justice commented, “The bottom line is if parents are concerned about something, politicians need to pay attention…2022 will be a year of the parent at the ballot box.” Responding to the traction gained by conservative groups on social media such as No Left Turn in Education and Moms for Liberty, lawmakers of largely Republican states have turned their attention to censorship in school libraries.
The public outrage has already caused some drastic changes to legislation regarding school literature, and more laws are expected to be enacted in preparation for this year’s midterm elections. Texas representative Matt Krause challenged over 800 books on Texas school library shelves in December of 2021. A bill was recently proposed in the state senate of Oklahoma to prevent public school libraries from supplying books regarding sexuality. The New York Times also reported that a Missouri mayor withheld library funding until it expunged all books that included LGBTQIA+ themes.
However, many Americans say that this legislation is restrictive and discriminatory. Jack Petocz, a teen in the Florida school system who has been organizing protests against the bans, explained that many in the POC and LGBTQIA+ community — who are already underrepresented in media and literature — feel further isolated when representation is removed from schools. Author Laurie Halse Anderson also denounced the censorship, arguing that the removal of diverse topics in schools makes open conversations and discussions more difficult, saying that the banning of school library books “are laying the groundwork for increasing bullying, disrespect, violence, and attacks.”
As it currently stands, the future of challenged school library books is unclear. This issue continues to be hotly contested, polarizing the left and the right even further. But the people that have managed to find the positive in this debate are American lawmakers and politicians, who can use public outrage and political division to build their own agenda.
Now, I challenge you to get engaged and determine where you stand on this issue. Do you think that censoring literature in American high schools is warranted? Decide for yourself. This weekend (or whenever you have some free time) read a challenged or currently banned book. This article or this list are great places to start. True, these books have a tendency to spark difficult and polarizing discussions. However, I have found that sometimes the most difficult conversations are the best ones to have.
This blog was written by University of Delaware student, Alexandra Poletaev, a senior majoring in Political Science, for my Politics & Media class.
