Is America embracing book banning?

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National Coalition Against Censorship

Is America embracing book banning?

That's the main question that emerged from a recent Harris Poll (http://www.theharrispoll.com/health-and-life/Censorship_2015.html . The headlines generated by last month's survey came from a simple question: "Do you think there are any books which should be banned completely?" A total of 28 percent of respondents said yes. This is a jump from the last time Harris asked the question four years ago, when 18% answered affirmatively.

But before you despair over Americans' embrace of book banning, consider the question they were asked: Should any book be banned. While a free speech absolutist would have one answer -- the same one, incidentally, as the majority of respondents did: No -- it is worth wondering what the 'yes' responses had in mind. A how to guide for would-be terrorist bomb makers? Mein Kampf? A collection of child porn?

In other words, answering yes to that question might not reveal an emerging appetite for censorship. The caveats and what-ifs are endless. As a matter of fact, back in 2011 when Harris did a very similar poll (http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/mid/1508/ArticleId/754/Default.aspx , they included about a question about the debate over substituting the word “slave” for the word “nigger” in Huck Finn. The vast majority of respondents opposed it — a pretty strong indicator that when faced with a specific instance of censorship, Americans are more protective of free speech than a knee-jerk response to a general question might suggest.

There are other problems with how to interpret the poll's findings. Harris asked a series of questions about whether children should be permitted to get books with sex or violence from a school library. But is the 'child' in question in elementary school -- or in middle school or high school, where students do read such books -- and where the First Amendment prevents schools from blocking access to such work just because some people don’t think they’re appropriate.

So does a poll like this tell us anything? Maybe. If you care about the relationship between political affiliation and attitudes, the Washington Post's Catherine Rampell noted (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-politics-of-stifling-speech/2015/08/10/724d2a62-3f9c-11e5-9561-4b3dc93e3b9a_story.html that the poll shows that Republicans have more enthusiasm for book banning. And that sentiment carried over to media too: "Republicans were also more likely to say that some video games, movies and television programs should be banned." But that's not the whole story; as she pointed out, "Liberals and conservatives… seem pretty keen on trampling upon speech they find transgressive; they’re just sensitive to different transgressions.”

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In many cases the impulse to want to censor is just that-- a snap judgment. Upon closer inspection, many people decide it’s not such a good idea.

Read this story at the NCAC blog
http://ncac.org/blog/americans-love-censorship/