Freedom ft. MLK

When Martin Luther King Jr. said, "...freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed," did he mean for this quote to compel all? If so, then he sure succeeded. The question, though, is why is this quote so thought provoking? What makes it so relatable and important to everyone?

At a cursory glance, this quote speaks about freedom. However, it's much more than that. After reading the sentence again, the reader begins to think about human nature. Through the quote, it seems as though King is suggesting that humans are bad, but can show good. They're bad because they don't think of giving freedom immediately... but they are good because they can eventually give in. That's a tough point to defend, but at the same time, it has a certain degree of validity. Obviously, when people see those who are being oppressed, they speak out about it. But what about before? Are there people out there who promises freedom before anything else? There's no way to know. But if so, the percentage of those people is probably quite small. Of course everyone wants to claim that they would give freedom to everyone if given the chance. The truth is, though, is that many would be lying. Many people are power hungry and greedy for rule. Keeping people from freedom is just a way to obtain that power.

The second part of the quote says that freedom has to be asked for. How true is this? Whenever the word "freedom" pops up, it's usually because people are asking for it; religious freedom, political freedom, economic freedom, or even sexuality freedom. People want to be free, and when they feel like they are being oppressed, they will keep fighting for that freedom. If anything, King's quote reminds the reader that humans are incredibly strong and able. They will achieve that freedom eventually due to their determination and motivation. Humans, even though bad at certain aspects of life, as greed or vanity, can also be good when the occasion calls for it.

This quote is also quite compelling due to the ability to relate to it. Everyone has experience oppression in some way. Even though those instances could differ greatly from King's experience, people understand the feelings behind oppression. They understand the hatred shown, the longing for acceptance, the want of freedom, and overall, the feeling of being oppressed. When a simple quote can conjure up such strong emotions, it's obviously one that has strong importance.

Even though this quote by Martin Luther King Jr. is merely a few words, it is also a gate into the thoughts of human nature, and a path to strong emotions, that have to power to compel many. Well said, King. Well said.

I Challenge Against Your Challenge Stating You Can Ban and Challenge Books.

"Yes, hello. I'd like to be able to read what ever book I please, thank you."


This should be the response to the crisis of banned and challenged books in high school settings. Literary freedom is incredibly important and can't be avoided. Banning books shouldn't even be considered, for the consequences outweigh any possible good that could come from keeping these works of art in the dark. By restricting books, many miss the opportunity to learn, and misinterpret topics of reality.

Obviously, those who restrict books like to think they have good reasons for doing so, such as "protecting" teenagers from mature themes including strong language, violence, drugs, alcohol, and sexuality. But many forget that they've already been exposed to such topics through other mediums like television, the internet, and maybe even life experiences. Sure, they may not fully understand those themes, but keeping them from books with such topics are only oppressing teenagers from the opportunity to grasp that understanding. Books are a natural teaching tool. Why not utilize them for the purpose of which they were created? One can learn an infinite amount of knowledge from a book, and every time someone bans a book, that amount of potential learning greatly decreases. Books often teach people to do something a certain way, but they can also teach how to not do something. Many literary works use examples of evil to teach good. Don't ban people from reading something because you think they'll only understand the bad from it. Just because an eight year old reads Harry Potter, doesn't mean they'll try to turn into a wizard and practice dark magic. Just because a seventeen year old reads The Perks of Being a Wallflower, doesn't mean they'll start doing drugs and smoking. And just because anyone reads Of Mice and Men, does not mean they'll start using racial slurs. More often than not, they will learn incredible morals and lessons from stories like these. People can be trusted with learning from books. Do not deny them the opportunity.

Also, by banning and challenging books, those who don't get the chance to read them will often misinterpret the message of the topics being written about. Keeping people from reading books about drugs or alcohol lead people to ignore such themes. Alcoholism and substance abuse are both serious problems that everyone needs to understand and treat maturely. By not reading books with these themes, people don't apprehend the severity of alcohol or drugs and can be blind to the effects. They perceive it much better than it actually is. However, this is the opposite when it comes to sexuality. A lot of books are banned and challenged due to explicit sexual content in the story. It's understandable that some minds aren't ready for that kind of material. But it can teach the minds who are ready that topics surrounding sexuality aren't okay. If books with LGBT content are banned, wouldn't that teach kids that those sexual orientations aren't acceptable? People are supposed to teach and preach equality, correct? It's the same with normal sexuality. Obviously, it's a normal process, but through the act of banning books with sex in them, it acquires a negative connotation and becomes incorrectly perceived. It's true that sexuality should be dealt with in the most mature and smartest manners, but it shouldn't be avoided and looked down upon. Understand that even though these topics are touchy and edgy, they won't just disappear if you avoid them. So learn how to accept them, and treat them correctly.

Banning and challenging works of absolute art won't do anything good. It will simply leave confusion and ignorance. Please learn how to trust people to read books. They can read and agree, or disagree, with whatever book they want.


"Yes, thank you for allowing me to read what I want. That's really kind of you!"


This should be the response to the day when all books are allowed. That'll be the day.

http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics/reasons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_commonly_challenged_books_in_the_United_States

The Day of Introduction

Welcome to Those Thunderstruck Thoughts, composed by me, Carly Rodriguez. Here you will find weekly posts from my AP Language class. Hopefully they will be thought enticing, interesting-to-read entries. If not, sorry about that.
A little bit about me? Sure. 15, female, incredibly odd. That's me, folks. I enjoy guitar, apples, fun shoes, Doctor Who, reading, alternative music, ice cream, the color grey, sleeping, Sherlock, and loads of other things. You'll probably learn a lot about me from these posts so I'll just stop here. Enjoy!