“Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me.”
― Judy Blume, bestselling children’s author

Book banning is back in vogue. I don’t care which politics people adhere to or whether or not they have children, but I am not fond of book banning.

Years ago, every six weeks when my children received report cards, I took them to the bookstore where they were allowed to buy whatever book they wished. I did not care if it was age appropriate. I did not care if it had a warning on the cover. I did not care if the person at the register looked sideways at me for allowing my children to read something that might lean too adult.

Why? Because the rule was whatever book my sons purchased,  I would be reading it, too, and they had to be willing to discuss it with me.

I want the liberty to read anything. I want the liberty to try and understand why other people think differently. I want to read about worlds I probably won’t enter, or read about the ones I may be faced with some day.

I want my thoughts untethered and open to breathe. And I wanted my children to learn about the differences, the greatness, the negatives, the bigotry, and the oddities of life while they lived at home, where discussion could be had. I wanted my children to learn how to research, weigh information, and think for themselves. I let them know I respected them for the effort.

Finally, I wanted my children to grow up and venture into the world equipped to analyze anything.