We’ll start with something that you most likely know: many parents/guardians say that you can get bad influence from bad things. Sometimes that’s true, and sometimes that’s not. So, should we put down a good book because we might get “bad influence” from bad things in it, such as cuss words? Here are three reasons why I don’t think you should.
First, adults might think that since you aren’t saying these dirty words (I know you aren’t) means you don’t know any of these bad words, so keeping you from reading them will stop you from knowing them forever. That is a nice thought, but not a very likely one. You are probably going to get introduced to cuss words at some point—perhaps even through saying these words to you (I hope not though). However, most of the time, you just stumble upon them or something happens. So really, the reason you aren’t cursing up a storm is because you know the bad words and you know they are bad. Reading them doesn’t mean that all of a sudden, you’re going to say them after years of not using this filthy language.
Also, we know the difference between reality and what happens in a book. For instance, if you read about Superman flapping his hands and flying, you won’t go to the top of a skyscraper, shout “SUPERMAN!!” and then jump of flapping your own useless “wings”. This will not be good. At all. The same thing is true with cuss words. If someone in a book curses, that doesn’t mean we are going to say those words, just like how we’re not going to jump out of a skyscraper.
Last, even if a book has cussing in it, doesn’t necessarily make it a bad book. This reasoning is based on a book I am reading right now, The Power of One. The book has a lot of swear words in it. But that doesn’t stop it from being an award-winning book. It doesn’t stop it from being a really good book. It doesn’t stop from being anything. A good book is a good book no matter what it contains.
I think that adults should trust their children to not get bad influence from books, just like how my parents trusted me to read more freely.
First, adults might think that since you aren’t saying these dirty words (I know you aren’t) means you don’t know any of these bad words, so keeping you from reading them will stop you from knowing them forever. That is a nice thought, but not a very likely one. You are probably going to get introduced to cuss words at some point—perhaps even through saying these words to you (I hope not though). However, most of the time, you just stumble upon them or something happens. So really, the reason you aren’t cursing up a storm is because you know the bad words and you know they are bad. Reading them doesn’t mean that all of a sudden, you’re going to say them after years of not using this filthy language.
Also, we know the difference between reality and what happens in a book. For instance, if you read about Superman flapping his hands and flying, you won’t go to the top of a skyscraper, shout “SUPERMAN!!” and then jump of flapping your own useless “wings”. This will not be good. At all. The same thing is true with cuss words. If someone in a book curses, that doesn’t mean we are going to say those words, just like how we’re not going to jump out of a skyscraper.
Last, even if a book has cussing in it, doesn’t necessarily make it a bad book. This reasoning is based on a book I am reading right now, The Power of One. The book has a lot of swear words in it. But that doesn’t stop it from being an award-winning book. It doesn’t stop it from being a really good book. It doesn’t stop from being anything. A good book is a good book no matter what it contains.
I think that adults should trust their children to not get bad influence from books, just like how my parents trusted me to read more freely.
