On a rainy morning in Detroit, Michigan, a twenty-something year old man by the name of Marshall Mathers awakes to hear a pounding on his front door. After muttering a few obscene phrases, he rolls out of bed and stumbles to his front door. However, instead of facing another autograph seeker, the rapper best known by his alias Eminem (or the real Slim Shady) is face to face with two police officers. “Mr. Mathers,” one says, “we’re here to serve you with an arrest warrant. You have subjected much of America’s population to obscenity, homophobic comments, sexism, and racism, and frankly, it offends many people. We don’t want culture to face your type of commentary any more. You have the right to remain silent…” Needless to say, this scenario would never occur in the American democracy of the present. However, many in America today are advocating censorship to such an extreme that someday events such as this may become a reality. And, though time and time again court cases have ruled against censorship, many continue to fight to limit free speech in America. However, in restraining what the constitution guarantees, there is much at stake. Although many argue that censorship is necessary to protect America’s citizens, it violates one’s freedom of speech found in the First Amendment and should therefore not be practiced.
Granted, there are many reasons for advocating censorship that could be justified. Much material that is available in magazines, at the movie theater, and on the internet is considered by many to be extremely offensive. For example, the rock band Rage Against the Machine at times seems to glorify violence. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the Columbine High School gunmen, were fond of this band, and some of Rage Against the Machine’s lyrics have been assumed to have inspired the boys’ violent act. In many cases, evil can be advocated in forms of speech, causing many to believe that in order to prevent wrong from prevailing, censorship must be practiced with a fervor. In his essay “Censorship Can Be Beneficial,” Thomas Stork says, “Now if we can identify certain evils, and if advocacy of those evils seems likely to encourage people to commit them, then why should we not take the next and logical step and prohibit such advocacy… Must the authorities be helpless to restrain the source of the evil?” (20) This statement is a logical one, for one of the American government’s greatest concerns is protecting its citizens from violent acts.
Censorship is a great temptation, particularly when we see something that offends or frightens us. At such times, our best defense is to remember what J. M. Coetzee writes in Giving Offense: Essays on Censorship. "By their very nature, censors wound their own vision when they restrict what others can see. The one who pronounces the ban ... becomes, in effect, the blind one, the one at the center of the ring in the game of blind man's bluff."
Freedom of speech and expression is one of the most important rights that we have in this country. Our forefathers knew this and acknowledged this in our great constitution which protects our rights as citizens in America. Censorship is a complete contradiction to this concept that has helped make America the greatest country in the world. If we do not stand up for our rights for free speech, someday it may be taken away all together. Everyday there are people out there trying to ban and censor things from Americans, things that as an American you have the right to view. Censorship must be stopped at all costs.
“Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear." -- Harry S Truman
Many people believe the most precious constitutional right is the first amendment. People may censor due to content that is considered to be too violent, or obscene, or even the language may be too vulgar. There are many reasons given for censorship in a classroom or library, a book or other learning resource may be restricted or banned because it includes social, political, or religious views believed to be “inappropriate or “threatening.” In the classroom or in the schools, the teachers or the administrators are the determining factor on what’s appropriate. In a community there are other certain people that look over textbooks, movies, and other published sources. On a federal or higher level sometimes it’s the legislators. The basic right to freedom of expression in the United States is protected by the First Amendment to the constitution. In 1791, the bill of rights was the base of basic rights for citizens 4 years after signing of the constitution. There was controversy over to include the Bill of Rights when the United States was founded. One of the rights the Bill of Rights protects is freedom of spee...
Censorship has been a big part of the world’s history and especially America’s history. One of the most quoted amendments to the United States constitution is the first amendment; “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ...” This amendment guaranteeing free speech, press, and religion is still heavily debated and contested today. Censorship, as a challenge to free speech and press has been allowed many times and has been heavily debated itself. Many people censor for many different reasons and in many different forms. Censorship itself is not always a bad thing and has in some cases been used for protection of the general population.
To truly understand the concept of censorship, it is important to thoroughly comprehend how and why it exists to begin with. First of all, according to “Definitions of Censorship” by PBS, the American Library Association states, “Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain persons—individuals, groups or government officials—find objectionable or dangerous.”(PBS) Corresponding to that quote, when things are censored, a person or groups of people make decisions as to what the public need to be exposed to. Their decisions only represent a small portion of the population. In other words, one controls what the public does and does not know and limits their knowledge.
these scenes out to allow that age group to see it, it should be left
The subject of censorship is a very controversial one, especially the banning of books. Many people believe they must protect themselves and others from the "evils" of many classic books and works of art because they can be deemed "indecent" in one way or another. Many believe that this is absurd and censorship in its current form is a violation of our First Amendment right to free speech. Personally, I align myself with the latter, however I do feel there are occasions where censorship is justifiable.
Creating a safe space is more important for some rather than others. In “The Hell You Say” by Kelefa Sanneh for The New Yorker, he provides an interesting look at the views of Americans who support censorship of speech and those who are completely against it. Another issue I gathered from his article was that people use their right to free speech in wrong ways and end up harassing people. Providing two sides of a controversial debate, his article makes us think of which side we are on. So, whether or not censorship should be enforced; and how the argument for free speech is not always for the right reason, Sanneh explores this with us.
Censorship is detrimental to society. People can’t learn from their mistakes if we hide them. People can’t decide the best option if we say there are no options. People can’t understand each other if they don’t know what anyone is thinking. People can’t mature when they are “protected” from mean words. People can’t be themselves when they are being censored.
Censorship has been used by governments and influential groups throughout history as a tool for political and economic gain since ancient times. The Romans thought censorship was necessary to shape the morals of society to match up with government ideals. During the 1500's the Catholic Church banned certain texts that conflicted with the established religion from being read. In these times the idea of censorship was viewed differently that it is today. With powerful organizations limiting information it was often impossible for an average person to obtain literature or hear ideas that vary from state ideals, they probably didn't even know that their information was being censored. We live in a different age today, information is more readily available and censorship is often looked at as a negative practice that limits freedoms. That said, it still exists today and can be viewed as an obstacle to true democracy.
Censorship according to the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press can be defined as, “To remove anything offensive from books, films, etc., or to remove parts considered unsuitable from private letters, especially ones sent during war or from a prison”(Cambridge Dictionary). Censorship in the news and in the media takes many forms in todays fast paced world. Even with the slightly leak in information or even misleading information could cause todays world to be turned on its head and can cause people to interpret the issue in many ways which could have numerous implications. This is why such information is filtered by some governments around the world before it is aired or printed. There are countless arguments as to why or why not information should be censored as each individual is entitled to their own opinion. Censorship impacts people ability to choose freely as it is controls ideas and thoughts and thus influences their freedom of expression or their to express their views on issues, ideologies or even practice their faith.
Since the foundation of the United States after a harsh split from Britain, almost 200 years later, an issue that could claim the founding grounds for the country is now being challenged by educators, high-ranking officials, and other countries. Though it is being challenged, many libertarians, democrats, and free-speech thinkers hold the claim that censorship violates our so-called unalienable rights, as it has been proven throughout many court cases. Censorship in the United States is detrimental because it has drastically and negatively altered many significant events.
Censorship affects our society in many different ways, it affects the music we listen to, the movies we watch, the books we read, and many other aspects of our everyday lives. Even though many might argue that censorship doesn't really have a place in a society that emphases freedom of speech and the freedom to express oneself, but censorship is an essential and needed part of our growing society, it's needed in the television industry, the Internet, and the music industry. Censorship helps to make our world a better place because it creates a better environment for us to live in.
As new technologies evolve and become a part of our daily lives, so do television shows and what people are allowed to view on a regular basis. Censorship, a word that seems to be causing quite some controversy over certain people may not be such a bad idea. As America has seen, a countless amount of people have been known to complain about censorship on television. Although this seems to be a problem to some, maybe the real question to be asked is, is there enough censorship of television? Many families agree that certain rated R movies should not be shown to young children and only certain shows