Arguments Against Censorship Essay

Protecting the Innocent: An essay on Censorship
What would happen if anyone in the world could obtain access to potentially dangerous information? Should this “potentially dangerous” information be concealed? Throughout history, many people have argued over whether certain material and information should be kept confidential and the verdict remains unsolved to this day. Although it is widely disputed, censorship is vital because it protects children, reduces unnecessary awareness, and protects the military.
The first reason censorship is important is because it protects the nation’s children. In an online sourcebook, James Fieser mentions the fact that censorship protects children. He says,” Censorship shelters children from ideas that may

First, some believe that that censorship violates Americans’ first amendment right. The first amendment, located in the Bill of Rights, gives United States citizens gives the freedom of religion, assembly, press, petition, and most relevant, speech. Some argue that censorship violates this right. This is untrue. In a 1972 court cased titled Miller v California, Miller was convicted for campaigning and distributing obscene materials. The court case was over whether or not charging him for this was unconstitutional. In the end, “the Court held that obscene materials did not enjoy First Amendment protection” (Miller v California). This shows that certain types of censorship do not violate U.S. citizens’ first amendment right. Next, some people believe that censorship grants the government too much power. In an article on the Washington Times, Tony Blankley recalls the events of September 11th, 2001 and then writes, “Aside from establishing a regime for handling captured foreign terrorists, the curtailments largely consisted of common-sense enhancements in the power of intelligence agencies to monitor terrorism suspects and access their personal record” (Blankley). Here, Blankley is saying that it is important for the government to step in and have control at certain times. This expresses the statement that censorship does not give the government too much power and that it is not a negative thing, which advances the proposal that censorship should exist. Lastly, one may argue that censorship takes away opportunities for certain knowledge. This can be countered by the fact that according to surveys, many people support censorship despite this (Rodriguez). These surveys convey the fact that many people continue to support censorship despite the fact that some believe censorship takes away opportunities for knowledge. These things are all significant because they further prove that censorship is