Imagine for a moment a world where censorship reigned supreme in the schools of the USA. Where knowing both sides of an argument was against the law. Where in schools instead of teaching all the darker and more academic intriguing topics all they taught was the highlights of the greats. In this world, everyone was taught every figure in history was either absolutely good or evil, without any ability to question it. Instead of teaching the strangers of the oppressed all they covered was the triumphs and victories of the rich and important. Except not even all the important figures, only the ones that the government felt was worthy of being taught. Now think how in such an oppressive world how is one ever to be considered an individual? Censorship …show more content…
This content could be almost anything imaginable from books, to movies, to technology, and to violence. As said by the American Library Association in the article “Censorship in Schools” on the harmful effects of censorship, “By suppressing all materials containing ideas or themes with which they do not agree, censors produce a sterile conformity and a lack of intellectual and emotional growth in students.”(Censorship in the Schools). By suppressing materials the censors is able to hide or even warp the original content to their desires. As well, the content can be more than just physical or electronic but can be emotional in addition. In the article “Introduction: Self-Policing and Self-Censorship” the author, S. Mintcheva, covers when museum hired a street artist to do a memorial inside, however due to the art being qualified as offensive, by an official, it was shortly removed, even with a plentiful supply of complaint about it being removed(Mintcheva). The removal of an artistic work from an inside wall because an official deemed that it may be offensive to some groups is unnecessarily hiding and restrict the art from people who might enjoy its commentary it situation. In the modern world, people who have been given the power to censor have and are using it to hide and removal content they personally do not approve …show more content…
The Government can control or at least influence most of the information the average American receives. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury the character of Captain Beatty, who is a government official, states it following, “‘What traitors books can be! You think they're backing you up, and they turn on you.’”(Bradbury 104). In this example Beatty is trying to convince Montag, the main character, that book are evil and should be burned. However, with no evidence all what he is doing is trying to enforce the government's stance on books. In the article “Pros and Cons of Censorship” by Pillai, Prabhakar they states that censorship stops enemy countries from the most advanced technology(Pillai). Except if the government is keeping technology from the common person how are they supposed to know when the enemy has it? To them it seems that it is a new technology the US is not ready for causing panic in the population. With the US government hiding and covering up the information they do not want population to have the knowledge and free will of every citizen is at
US linked to new wave of censorship, surveillance on web”. The article states the benefits of censorship in a free society, although there are both benefits and dangers of censorship in a free society. Fahrenheit 451 responds to censorship in every detailed page of the book.
Censorship, as defined in the dictionary, is, in the case of a book, to take out things thought to be objectionable. Censorship is far more than that. This mere word prohibits us from all things
Censorship is “the restriction or removal of information, or the prevention of free expression” (Taylor 8). There are many things that can be censored such as books, movies, TV shows, newspapers, and the way people dress. People censor things for a number of reasons- they do not agree with it, find it offensive, or think that it is just inappropriate in general. Different people consider different things inappropriate, so the content of what is censored varies. Anyone can censor, including parents, teachers, school officials, and board members (Taylor 8-10) Many things are censored in schools and places where children are present because parents do not want their kids to be exposed to inappropriate content (Taylor 10). Students are entitled to their First Amendment rights just as much as adults are, but schools still censor things like newspapers, books, and clothing.
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."
According to “Freedom of Speech” by Gerald Leinwand, Abraham Lincoln once asked, “Must a government, of necessity, be too strong for the liberties of its people, or too weak to maintain its own existence (7)?” This question is particularly appropriate when considering what is perhaps the most sacred of all our Constitutionally guaranteed rights, freedom of expression. Lincoln knew well the potential dangers of expression, having steered the Union through the bitterly divisive Civil War, but he held the Constitution dear enough to protect its promises whenever possible (8).
The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) defines censorship as: “The removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic, or educational materials… of images, ideas, and information…on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise objectionable in light of standards applied by the censor” (Miner 1998). In schools there are three types of censorship, one type is a “parent who doesn’t want their child to read a particular book. Another is a parent, teacher, administrator, or school board member who argues that no one in the class, or school should read the book in dispute. Lastly, there is censorship that involves someone who is part of an organized campaign, whether of a local or national group, and who goes in ready for a fight and wants to make a broader political point” (Miner 1998). Although there are many others ways that a piece of literature could get censored, most censored works are asked to be removed from classrooms and school libraries.
This article emphasizes the point that censors go too far when they attempt to not only ban a book for their own children but want to remove it altogether from a school library, so that other students cannot read it.
Censorship has been a factor in the lives of humans since long ago in the times of the ancients, however, its prominence increased during the Middle Ages when literature became more common. Take censorship of books, for example, which has been relevant since the time after the persecution of the church, when it banned books about and/or including superstitions or opposition towards them, such as the condemnation of Thalia by Arius, a novel which portrayed “a literal, rationalist approach to the New Testament texts” (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/589822/Thalia), when “The First Ecumenical Council of Nicæa (325) condemned, not only Arius personally, but also his book... …The Emperor Constantine commanded that the writings of Arius and his friends should be burned and that concealing them was a capital crime, punishable by death.” (Rick Russell Former editor of AB Bookman's Weekly.) We look back on this as monstrous and wretched to deny someone their opinions and hide away the history from the public simply because it was in the favor of any particular group or sect. However, when we use censorship as a way for parents and teachers of children to regulate the reading material that we allow them to associate with, it’s suddenly justified and correct. Those censoring the books obviously think so. They hold the belief that they are protecting their youth from violence, harsh language, and crude humor. Parents and teachers around the nation censor The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain for similar reasons, but they continue to overlook the bigger picture. This title teaches the history of our nation, important life lessons, and the responsibilities of maturity and of growing up.
A child’s learning process initiates the minute they enter the world. Beginning as early as the first seconds, a child learns through observation, identifying, processing and analyzing the details of the surrounding environment. They carefully watch and listen, slowly piecing together every image, sound and interaction. These pieces then serve as clues, defining socially accepted and expected behavior. Children process basic human relationships and the world around them not only through first person experience, but also through modern cultural occurrences such as television, internet and literature. It is crucial for young children to witness both the positive, as well as the negative aspects of society, so they can form ideas and opinions which will guide them as adults. A scholastic education provides an outlet for children to explore, test and reject or accept these thoughts. As parents paranoia rises, in hopes of protecting their children’s innocence in a mature world, many schools, public and private, have begun to censor student’s literature selection, internet usage and free speech in student publications. However, by censoring scholastic literature and internet exploration, as well as student’s ability to publish their personal thoughts, schools are restricting student’s social and mental abilities during the most influential and impressionable stage of their development.
The most debatable and controversial form of censorship today is the banning of books in school libraries. Banning books that educate students is wrong and selfish. Censorship of books in school libraries is neither uncommon nor an issue of the past. Books with artistic and cultural worth are still challenged constantly by those who want to control what others read. The roots of bigotry and illiteracy that fuel efforts to censor books and free expression are unacceptable and unconditional. Censoring school books in libraries can often lead to censorship of our basic freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment. In some cases, a minority ends up dictating the majority in censorship cases. To be told what is permissible reading material and what is not is a direct violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Every human possesses some guaranteed basic freedoms and rights, whether it is the freedom of speech, or the freedom to express themselves. However, the government seems to be increasingly determined to limit these freedoms using censorship to confine these rights that we usually take for granted. The most important facet of media in general is that it allows people to express themselves freely. In fact, this freedom of expression that music allows us is one of the primary reasons why it exists. Sadly, many of the current artists have forgotten that, but nonetheless, censorship seems to always be there to limit the expression of those who choose to place deeper messages in their songs. Tackling censorship is much more important than it appears to be at the surface; to take down censorship would help preserve the expression of thought. It would help preserve the right to listen to the unaltered forms of everything. Most importantly, it would help preserve the rapidly weakening basic right of speech.
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 allows governments more control of society than they already have, slowly progressing governments utilizing censorship to a dictatorship. Often times, this censorship can lead to immense rebellions.
Kieran, M. (2008, January 28). Art, censorship and morality. Open Learn, the Open University. Retrieved January 5, 2014 from http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/philosophy/art-censorship-and-morality
Ever wondered the reason behind racial discrimination, sexual discrimination, children committing crime or violence? The main reason is that censorship is not properly imposed or there is a need of censorship in the society. Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain people, individual, groups or government officials find it objectionable, offensive or dangerous on others. There are varieties of other definitions but all have in common the concept of withholding information and/or resources from those who seek it. Hence censorship is essential in society to eliminate discrimination on basis of race and sex, protect children, maintain stability and restore what censor sees as lost moral values. Censorship occurs when expressive materials like books, magazines, movies, videos, music or work of art are restricted to particular audiences based on their age or other characteristics. (http://www.ala.org/oif/intellectualfreedeomandcensorship.html)
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.