Censorship In America

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states that Congress shall make no law “abridging the freedom of speech” U.S. Const. amend. I. A party may be liable

     Since this country was founded, we have had a set of unalienable rights that our constitution guarantees us to as Americans. One of the most important rights that is mentioned in our constitution is the right to free speech. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the

Freedom of speech has been a controversial issue throughout the world. Our ability to say whatever we want is very important to us as individuals and communities. Although freedom of speech and expression may sometimes be offensive to other people, it is still everyone’s right to express his/her opinion under the American constitution which states that “congress shall make no law

American citizens, provided that they do not insight some form of disturbance or riot (see Chaplinski vs.

Censorship has evolved over time in America, from TV, books, and even the internet. America has prohibited specific things from citizen’s beliefs. The role that censorship plays in America is taken from personal beliefs, such as voting for certain things to be banned from books, TV, internet, and articles. This allows and denies things that are used for public use, due to personal preferences on things that are appropriate and inappropriate for public users.

Censorship on television in the United States has been an issue ever since the television was invented. The public holds a variety of stances on the topic, and no matter what law is ever passed regarding censorship, it will never suit the needs of everyone. Some believe that censorship violates individual rights in the law, and others believe that censorship should be available through members in the family, not the government. On the other hand, some people strive to maintain government regulation of censorship. Television censorship is significant because it holds the future of our country. If channels continue to be censored, our rights will be violated. If not, then the future generations may change

Censorship within the United States is not only an immoral and "big-brotherly" practice, but also an insult to each and every one of those who call themselves US citizens. Every day, censors attempt to sanitize TV, radio, music, print, and even the Internet. In their infinite wisdom, they deem what should and should not be viewed by John Q. Public. Censors succeed in suppressing our free spirits and restraining our thoughts in virtually every medium.

The history of the world has undoubtedly been dominated by an endless struggle for power. However, after a brief glimpse into the pages of history it should not take long to realize that the trick to maintaining power lies in the control of information. Even the most fearsome military generals of the past acknowledge the power of the mind and ideas over lethal force. Former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin once said “… [Ideas] are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, then why should we let them have ideas.” Stalin’s quote personifies the main concept of this literature review which will be discussing the history of government censorship and its effects that are

The media could be determined a tremendous and powerful weapon. If used properly, it can provide society with great benefits, but if used in negative ways, it can destroy. In a modern world where information can spread as fast as wildfires, a reason to monitor or limit types of media appear rational, but along with that, irrational cases still exist. This argument has circled in the United States for a while and a decision needs to be made. Parents and citizens around the United States think concerningly about what our eyes witness on the news, in stores, on billboards, etc. When the government determines what appears in the media, it not only belittles citizens, but it denies the First Amendment, which states the basic rights of an American. Censorship of the media, as displayed in 1984, clearly exhibits the violation of the First Amendment, rightfully given to the citizens of the United States, by the founding fathers of this country.

The First Amendment of The Constitution which supports freedom of speech and the Fifth Amendment of the constitution.

Imagine a scenario where Kanye West is in his Los Angeles home with his wife and daughter and the police knock on his door. They arrest him based on exposing the American population to vulgarity, indecency, racist and sexist comments that offend many people. The government does not want America to be subjected to this type of music and turn the American culture into something more bigoted than it already is. However, a situation like this would never occur in the present day American society. That does not mean it could not happen in the future. Many American citizens are promoting censorship to an extreme that it could possibly become a reality. The American citizens claim that censorship is needed to shelter America’s citizens, but

In what ways has censorship played a role in changing the conceptions of the American Dream? First let’s start by clarifying what the American Dream actually is. Deepening the American Dream is a “project that engenders a rediscovered sense of community in our society and empowers our capacities to receive and relate to those we think of as other” (fetzer.org). Censorship has played way too many roles in messing with the way people think. One way is through the media. Censorship in the media is a big deal. The government only tries to get us to see what they want us to see. They really don’t want us to know the truth or reality, so they give us the half-truth or a version they think would make better sense to us.

Censorship is definitely a thing in a lot of parts of America; however, it’s not all bad censorship. For example, anti-abortion groups protest at public and private colleges using large, noticeable, graphic signs which most either ignore or attempt to take them down by force, which, although it sounds like illegal censorship, is legal because the 1st amendment does not protect provocative speech. In the video, a private college was shown which limited certain groups’ flyers and posters to one corner of the whole campus; they are completely within their rights to do that because they do not receive state funding so the first amendment does not apply to them. Finally, when Charlie Hebdo was attacked, a writer held a “Draw Muhammed” contest in Dallas which led to a shooting and her disappearance. Many people believe the things they do can not be censored because they are protected by the first amendment, but they are not because they are either provoking, the place they are at is not state funded, and people they are intentionally offending are not going to leave them alone.

I think one major social problem is the culture of censorship that has been seen in the most youth today (trying to keep the free speech theme). We've seen time and time groups that are almost entirely youth, like the new Antifa movement, who are violently against freedom of speech (even though they call themselves anarchists, which is a bit hyperbolic, since you need a state to enforce banned speech). A poll conducted by pew research found that 40% of millennials are okay with some level of censorship of speech, that's the highest of any other generational bracket (pew asked millennials, Gen X, baby boomers, and silents), in fact, the poll revealed that the farther down you went the generational line, the more that generation supported speech

Censorship has existed for longer than we could ever imagine. One of the first acts of state sponsored censorship occurred in 399 B.C. when Socrates, was executed for the “supposed common good of the people” (Guarding Public Morality, 2010, p.1). Socrates was a teacher and a philosopher in ancient Greece. His teaching methods were controversial for the time, and he was charged with corrupting the youth and drawing them away from the Greek religion. As a result of his actions, Socrates was sentenced to death by drinking a poisonous liquid containing hemlock (Guarding Public Morality, 2010, p. 1).