Censorship Is An Issue That Affects Us On A Global Scale

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 word censorship is from the Latin word root of censere, which means to give an opinion or expression to be judged upon. Censorship is the restriction of certain material, and due to its expression it is seen offensive to someone else. The origin of expression of censorship can be tracked back to the Roman Empire when Roman officials assessed the conduct and attitudes of other Roman citizens. The Roman government viewed that in order to have a strong government, the behavior and conduct of the peopled had to be changed according to what they thought was correct. Censorship continued to be a controversy over time. It remained a controversy over time, through many empires, the age of Enlightenment, World War II, and even today. As censorship progressed through the ages it still continues today. Today, censorship occurs at schools. It occurs in libraries, classrooms, and even in student publications. Even though censorship can occur to a certain extent at schools, students’ First Amendment rights are still protected at school. The First Amendment protects freedom of expression, speech, press, religion, and assembly. Students are allowed to express themselves freely at school as long as they do not affect the education and as long as it is not an activity supported by the school system.

Censorship has happened everywhere and happens everyday especially inside schools. In city schools there have been conflicts over what students should or should not learn. Censors decide that they should protect students from materials and activities that are upsetting and issue the wrong ideas. These ideas are said to "weaken parental authority, challenge students political moral, or religious views, or brainwash them into other ways of thinking (Sherrow10)." By protecting them they mean targeting academics. Courses that deal with drug prevention, sex education, development of character, or clarification of

Censorship is a problem that has popped up throughout the world. “Censorship takes place anytime a book is removed from its intended audience” (Whelan). The banning and censoring of books puts a pall on the eyes of children and adults alike. Many novels have been banned and challenged, dredging up controversies that now plague the entire world. Carrie by Stephen King is a novel that was challenged by schools and libraries.

Censorship has happened everywhere and happens everyday especially inside schools. In city schools there have been conflicts over what students should or should not learn. Censors decide that they should protect students from materials and activities that are upsetting and issue the wrong ideas. These ideas are said to "weaken parental authority; challenge students political moral, or religious views; or brainwash them into other ways of thinking (Sherrow10)." By protecting them they mean targeting academics. Courses that deal with drug prevention, sex education, development of character, or

“The Coalition against Censorship”, they state that censorship can be a crucial thing against teachers because it will limit teachers and leave them vulnerable from answering questions and responses. Teachers have academic freedom, or the freedom of teaching, researching, and to pursue knowledge (The Coalition against Censorship). Children are also affected by different First Amendment Rights in

It is better to look confident than to ask questions in this modern society. However, it is fear and uncertainty that lead mankind down dark paths. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said in Whitney v. California “…Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears” (Cornell Law School). The content of the books in Pico was morally unacceptable to a group of concerned parents, as they were afraid of the writers’ influence on their children. The question of morality policing by schools is seen in other banned book instances, as well. In fact, take Dr. Seuss’ classic The Lorax, a children’s book about conservation, or the 1987 American Heritage dictionary, which was banned for its addition of slang words (The Week). The question is where the line is drawn between what is acceptable and what is not, and who is granted the authority to decide? Are different cultural liaisons consulted? Are the religious and atheist asked their opinions or is it up to the agnostic to decide? Not only this but are educators made to be the primary compass in the moral lives of their students? Can they actually force their views and opinions on their pupils? What would be the result when the inevitable happens and a child’s family has a different view on what is acceptable than that of the superintendent of the school district? Censorship can only lead to bigger questions and grave concerns. Primarily, why is one philosophy towards life morally acceptable when another is not? Beyond this, how can adults answer questions children might have in relation to things about which they know nothing? Is it that unbelievable that a child would ask another child their questions and file their peers’ responses away in their mental filing cabinets? As society has seen through every generation, this absolutely happens. Taking

Kristol (I 972) claims that "very few words of real merit ever were suppressed" (p. 649). This is a difficult statement- to agree with because among the literary giants that have been repeatedly censored are Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl, and John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn has been frequently attacked on the basis of racial prejudice. J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, the coming-of-age novel loaded with profanity, leads all of these as far as censorship votes are concerned (Donelson, 1997). ) While these and hundreds of other books continue to show up on ban lists in libraries across the country, activists like Kristol (1972) have asserted that "in the U.S., censorship has to all intents and purposes ceased to exist" (p.645).

Censorship dates all the way back to 443 BC in ancient Rome with the Office of Censor. In that time this was an office of great repute, the Office of Censor was charged with the shaping of the character of the people. Thus it was considered to be an honorable task, since then the connotation of the word and such an office has changed greatly. Today censorship is the practice of officially examining books, movies, etc. and suppressing “unacceptable parts” based on whoever is defining “unacceptable.” Unacceptable has been considered to be a wide range of concepts from ideas to sexually explicit content. Historically in the USSR most leaders used censorship in every form as a means of suppressing whatever or whoever was perceived as a

Censorship is "the removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic or educational materials ... on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise objectionable in light of the standards applied by the censor. Challenges to school materials have started to become a more prevalent and common occurrence in society especially in public schools. Public schools usually address censorship issues by taking one or more routes: imposing a list of acceptable literary works on all teachers, providing guidelines for the school district, or giving full authority to teachers to choose appropriate reading material and relying on their discretion. Advocates for censorship in school often target material that discusses race, sexuality, religion, and ethnicity

The students of this country are expected to follow the rules and regulations that their schools impose, and whether or not they are fair is constantly challenged. In a perfect world, everyone would be content under the same guidelines, regardless of how restrictive they may be. However, this is not a perfect world and finding a universal agreement among everyone is virtually impossible. Throughout history, those who have disagreed with actions made by authoritative figures have found a way to protest said actions. From the Cambodian protests in Kent State to the Tiananmen Square protests, students have been very vocal about what they are against and refuse to be censored by their schools or their government. Attempting to do so, however, could lead to retribution from authorities. Censoring students and their voices affects the students by almost trying to instill fear and demoting contest from them can result in various scenarios, both good and bad.

Censorship may be protection from inappropriate materials, but it also limits free speech. For the limitation of free speech, it is reasonable why people are emphatically against censorship. It is understood that there is a need to filter some of the materials released in today’s society, but too much is being done by people who have no right meddling with everyone’s rights. Civilization has always been plagued by a never ending battle being fought over what is deemed right and wrong. In today’s culture, censorship oppresses everything in the media. From movies and music to television and even news stories, most of the content viewed today has been filtered one way or another. Restrictions have been in place since early societies have been

As educators, we must encourage students to express their own opinions while respecting the views of others.”

Censorship takes many forms in our society today. First it takes the form of political correctness. The purpose

Another very good example of a good use of censorship is a parent raising his/her children. Children who are raised with parents who only speak of abhorrence and hate, will eventually become young people who only tolerate abhorrence and hate. The guardians of children need pay attention to the world around their children thus committing the act of censorship.