Censorship, Necessary or Not Essay

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).

“A word to the unwise. Torch every book. Char every page. Burn every word to ash. Ideas are incombustible. And therein lies your real fear.” Ellen Hopkins. The government in this society is burning all of the knowledge. The books may be burnt but ideas and your imagination are unretrievable, that can be passed down through generations. The government has the real fear. Censorship is bad and takes away from your imagination and creativity.

There has recently been a renewed interest and passion in the issue of censorship. In the realm of the censorship of books in schools alone, several hundred cases have surfaced each year for nearly the past decade. Controversies over which books to include in the high school English curriculum present a clash of values between teachers, school systems, and parents over what is appropriate for and meaningful to students. It is important to strike a balance between English that is meaningful to students by relating to their lives and representing diversity and satisfying worries about the appropriateness of what is read. This burden often falls on teachers. The purpose of this research paper is to discuss

Book censorship today in America isn’t quite as drastic as that, but still is reflecting the same concepts. I remember in junior high school when we would have banned book week. This was where the school celebrated having the right to read censored and banned books. Written word is one of the most important aspects of free speech. In no circumstance whatsoever, should any piece of writing be censored. Writing thoughts and ideas and whatever else comes into someone’s mind has been a practice of humans ever since historians know that man existed. Telling people what they can and cannot read is an invasion of not only the reader’s rights, but the author’s as well. If someone doesn’t like what an author of a piece of literature has to say then that person has a right not to read it, or better yet form their own opinion and write about that. Book banning is and ungodly practice and the people of this world should learn from the mistakes of the past and not allow the censorship of written material. The only opposition that I can find to the censorship of books would be taking the same mindset on the topic as the Nazis did when they burned all of the Jew’s books. Trying to wipe out an entire race or group of people’s ideas and beliefs should never be done anywhere for any reason.

Censorship is defined by Caso as the suppression of speech or any other public communication which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive politically incorrect as determined by the government or any other control body (3). Censorship may be justified from the conservative view whereby the free speech can be maltreated where it undermines the customary principles and communal solidity as withheld by a particular community.

In the early 21st century there are many issues that arise within societies. Whether the issues are based on freedoms, rights, or power of government. The way we handle these situations is to look at the US Constitution for guidance as the country tries to figure out a solution. One issue that has been in the mainstream as of late, is freedom of speech, which is the First Amendment in the US Constitution. The controversy surrounding the first amendment comes from whether it should be instituted on college campuses or censored by professors and administrators. Ancient philosophers have written about similar issues surrounding censorship in societies and many differ in their beliefs. Plato and Thomas Hobbes would agree that creating an environment

Censorship is widely used in our society to prevent us from seeing or hearing things that could disrupt our surroundings. Is it right to censor or not, its tough question and that question appears in Fahrenheit 451, The Letter, and our own day to day life's. In Fahrenheit and The Letter they were censored to better the society without knowing the true aspects of the life. Also in both stories it seems as though censorship is fear, afraid of something that could be wonderful and even knowledgeable to society.

Censorship has been adopted in many societies as well as the governments of our world. As the history of the world expands we see many countries try to censor what their citizens see. When the countries do this they are not assisting the country, they are leading it into a self-destruction. A good example of this would be America in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. This nation is destroyed in a futuristic war that only lasts a couple of minutes, if not seconds. Other fitting examples include the Nazi regime and the Soviet Union, both governments censoring their population in what they could read, write, and see. As we know both of these governments did not succeed and ultimately were obliterated and the countries were punished. Government censorship not only wounds the ability for people to grow and expand in their thought process, but it eventually causes the ultimate self-destruction of the nation.

Overall governments, organizations, and those in power often times use censorship in order to shelter or hide things from people. For example, when a parent is just doing what is best for their kid and doesn’t just let them do whatever they want. There is always a reason, often times thought to be protection. However it could potentially be more, perhaps manipulation? Whatever may be the reason censorship will remain a vastly used form of restriction that some may just need to learn to

There are various reasons as to why censorship is used. They include: security purposes, prevent hate speech, to protect vulnerable communities and also to counter unethical religious and political views. Censorship is currently being used for both political and social purposes. Most of these reasons for censorship are not absolute because they hinder people’s freedom of expression and speech. This confirms my argument that censorship is bad in the modern world. Despite some aspects considering censorship to be good, there are several aspects that promote my argument that censorship is bad thus its advantageous nature.

Censorship is not necessary. People in this society get offended easily. Free thoughts are repressed through censorship even though it is made to protect the society by restraining obscenities or to restrict political views.

If it is uncomfortable to read and discuss, so be it. Most things that matter deeply are.” -USA Today. Today Censorship also affects more than the children though. It really affects everyone equally. It allows the government to have too much control over what we learn and know. What if we lived in a dystopian society. For example, if you’ve ever seen the movie or read the book The Giver by Lois Lowry, the city kept everyone from learning about the world’s past and why they have to obey their rules and only their rules and do whatever job they assign them. Private groups and public authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label controversial views. Most people believe that free communication is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture. Another touchy topic about they types of censorship we have is open religion. We have the Freedom of Religion. But many schools don’t allow religious practices, teachings, or even how they dress. What’s wrong with anyone expressing their religion and how they think of God peacefully and freely? America is

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.

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

Governments use censorship to keep power and authority. The novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury takes one into the world of a futuristic society. The government in this futuristic society prohibit many items and actions that seem ludicrous today. However, it is not as absurd as one may think. Government censorship still takes place in the world today. One way the government uses censorship is in the form of literature. One can also find interference in the news media. Governments use censorship in entertainment as well. In addition, the internet and types of communication also fall victim to government censorship. Governments in Fahrenheit 451 and in history want to establish control over citizens as well as terminate any ideas that contradict