The Problem of Censorship in the US

Piracy has become a major issue in the United States. For every motion picture that has been featured in theaters also has been pirated onto the Internet the next day, and for every new musical album that is released, yet there is a free torrent file of the album within the same hour. Even though these online pirates steal music and movies from other companies and make a drastic profit, yet these “rogue” websites receive 53 billions visits a year from across the globe according to Creative America. The persistence of the thieves that break copyright laws of the productions has lead the entertainment business to place a definitive complaint to the U.S. government of the constant notion of piracy. While the notion of piracy was not left

     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

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.

The 1st amendment of the United States Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” When the Framers of the Constitution wrote the 1st amendment there intention was exactly was to prevent the government from interfering with States’ rights. More specifically, the Framers intent was to allow citizens to speak freely without violating the law or public policy. However, the Framers did not intend the 1st amendment to be a gateway for citizens to say whatever they want, individuals can still be censored. We can find

The First Amendment was adopted in 1791. It states that “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” (Wikipedia, 2016) The freedom of speech documented in the First Amendment is not only a constitutional protection, but also an inevitable part of democratic government and independence, which are essential values in our society. “Censorship,” according to the ACLU, “… is the suppression of words, images, or ideas that are "offensive," happens whenever some people succeed in imposing their personal political or moral values on others”. (ACLU, 2016) That is why the American citizen’s right to free speech should be held as the highest virtue and any censorship of freedom of speech should not be allowed, but only respected. Not to mention that censorship is unconstitutional.

Although the first amendment was to protect the people from the government censoring their freedom of speech, press, religion, peaceably assemble and grievances however there are some exceptions. The first amendment provides

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.

Welcome to the United States of America. This is the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. A place where our forefathers once gathered and drew up the foundation for which we live our lives. The Constitution of the United States grants us a certain amount of freedoms for which we cannot be punished for. The first amendment to this constitution of the Constitution allows us the freedom of speech, religion, the right to assemble, and to express ourselves in a way in which we feel fit. Under this amendment, people such as musicians and newsmen and able to write and speak what they feel without being told that it is wrong. They cannot be manipulated to change their thoughts or views on a topic, or

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.

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.

Once slavery had been abolished the tension between people who were white and people who were black never really seemed to vanish. But as I started to watch the news I never realized how much hatred and cruelty there was between people who are pale and others who have much darker skin. This problem continued to grow and with the borders of censorship weakened then I realized that this issue needs to be taken care of. Growing up in a city that does not have to deal with a large issue like this makes it difficult to have an opinion on the subject in the beginning. When I was first introduced to racism as a subject I never realized how much harm it caused people today but now that I have been enlightened racism is something that I am against.

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.

Censorship was considered to be a legitimate limit for governments to regulate the moral and political life. It has lasted for thousands of years from the origin of society and the earliest censorship of government can be traced back to the office of censor established in Rome, the Greek communities(Newth, 2010). However, censorship has become a controversial issue and has created significant debate over whether the government should censor the media. Many philosophers in the history have similar opinions as Thomas Carlyle who argued that "every human being has a right to hear what other wise human beings have spoken to him. It is one of the Rights of Men; a very cruel injustice if you deny it to a man! " which can mistake the role of censorship.

The Constitution guarantees us the right to Freedom of Speech. Nowhere in the First Amendment does it state that we have the right to freedom of speech as long as everyone agrees with us and likes what we say. Quite the contrary, it states that “Congress shall pass no laws abridging our right to freedom of speech.” Censorship does exactly that, severs away our right to freedom of speech. Censorship is Government telling us what we are to approve of and disapprove of. It is Government abridging our right to freedom of speech.