Pros And Cons Of Censorship In Society

“A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon." (Bradbury 58) Censorship is the act of suppressing speech, works of literature, music, movies, work of arts, and ideas that are thought to be politically incorrect, offensive, and threatening to society. The United States Constitution states, “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 ( law.cornell.edu) However, historically, government officials and organizations have been “abridging” our freedoms since the inception of this

Throughout history, music has been a vital piece of culture. With music, censorship of it coincides. For America, this has been the case, especially with the invention of radios in the early 1900s which aided the development of widespread music in the nation. However, not all music is meant to be broadcasted for each and every listener of radio to hear. It is because of this that censorship of music on the radio is so necessary for a country with the potential it has to thrive.

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”-Ray Bradbury. Censorship is the act of limiting information, ideas, or the freedom of thought, from life. Censorship can be used because of offensive, sensitive, harmful, or objectionable speech/ideas. In life, censorship is used a lot, more than people think. It also affects lives too. People barely notice it, or care for it, but censorship is there. Censorship has been used for a long time, it has a lot of history. Censorship is found in books, media, or any other form of expression. Censorship is powerful. Everyone should be aware of censorship. Censorship is a theme conveyed in the works of many, such as, I am Very Real by Kurt Vonnegut, Harrison

First we should define censorship in order to discuss its effects and purposes. The Oxford English Dictionary defines censorship as, “The suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.” In this case we are mostly concerned with the censorship of “politically unacceptable” literature. However, Anaya states that reasons such as vulgarity can be used as excuses to ban politically challenging literature. This is not good because it provides an opportunity for people to censor works they do not like for political reasons. One student in the Socratic seminar, Maya Schulz, brought up who is doing the censoring. Her words were, “ it is those who are in power currently and wish to remain in power who use censorship of literature to suppress those who could potentially challenge the power they hold as a result of the self-serving nature of mainstream culture.” This quote is pretty self explanatory, but it shows that like many things, this issue is ultimately about money and power. One student had a good way of summarizing the way that censorship is used by those in power to keep the rest of the population out of power. This student is Charisse Armstrong, she said “I think that censorship is making sure that what you want to be said is said and that what you do not want to be said is not said.” This amount of contrail takes great power, and according to Rudolfo Anaya in his essay “Take the Tortillas out of Our Poetry,” there are powerful groups who pressure the big publishing companies to not publish work of contentious minority authors. It is lucky however, that big publishers are not the only publishers out there. There are also numerous small publishers called alternative publishers, who are less affected by the bias of mainstream culture. Maybe readers and literature

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is a uniquely shocking and provocative novel about a dystopian society set in a future where reading is outlawed, thinking is considered a sin, technology is at its prime, and human interaction is scarce. Through his main protagonist, Guy Montag, Bradbury brings attention to the dangers of a controlled society, and the problems that can arise from censorship. As a fireman, it is Guy's job to destroy books, and start fires rather than put them out. After meeting a series of unusual characters, a spark is ignited in Montag and he develops a desire for knowledge and a want to protect the books. Bradbury's novel teaches its readers how too much censorship and control can lead to further damage and the repetition of history’s mistakes through the use of symbolism, imagery, and motif.

Censorship can be described as the act of cutting out certain material that can be considered obscene or inconvenient for the community. This material can be found in social media such as in the TV, radio, or the internet. Censorship can be challenged because of the first amendment: freedom of speech. Free expression is the right of expressing opinions and ideas without any fear of being restrained or censored. However, freedom of speech does not include the right to incite actions that would harm others or the distribution of obscene material (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, 2000). There are many reasons why various organizations and people are censoring different kinds of topics; some people say it’s the right thing to do and others think its controversial to the first amendment.

What does censorship mean? The term comes from the latin word censere, “to give as one’s opinion, to assess.” Applied to modern times, it is the oppression of ideas or information found as obscene, therefore restricted from an audience. The United States has asserted to stand for the liberty of its people, along with the promise to protect them. The protection includes censorship in books, movies, etc. The first book to be ever banned in the U.S. was in the 1600’s, and the banning of books has not stopped since then. A long list of banned books has built up, including J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and John Knowles’ A Separate Peace.

Around the world, every country is unique in its own way, although they are diverse, there is one thing that every country undeniably has that makes the citizens all similar- censorship. The main principles of the First Amendment are freedom of speech, religion, and press. The First Amendment also allows citizens to protest peacefully and petition. Many immigrants come to the United States to live the “American Dream”. However, this idea overshadows how similar our countries really are. Censorship occurs everywhere, even in the “Land of the Free”. Things are swept under the rug and kept from people for the “greater good”, but should not the greater good be for people to know what is going on in the world they live in? People constantly post things just to have them removed; social media is a tremendous platform to inform and educate people on things that the news refuses to cover or hides. Concealing information and censoring the media defeats the purpose of the First Amendment and goes against the foundation of our country.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a story of suspense and danger. It is about a fireman (Guy Montag) who burns books to help keep people from thinking and reading things that the government doesn 't want them to read. He ends up stealing a book from a house that he is supposed to burn, and starts to read. Guy is confused by what he ends up reading, so he ends looking for someone who can help him understand what he reads. This man is Faber, an english professor who is now out of a job because the government has banned books. Guy gets found out, and starts to run from the city because he is now a fugitive. He escapes across the river, and meets people who have memorized entire books to write back

Depending on which way one may view a certain circumstance, everyone is a victims of censorship. Unwillingly volunteering our free thinking by a superior influence. Do people feel that we need to endure censorship? Over the course of the novel Fahrenheit 451, we see how censorship adapts one 's behavior. The public are banned from owning or reading books, there are many reasons for why people are so averse towards books and submit to the government. Entertainment such as, tv and radio play a big part in why most people do not independently think for themselves.The bigger reason is the sensitivities towards the “offensive” opinions written in these books that makes people submit to the goverments rules. This makes one either obey the authority and seeing what can happen to the world if they chose to let it stay the same or disobeying authority for change. Very much alike the recent occurrences where some college students have been rejecting the books they were given and are requesting new books and passages that are not offensive for the end result of softening and changing dated learning. On the other hand, there are new rules that are trying to make penitentiary’s “safer”, though adding specific approved “respectable” books for the prisoners to read and taking away their personal input on information. By restraining ones free state of mind and taking away the ability to learn for oneself will cause intolerant behaviors to submissify humanity 's search for meaning.

Censorship in America can vary between the silencing of young voices and the prevention of exposing others of inappropriate material. Many people are afraid of losing their freedom of speech, as first amendment rights should be mandatory for American citizens. Polar to this argument insists the importance of censorship, as it can shield the public from information that can lead to fear or chaos. Leaving students ignorant to world problems, however, is argued by Sonja West that it removes their first amendment rights and creates a future working-class of Americans who are clouded from the truth. West is a law professor at the University of Georgia who is distinguished for her expertise in the first amendment law and minor in journalism. In her article, “Censorship 101,” West crafts her text through numerous court case experience and skill in rhetorical devices as her background expertise is used to her advantage.

“Somebody 'd written ‘Fuck you’ on the wall. It drove me damn near crazy.” This is a line from the classic novel The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, which has been both praised as a contemporary masterpiece and banned from schools and libraries alike. If this book had never been censored, if it had been accepted for the story and realism within it, then it is possible that other works of art would not be censored today. Limiting expression has been done since leaders discovered that they could exercise such a power. Censorship is detrimental to most people around the world’s well-being because it limits the free flow of information and can inhibit mental maturity.

Censorship is a control over unacceptable sources found in all forms of media: such as, newspapers, television, and the Internet. Censorship in the media is to examine all the information found in the media, and deleting or censoring anything that is considered objectionable to the state. Each country controls their own media depending on their religious beliefs, culture and moral ideas. There are many reasons to why censorship of the media is a disadvantage. Governments love to control their nations, and a way of controlling their ideas is by censoring information, which citizens have every human right to access. Censorship is unnecessary because in some cases, it blinds people from the truth. It also leads to misunderstandings that tend to cause disputes.

Censorship can be used to protect others like when a parent doesn 't let their children watch or read something. A parent might not want their kids to be exposed to some materials like blood and gore or many other graphic materials to keep them from being scarred for life. There have been some restrictions to try and correct this problem. One solution to this problem is,"imposing age limits on media that may be inappropriate for children."("Censorship") This can happen whenever kids want to watch movies. Companies put ratings on the movies to help parents decide whether they would be allowed to watch a movie."The PG rating indicates in the view of the Rating Board, that parents may consider some material unsuitable for their children, and parents should make that decision."("Media Violence") Another way that parents can censor what their kids are exposed to is censoring what they read. Books are being banned and taken out of libraries.Parents are starting to not trust libraries

Censorship compromises the freedom of speech in many different ways. Freedom of speech refers to the right to speak without censorship or being restraint by a higher authority of the organization or country. For example, Compromising the freedom of speech will not allow the society to voice out their negative thoughts or to protest at a government or a government-related event. This example clearly shows that freedom of speech is being compromised as people are unable to voice out what they truly feel and are mostly forced to keep their opinions to themselves as voicing these opinions will make the rest of the society think in a different way and steer them away to generate other ideas or thoughts. Another example that compromises the freedom of speech will be allowing the younger generation to understand and think on their own about certain subjects such as pornography or homosexuality. This example clearly shows that freedom of speech is being compromised as the younger generation are unclear or sure of what to think about such topics as they are unable to think for themselves and decide. The younger generation, most likely from the age of 12 and above, should be able to think on their own as to why it is not safe and not being told to think they are not safe as this would be controlling what they are thinking. Hence, Freedom of speech is being compromised as they are unable to think with