Censorship has been an age-old issue in which the debate continues to rage on. I personally, do not believe that any form of art should be censored whether it is writings, paintings, television programs, movies, photographs or the most recent form of expression, being the Internet. Historically we have observed what censorship can do to a society as a whole and the creativity of individuals. Censorship oppresses the individual mind as well as the social opinions and beliefs of the time.
The debate surrounding the question to censor or not to censor contains several vital arguments. Perhaps one of the most confrontational issues revolves around the responsibility of parents to monitor the information received by their children. Another crucial issue in this argument pertains to our Constitutional Rights including the freedom of choice and the freedom of speech. Finally, we are faced with the basic question of who censors the arts. How are these select individuals chosen and why are they qualified to decide the information that will be considered fit or unfit for the rest of societies mental consumption?
Most people would agree that there is no greater responsibility in a persons’ life than that of becoming a parent. As an individual, there is an active role in the morals, values and beliefs of another human being. A parent has the burdens and joys of knowing that their child will emulate what they do and hopefully obey the rules that they set for their own well being. With this tremendous duty, comes the role of being the human buffer between their child and the sometimes-crude world that we live in.
We all know that certain information may be inappropriate for younger or more immature audiences. This information may be obtained in a variety of ways and with our growing technology the possibilities seem endless. We are living in the information age and unfortunately this may come with both positive and negative information. However, it is my opinion that society should not be a social babysitter.
A person should know that the responsibilities of parenting include screening the intake of information your child will receive. Whether this information is from a book, a television or even a computer is truly irrelevant. It is the parents’ responsibility to monitor their child. If they trust their child’s own judgement and maturity then leaving them alone should be of little concern. However, if their child is too young to care for itself and/or to make mature decisions, then an adult, either the parents or a babysitter, should be looking after them. It is not a writer’s interpretation of the world, a producer’s half-hour sitcom or a painter’s impression of the human body that is responsible for raising our children. It is the parent’s responsibility and the “artists” impressions should not be stifled because of society’s lagging ability to take responsibility for themselves.
Another issue, which should concern every citizen of the United States, revolves around our Constitutional Rights. More specifically, our rights as citizens mentioned in the section of the Constitution including the freedoms of speech and choice. Both ideas were, and continue to contribute fundamentally to the spirit that helped build this country. Many of our founding fathers structured our Constitution to help assure that government intervention would be as limited as possible. They wanted to make certain that the citizens of their new country would be free to express themselves however they saw fit. These freedoms would allow the government to govern but not take absolute control over the people, thus keeping freedom alive and well.
By attempting to censor what the public has access to, we are allowing the government to slowly take our freedoms away one by one. We should be able determine what we want to allow into our own homes, families, and individual minds. The government, or some committee appointed by the government, does not necessarily know what is best for each of us individually. They can only determine what they believe personally or what a random census tells them. That alone is taking away our ability to think for ourselves, something that the founding fathers of this country would have vehemently protested.
Finally we will touch on a few questions regarding the faces behind the “committee’s”. Who are these people? Why do their opinions matter more than our own individual opinions? How do they know what is best for my family, my children or myself? What gives them the right to tell me what I am allowed to view, read or hear? What gives them the right to tell photographers, writers, composers, musicians, or any other type of artist that what they were inspired enough to create, is socially unacceptable to the masses? The answer to all of these questions is that they simply should not have any of these rights. They are not all knowing and censorship is not the answer to all of our social ills.
There are methods available to individually censor information. A few of these include computer security levels for adult Internet sites and a new television rating system which will allow parents to know the content of a program before allowing a child to view it. This type of limited censoring affords a parent the ability to have a better handle on what the child is being subjected to. Perhaps if there were more preventative measures in place such as the Internet security levels, then everyone would be happy. We could protect those that are in need of protection, primarily the children. We could also continue to allow the arts to remain free, full of personal expression, and uncensored.
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