The Reasons for Censorship - Essay Example

Censorship The term censorship in the basic and most common sense refers to the aspect and practice by extension, where some parts of a movie, film or books are suppressed relative to the public viewership. This is to say that some of the parts that are not considered user friendly or acceptable to the intended audience are scrapped off or deliberately removed so that they would not reach the final audience. In the recent past, the government has out in place regulatory authorities that go through materials to ascertain their level of appropriateness. If for instance, a book is introduced to the learning curriculum of a school system, then such a book must have passed the set limits of acceptability (Anderson, 19). This paper will thus address in details the reasons as to why some communities, libraries and schools opt to ban materials. This is to say that the paper will give principles as to why there are merits and demerits of banning materials for the said schools, public libraries and communities. To begin with, there is a school of thought and proponent of the line of thought that stipulates that some materials such as books that are banned are done so rightly. This stems from the reasoning and the line of thought that such materials could be laced with overtone racial issues such as the book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Angelou Maya. In most cases and instances, it could be due to the encouragement of one racial group over and above the others. In a situation where the book or material is intended for the pupils in formative years, then such a material either in the form of language ought to be censored. For instance, if a primary school book is laced with racial language that aims at discriminating against another, then the material would skew the mind and reasoning acumen of the young children towards such direction. It is important to note and mention that the children would have been misguided into believing such stereotype which would be prejudicial in their subsequent years. This is to say that such pupils would have been misled by being exposed to reading such material while on the hand, it would have been banned and the damage controlled even before it takes effect. Secondly, materials and languages by extension which seem to encourage socially immoral and derogatory lifestyles are ought to be banned from public libraries and schools. People read and gain insights on the real life from the materials that they read from books. It does not help any much if such materials and languages seem to covey messages that are in contravention of the good norms and conventions. For instance if a language or material in a way or another seems to encourage the abuse of drugs and subsequently presents the users as heroes or celebrities, then it ought to banned. Such a portrayal is aby all means and aspects an encouragement on dangerous lifestyle subjectively. Accordingly, the American Language Awareness banned the book Scary Stories Boxed Set by Schwartz Alvin and Stephen Gammell due to its overtly highlight on ghost creatures. Thus, it would only be fair if such a material is banned and censored either in part or full by the regulatory body, such as a government. Similarly, a material that uses blasphemous language and dialog ought to be banned from readership or viewership in schools and communities. A practical case and instance is the use of words that are generally considered holy and out bounds as profanity. For example the aimless and reckless of mentioning of names such as God or Jesus as profanity. It goes without saying that a huge population of the world regard these two words as deities and they ought to be used only when there is accurate and proper need. It would thus rub people in the wrong way when such holy names are regarded in low accord and respect. On the same line of thought and reasoning it would be proper if a material say a book or language contains sexually explicit content to be censored or be banned altogether from public libraries and schools. It is important and critical to note and mention that such content are not age appropriate and thus would offend the readers or the audience. It thus beats logic to wait for the book or the material to reach the audience then initiate corrective measures. It would be more beneficial to ban or censor such a material so as to eliminate the threat of the damage altogether. On the hand, there are schools of thought and viewpoints that oppose the aspect of ever banning or censoring of materials either in public libraries or schools. The underlying argument and principle here is that the constitution guarantees basic freedoms. This stems from the first amendment which supports the notion and concept of freedoms and basic rights. Secondly, there is the argument and reason that no person has the moral authority to decide what is fit for another person to read or view. Thus, the assumption that each and every person has the ability to make his or her own choices and decision on whether or not to read a material ought to supersede any thought of censoring a material. Subsequently, on the argument that some materials are offensive, ought to be countered by the answer that parents should be the censors of the children. This is to say that it is the role of the parents to know and gauge whether or not the child is ready to view or read some materials or not. It is thus improper for the regulatory authorities to pass a universal rule and law categorizing all the children as unfit or fit to access some materials based on age. It is the duty, choice and role of the parent to decide whether or not the child is ready. Tied to the above point and logic, books and materials are derived from the reality of the human life and thus they ought to represent the reality. Reality is absolute and whether one is willing to admit, at one point in time or another, the children who are somewhat being protected would view the censored material. This is to imply that there is no purpose served by censoring or banning the books from libraries because at some point during the course of their life they would access that material. Conclusively, the above essay has articulated and presented arguments that favor and oppose the notion and question of banning and censorship of materials. It is important and critical to note and record that it entirely on the context that one aligns his or her loyalty or allegiance to. There are valid arguments and reasons on both sides of the divide and thus the society would require a guided approach on the same. Work Cited Anderson, Jaclyn Lewis. "The Classification of Censorship: An Analysis of Challenged Books by Classification and Subject Heading." Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Random House, 1970. Print. Retrieved from ALA.org/BOOKS/100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999 Schwartz, Alvin, and Stephen Gammell. Scary Stories Boxed Set: A Three-Volume Set of Frightening Folklore. New York, N.Y.: HarperTrophy, 1993. Print Retrieved from www.ALA.org/BOOKS/100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999 Read More