Censorship

"Censorship"

People often try to ban the "Harry Potter" series. Sometimes they even burn the books. This is a classic example of censorship. Censorship has existed throughout the ages. I oppose censorship because it is the restriction of information. It also violates the First Amendment and while it protects the ideas of some minorities, it goes against others. If we are to attempt to please each minority, we might end up like the people in "Fahrenheit 451".

Censorship began in Egypt in 3,400 B.C. where they had strict guidelines about what could be written. In 213 B.C. a Chinese ruler name Shih Huang Ti burned the books of the philosopher Confucius. Then in 399 B.C. the Greek philosopher, Socrates, was put on trial on trial for the corruption of young minds and was sentenced to death. In 1487 Pope Innocent VIII determined that books could only be published by the Vatican. In 1538 King Henry VIII established licensing laws for the government to control what was printed. In 1559 the Roman Catholic Church published a list of books deemed heretical or immoral. South Africa began banning people who expressed views that opposed apartheid and the ban was lifted in 1990. In recent times there have been attempts at banning "Harry Potter" with the occasional book burnings.

Censorship is the restriction of information and ideas. If information is withheld the people lack knowledge of serious matters. What happened at Enron was a form of censorship. They withheld information, so it seemed as though the company was fine. This failed because an employee spilled the beans. Many people lost their jobs and the company went bankrupt. Despite this people who lost their jobs were grateful because if she had not let the cat out of the bag it would have been much worse.

Nations that censor the Internet are mainly found in the Middle East. Thirteen nations have been denounced for Web censorship. These countries are Belarus, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Myanmar (Burma), North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. These are mainly countries that have been enemies of the U.S. and are known for censorship. These countries limit access to websites such as Myspace, Facebook and YouTube. Many of them say that certain websites are a threat to national security.

Censorship goes against the First Amendment. This states that Congress shall make no laws limiting freedom of speech or press. It also says Congress shall make no laws about the establishment of religion or prohibiting the exercise of that religion. Therefore, those attempting to censor books are opposing what was written in the Bill of Rights about two hundred years ago. These rights are what make the United States a vast mixing pot of cultures, beliefs and ideas.

It often is used to protect the ideas and beliefs of certain minorities or the idea that the information will contaminate the minds of the young. Many people believe that the "Harry Potter" series induces children to take up witchcraft by making it attractive. "Harry Potter" books normally just get children to read and hopefully enjoy it. Some of these young people become avid readers and search for other books that might be interesting. Alas, many of those attempting to censor books such as "Harry Potter" have not even read them.

When reading fiction, people can often see similarities between themselves and the characters. It helps them to develop sympathy and understanding. They have to try to understand the characters. They also have to analyze the thoughts and feelings to learn more about the character. Raymond Mar explains that "stories often force us to empathize with characters that are quite different from us, and this ability could help us better understand the many kinds of people we come across in the real world".

Fiction books are often considered a frivolous form of entertainment and a waste of time. It is a shame that so many people should think so. Fiction can open a person's mind. It brings new ideas and often has good morals. It also comes loaded with a large amount of wisdom and lessons often enough. It can help us to understand people better. The young readers of today may become the great authors and teachers of tomorrow.

If we attempt to please each minority, we'll have a very boring society. There would be few classical books left because many of those books have controversial issues. There would be no fiction which many people enjoy. We would get rid of Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn". We'd also lose the Bible, Torah, Qu'ran and the works of William Shakespeare. We'd lack mythology and many pieces of art including many masterpieces could have been lost as well.

There should be restraint and regulation. Elementary School libraries regulate what is put in the library because there are certain things children should not know about until they reach a certain age. The entertainment and news media should have restraint on what is put in. Nobody wants their children learning where babies come from through entertainment at the age of four while walking past a television or looking for something to watch. The news media should be restrained because sometimes there is incorrect information in the media and it can cause more trouble than it's worth.

In conclusion, I abhor censorship because it is the restriction of information. It violates the First Amendment and while it protects the ideas of some minorities it goes against others. If we don't end censorship, we will lack information and while it would please many, it would anger those who enjoy books such as "Harry Potter". Then we'd be like the people in "Fahrenheit 451".