Extreme censorship never necessary

By Marcos Moreno

What exactly is meant by freedom of speech? I like to think of it as the way a person chooses to express him or herself. It is their right to do so and, in America, nobody can take that privilege away. Any attempt to repress this manifestation is called censorship.

According to the First Amendment, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech."

You might be wondering how censorship works in the land of the free. It can take many forms: editing, blurring, bleeping and banning. Anything you can watch, read, listen to or look at can be censored.

However, censorship isn't such a bad thing. There are things out there that should be limited, such as children's access to obscene material. And in cases like that, censorship is completely necessary and oftentimes helpful. It's when it hinders self expression that it becomes problematic.

Browsing through the banned books section of the American Library Association's Web site, I found some interesting selections. Among the top ten banned books of 2004 are: "To Kill a Mockingbird" (number one), "Brave New World" (number three), "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" (number four), "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (number five), and "Fahrenheit 451" (number seven).

Those are some amazing, classic books. They teach important life lessons; it's downright foolish to pull them off bookshelves. You can't learn about slavery, women's rights, ethics or, interestingly enough, censorship. The plot of "Fahrenheit 451" revolves around "firemen" who make a living by burning books. These books give us a chance to learn from the past, but censorship asks us to ignore it.

Unfortunately, banning doesn't end with books: films, art, and music have also been silenced. There is no limit to the damage that censorship can do. It's fairly common for motion pictures to be edited by film review boards such as the Motion Picture Association of America that have nothing to do with production. They do a good job of stifling a director's artistic vision. Usually, the director has no say in the matter. And I for one think it is important for everyone to be heard.

So, if censorship hinders the First Amendment, why does it still happen? There are several reasons: most involve repressing obscenity and maintaining political correctness. Others include the various complaints of advocate groups who basically get offended by everything they see.

But censorship should only be exercised when it will incite violence, jeopardize national security or when it will cause harm to children. As college students, we stand to inherit the country, and that means we should have some say in what is censored.

When it comes to the First Amendment, you never know what is going to offend someone. But if we live in a world afraid of offending others, then are we truly free to express ourselves? I doubt it. So always speak your mind and try reading banned books -- you might learn something.

* Marcos Moreno is a sophomore English major.