%$@! CENSORSHIP
Editor's Box
By Lindy Dugger
[email protected]
Assistant Editor
People tend to view things they are unaccustomed to as obscure. This obscurity is in turn viewed as offensive. Neither the offensive nor the obscure seem to receive the tolerance they deserve: they are condemned, censored, or banned.
The severity and, dare I say, ridiculousness of censorship and banning has improved somewhat over the past century. I may be beating a dead horse by even addressing the issue, but let me get my soapbox...
Everyone has a right to familiarize him or herself with what they wish, bar none. No one forces anyone to purchase music with �explicit lyrics,� to watch rated R movies or to read oh-so-questionable literature such as Mark Twain and Shakespeare (both of which have been previously banned from various institutions). However, what type of elitist has the right to decide what another should or should not see, hear, or experience? Perhaps I'm not being realistic, but give the people credit; our individual judgment isn't always THAT bad.
Perhaps I simply do not understand the necessity for censorship. I suppose every advocate for public censorship has his or her reasons: Monetary or political gains, religious fundamentalism, or a do-good approach based on the classic �hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil� mantra (I believe �have no fun� was added later). The latter exhibits the idea that by eliminating past and present evils, future evil can be prevented. To play the devil's advocate, what if evil is not someone knowingly or purposely committing and enjoying a �bad� act, but someone claiming to do �good� but for the wrong reasons? I digress; I am not George W. Bush, evil is not my issue.
What I love about real art, be it visual art, poetry, music, whatever, is that it is so blatantly honest. What I love about the system in which we live is that we are theoretically given the right to create this. This system also gives us the right to educate ourselves about the world surrounding us, though these rights aren't always taken advantage of or protected.
However, you know there is something wrong with the system when an artist who is invited to display his work in a federal or corporate building, no content restrictions specified, is later told to remove his piece because it is �inappropriate� or �too controversial.� You know there is something wrong with the system when the best way for our kids to learn about sexuality and its gruesome social perceptions is still through public restrooms.
What is wrong with censorship and banning is that it is cramping our style. In theory, American life is based on certain ideals, such as liberty, including the freedoms of self-expression and speech. Censorship basically becomes a lack of exposure by pretending that something does not exist.
Sheltering yourself or others from the world can lead to ignorance, which is dangerous enough in itself. Ignorance can lead to uneducated decisions and a lack of tolerance, and, dare I go so far, a lack of thought.
People should learn HOW to think, not WHAT to think. Josef Stalin once said, �Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let the people have guns.... why should we let them have ideas?�
I'm not suggesting that we lose ourselves in mindless self-indulgences or forget whatever principles we have. Morality is not the issue. I am not suggesting anything of the sort. My point is that censorship, for fundamentalism or any other reason, is still a nuisance. My point is that we are not fragile and delicate beings; we should stop treating ourselves as such. My point is that we created this world; we should stop hiding from it.
|
