4 Reasons Why You Can't Say That: Censorship In America
Ever wonder why censorship is is legal, especially under the Constitution? Here's a list of absurd reasons the government gives.
If you grew up in America, chances are, you have had the first amendment drilled into your head since about the third grade. Yeah, you all know, or think, you have the freedom of speech and so on, but do you really? Of course it could be argued that there have to be limits, but should there even be any limits?
Growing up I knew I wanted to be a lawyer, so naturally, I spent time reading the Constitution and deciphering details, and what I found was shocking, even for a twelve year old with gapped teeth and a bowl cut hairdo. I began to ask myself, if it says that I have freedom of speech, how can people get arrested for saying the “wrong” thing? Is there such topics that should not even allowed to be spoken of? For example, if a group of kids talk about a plan to get revenge on a bully, they can be tried and prosecuted—even when they have not committed any actions. While it may not be nice to devise a plan to embarrass someone, it is human nature to be vengeful, so given the position, kids are just being kids.
You hear all the time about how you have these fundamental freedoms, (and I’ll admit that you more privileges than say... North Korea) but do you have the types of freedoms that the founders of this nation set forth on those days back in 1787? The answer is no. Now, one could say that limits are NEEDED, but are they really? I mean, if you just say something that is not hurting anything. There have been plenty of things I have said I would do that I did not take the time out to do (like combing my hair this morning for instance).
If you are wondering if you have ever been under the scrutiny of the government over what you say, take your Facebook or Twitter for example. You post a new picture of yourself in your new bikini because you just lost a bunch of weight. You are proud to show the world just how far you’ve come and the results you’ve achieved, then you get a notification from the powers that be claiming that your Facebook post has been reported for having “inappropriate content.” Well, you have just been censored. For doing absolutely nothing wrong... nothing!!
The question I present to you is: can we REALLY say what we want? I have compiled a list of some of the reasons the government gives, trying to make you think they are doing you a favor by prohibiting speech rights. Hope you enjoy!
1.Inexplicit Language
Since it is absolutely possible to censor every word, television and songs take out or “bleep” out curse words, in order to create a better society.*sarcasm* Let’s get real- covering or “bleeping” a curse word is about as useless as a white crayon.
The government today believes that by eliminating or replacing curse words with more “appropriate” language, the innocence of our youth will be rejuvenated and saved.
After hearing that, the question that comes to mind is: to what extent of their “innocence” will be saved? In a study done be Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world, it stated, “Younger teens were slightly more likely to get cell phones at younger ages than older teens. None of our 17 year olds got cell phones when they were 10 or younger, while 28% of 12 year olds did” (Lenhart). It is impossible to censor every “bad” thing on the internet, and with children having better accessibility to the web, the whole purpose of censorship is being defeated.
2. Encouragement of “Damaging Lifestyles”
Before I begin on this topic, I want to ask: what exactly is a “damaging lifestyle”? I am sure there are a number of definitions to be given, so who decides this? Oh yeah—the government.*rolls eyes*
For this reason, a lot of television shows are prohibited from viewing pleasures, yet they allow shows like 16 and Pregnant and Buckwild to be shown on MTV to audiences of teenagers that long to get their name up in lights. There seems to me to be a double standard. It is like the government is saying “We are not letting you on TV to show to our society… unless...” I, personally, do not just go around do things because I see it on the TV—that would be insane.
3.Sexual Situations
Have you ever watched a television show called Skins? Yeah I did not think so... Well, it’s an extremely popular television show in the United Kingdom on MTV, and one season aired in the United States before being banned from television for having “too much sexual content”. I mean, really? The audience of MTV are young adults and some middle school students that stay up after their mommies and daddies go to sleep because they think that by watching MTV, they will automatically be cool (it is funny, actually). But, the main point that I wanted to stress was that if you are a teenager and you cannot handle “sexual situations”, you might want to tell your parents that you are not ready to grow up. I mean, being taught about them through a television show may end up saving you from being tricked later on when you are put in the situations… who knows? In an article from Sex, etc., a statistic showed great ignorance of teens who are experimenting with their sexuality when it stated, “Learning about birth control and safer sex are important aspects of comprehensive sex ed. But one in three teens who have had sex say they did not get any formal education about birth control before they first had sex” (Ulokameje).
The government has to understand that most teens are learning everything from the television or internet anyway, and when taking shows away that inform teenagers of sexual situations, knowledge is lost. It could be detrimental to the society. Ignorance in a generation would cause potential chaos and disorder because they would not fully understand the hormones and their changing bodies.
4.Religious Affiliations
It would be absolutely ridiculous to live your life without being conscious of all of the religious views in the world. Just being aware of religions in the world makes you a well-rounded person by giving you a better understanding of the multiculturalism of the world. There is a wide variety of benefits that a person obtains from learning about different cultures such as gaining friendships and relationships with different people, creating connections that will last a lifetime, and understanding that there are different perspectives on almost everything. Religion is just a small portion of culture, but it has a massive effect on the way people interact in the world today! Depriving citizens of the understanding other’s beliefs is depriving individuals of valuable knowledge.
`In conclusion, censorship may be a good idea and so may getting that perm you have always wanted because you thought you would look good with (I am sooo kidding. Please do not get a perm). But in any case, these four points are good food for thought. Individuals have the right to watch what they want to watch, read what they desire, and listen to the words of artists, whether the society agrees with them or not. Differentiating viewpoints and perspectives are needed in order to make life more interesting, and when things are censored, creativity and differing opinions are sacrificed.
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