The freedom to read is essential to the democratic way of life (Censorship News 1996). Today our freedom is under attack. Private groups such as mothers and public authorities everywhere are working to remove both books and periodicals from sale, to exclude certain books from public schools, to censor and silence magazines and newspapers, and to limit controversial books from the general public. The suppression of reading materials is suppression of creative thoughts. Books are not the only one that is being suppressed by pressure to the political and social systems.
They are also being brought against the educational system, radios, internet, television and against the Theater arts. However or whenever these attacks occur, they usually fall at least in one of these categories. Language Sex Drugs Society and Race Inappropriate Adolescent Behavior What is Obscenity? Clearly something hard to discuss. Obscenity is difficult to discuss honestly. Point being, what makes a thing obscene? is it something too vague to be defined. It’s an elusive term we use, but cant explain. Different people often see things differently.
Some see obscenity in nude pictures, statues, paintings, etc. While others find less obscenity in those things. All the same, obscene isn’t the same as wrong or bad . Clearly obscenity is not identical with evil. It only covers a single segment of it. But what is that segment? A look at the words obscenity and pornography suggest that it is that it’s a segment that didn’t worry people very much until recently. Though censorship was known in the English law quite early, it wasn’t for obscenity but for heresy and sedition.
David Jenkins, “Undue exploitation f sex is what criminal law in Canada prohibits” ( p21) . That is how criminal law defines obscenity. It doesn’t differentiate between ordinary obscenity and hard-core pornography. Written by the Law reform, “the first denoting the ordinary girlie and guy magazines, Literature and so on that deals with rape, bestiality, and so on People tend far more to hard-core pornography” (Collins p25). Another distinction unfortunately overlooked by our criminal law is the distinction between isolated instances of obscenity and the products of vast commercial enterprise.
There has been an increasing trend owards children’s literature that reflects a more realistic approach of the life both fiction and non-fiction, with subjects that include sex, homosexuality, divorce, child abuse, drugs, violence, etc. And they are these realistic books that have people outraged. In school libraries, the most frequent complains come from parents “who don’t have nothing better to do” about the school’s selections. And in the public libraries, parents were the ones again the single greatest source of challenges to materials.
The world is filled with obscene things. And it would seem that those parents are ust trying to protect their children from outside world. But does it really help? “These days, the average elementary school student knows many things” (Collins p27). They are influence by a wide range of sources, from television , Internet and other forms of media, their environment at home and school, their personality and their backgrounds. Why they read does not necessarily mean that they will follow. Literature is a valued source of knowledge for these children, and should not be held back.
So rather than applying full censorship, it should be made an age-related censorship, even hough I don’t believe in censorship but think that there should be a limit for pre adolescent children. Many of the complaints that were issued were of the immaturity of the readers. And younger children should be prevented from browsing material intended for an older age group. “Controversial materials should held in reserve stock, available on request, or under section for teacher who can decide for themselves whether the material is suitable or not” (Collins p31). Our world is not perfect. We are a world filed with violence, sex, racism, etc.
Certain literature like hard-core pornography should be censored to the general public. These types of explicit sex and literature truly have no meaning. They degrade the human race by increasing physical, mental and sexual abuse against women, animals, and sometimes against men. The inhuman treatment should not be shown to prevent other potential people from experimenting these acts. Ordinary obscenity should be censored closely, but with an objective view. They may also cause an increase in the violence against women, so they must be reduced and kept out of reach of the immature readers.
To make a tree grow correctly, you must start caring from the beginning. You must not block its nutrients, water, nor sunlight, but allow it to move around a bit” ( Jenkins p29). We have a governing social system that mainly frowns upon the violence against women and Children. There should indeed be access to most types of literature, but in varying degrees to freedom, determined not by censorship, but by controlled access. Parents are trying to protect their children from the harsh realities of life, but are they really helping, or hindering.
