РефератыИностранный языкCeCensorship In School Is Not Right Essay

Censorship In School Is Not Right Essay

, Research Paper


CENSORSHIP IN SCHOOL IS NOT RIGHT


I believe that Imposing censorship within America’s


schools is not only against the First Amendment of the


United State Constitution, but it is also against the very


moral fiber upon which this country was founded.


In an attempt to limit access to so-called sensitive


issues and concepts, radical right wing supporters have


pushed their weight around to remove any and all


questionable works of literature from school libraries.


The right to interpret the written word is one of the


fundamental freedoms of our country, yet more and more this


right is being taken away from students who have the desire


to broaden their literary horizons. Conservative parents,


teachers, librarians and even the American government have


all attempted to limit access to what they consider


sensitive issues and concepts. These same self appointed


literary police are calling for the removal of all


Questionable works of literature from public libraries. On


some college campuses there are even restrictions on which


books can even be brought from one s own collection to


school property.


Proponents of school censorship have issues with just


about every book found in school libraries. Their argument


is that appropriate reading literature should fulfill by one


of two standards: 1) that it effectively adds to the


“general store of knowledge” , or 2) that is exercises some


“beneficial influence” upon the mind as a means of


providing “wholesome amusement or recreation” .


Who is to determine what constitutes wholesome and


beneficial? That is what I, as a censorship opponent want


to know. Personal opinion is just that: personal opinion.


When such opinions begin dictating how the rest of the world


must respond, it becomes a dictatorship rather than a


democracy.


Giving credit where credit is due, there is nothing


wrong with offering guidance as to what is both proper and


improper for students to read. Depending upon the age group,


supervision over reading material is — in most cases –


reasonable and justified. But when it comes down to the


actual banning of books because one group of people


considers the content unacceptable, that is crossing the


line of extremism.


Every year, individuals and groups alike demand that


yet another book is removed from school libraries, as well


as from particular classroom curricula. Claiming that the


content is too explicit or inappropriate, these small minded


censors are wreaking havoc on students’ First Amendment


rights.


The question then becomes: Just how far does the First


Amendment go to protect the students? The censors think


that students do not have the ability to choose appropriate


reading material; that their assistance is necessary to keep


harmful and unsuitable material out of sight.


In fact, the issue of censorship in America’s schools


is an issue of rights. Ex-United States President Jimmy


Carter once said that America did not invent human rights;


rather, it was human rights that invented America. If this


is true, then each individual must be allowed to pursue his


own choices, whether that is with regard to books or any


other form of media. To impose limits on what is permitted


and what is not is to remove one our most fundamental rights


of all.


And what about those people stuck in the middle of all


the controversy? School librarians have been caught in the


crossfire of radical censors for some

time now, fighting


hard to protect the rights of student choice.


Paul J. Lareau, a librarian for seven years, says


censorship is the “last resort of parents with disobedient


or rebellious children” . He says that the people who are


the most vocal about removing unacceptable books are the


ones who cannot control their own children and are then,


attempting to control all children.


If left to choose, Lareau says that most students


understand the implications of various reading material and


will either stay away from it or decide to learn more about


it. However, placing restrictions on books based only on


their content — specifically how that content is


interpreted by one individual or group — does more to


encourage its reading if left alone.


The power of censorship in this nation was experienced


at an Arizona college when, as a result of controversy over


library book selections, the campus newspaper was suspended,


an art exhibit censored, and the student literary magazine


“condemned” by the college administration. All of this


occurred because those in power felt the need for


“suppression of controversial books”.


Across our country, books that are the main objects of


the censorship issue are those which present points of view


that can easily be misconstrued as “pro-American and


anti-Communist” . Yet it is not for one person to decide


for the rest what something may represent only through his


own interpretation. According to the framers of the


constitution, such decisions are to be left up to the


individual rather than the masses.


Even an American icon like the comic book is not safe


from the effects of censorship. Comic books have been under


fire because of their violent and sexual content, which has


caused many of them to be removed from school libraries. So


intense is the argument that the US Supreme Court could very


well uphold legislation restricting their sales if it is


decided that there is a “serious enough threat to the morals


of the community.


Censorship is an outright suppression of ideas,


information and artistic expression. It does not belong in


schools where open-minded learning is supposed to take


place. At best, censorship is “unconstitutional” ; at


worst, it is a warning sign of an impending authoritarian


takeover.


Works Cited


Anonymous #1. “Book Rejection: Is It Censorship?” Library


Journal, (1962) : pp. PG.


Anonymous #2. “Crime Comics and the Constitution.” Stanford


Law Review, (1955) : pp. PG.


Anonymous #3. “Criminal Obscenity Statute Held


Unconstitutional for Lack of Scienter.”


Ohio State Law Journal, (1962) : pp. PG.


Anonymous #4. “Freedom of Speech and Press under the First


Amendment: A R sum .” Yale Law Journal, (1920) : pp.


PG.


Anonymous #5. “The Hidden Persuaders in Book Selection.”


Library Journal, (1965) : pp. PG.


Anonymous #6. “Open the Books!” Saturday Review, (1953) :


36(28):30-31.


Clarke, George T. “Improper Books.” Library Journal, (1895)


: pp. PG.


Collins, Blanche. “Ordeal at Long Beach.” Library Journal,


(1965) : pp. PG.


Corbett, James A. Trouble at Cochise.” Arizona Librarian,


(1965) : pp. 22(3):7-10, 40 43.


Cross, Farrell. “Creeping Censorship in Our Libraries.”


Coronet, (1961.) : pp. PG.


http://freenet.msp.mn.us/govt/e-democracy/mn-politics-archiv


e/9701/0031.html, 1997.


http://www.math.uic.edu/ janetb/haulprojects/GL/DEFINITIONS.


html, no date.

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