[Professor]
The practice of blocking public communication by the government or the media is censorship. Censorship is a sensitive topic depending on the way is being utilized by the government. Censorship has been a big issue for the government since the first word was written.
First thing is about the use of censorship in high schools; one of the profound liberties of living in the west is freedom of speech, but it is important to know that this freedom can be exploited by different groups and to halt their way of communication is important for the greater of the society.
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Censorship ensures that maturity level of high school kids is congruent to their respect ages. Back in the 19 century, when "The adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was published in the USA, it received a lot negative press and was censored many times for its use of racial slurs. The use of racial slurs against African-American community reacted negatively for different reasons but censoring those racial slurs did not stop the use of racial slurs. (Mensh and Mensh 120)
The second issue is with regard to the publication of the “The Davinci Code” by Dan Brown. The reason this book became controversial was because it challenged the fundamental Christian belief that Jesus of Nazareth’s progeny continued with Mary Magdalene. This was blasphemous by mainstream Christianity, and there were petitions to ban it but to no avail. The purpose of this example is to demonstrate that there has been constant conflict between freedom of speech and censorship. (Poole and Strobel 25)
The event which caused a real conflict between freedom of expression and censorship was the publication of “Satanic Verses” by Salman Rushdie. This book is still deemed blasphemous by the majority of Muslims and even led to the Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khomeini to issue a fatwa (verdict) allowing Muslims to kill him over this blasphemous. On the contrary, Salman Rushdie became the prime face behind international freedom of expression and was lauded throughout the literary world over his achievement. (Smith) The dilemma regarding this event perplexing since 1/5th of the world wanted him dead (Muslims) while the rest of the world was there to protect them (the rest of the world). Censorship is much more about the "perspective of necessity" than of the "ethical principle" concerning censorship.
Censorship is closely related to ethics. Because of which, it is not completely accurate to say whether it should be allowed or prohibited, but It is essential for the government make sure that all the people within a country thinks the same with regards to issues upon which national economy and security depends.
Censorship should be allowed for allowing taboo topics to come under the spotlight, to be further accepted as social norms, but there should be a limit to information should be available to the public. As explained by Zbigniew Brzezinski,
“To make the matter crystal clear, A few years ago it was easier to control a million people than to kill them, now it is easier to kill a million people than to control them” ("Thalen, nd")
Brzezinski use of the word is use in the context of convenience. Increased Global Awareness about the general population hinders the government effectiveness in dealing with problems relating to security and safety.
There is liberal bias in the media with regards to events relating to US foreign policy, back in 1953, USA overthrew the democratically elected prime minister of Iran Dr Mohammed Mosaddegh. (Smith 82) This policy is now compromised because of lack censorship because of the growing popularity of liberal in the American high school and university campuses.
In India, during the 2008 Mumbai attacks, there was speculation that the national coverage of the terrorist attack was watched live by the terrorists and was used to monitor the positions and strategies of Indian security forces. Imposing censorship in these situations is understandable as well as commendable to make sure that the magnitude of terrorist’s activities is limited minimum.
Israel is also known to censor books to make sure its youth is not corrupted reading materials sensitively the issues of Holocaust. Norman Finkelstein, the author of the book “The Holocaust Industry” was banned from entering Israel for a lifetime for his publication of the book. The reason Israel decided to censure the book was met with skepticism in the international press. The book implied that the American and European Jewish community use the Holocaust to turn the public opinions in Israel's favor, and brand anyone critical of Israel’s policies as anti-Semitic and Anti-Israeli. (Breacher, 72)
Works Cited
Breacher, Donal. The Genocide Debate: Politicians, Academics, and Victims. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Ltd., 2011.
Mensh, Harry and Elaine Mensh. Black, White, and Huckleberry Finn: Re-imagining the American Dream. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1999.
Poole, Garry and Lee Strobel. Discussing the Da Vinci Code: Examining the Issues Raised by the Book & Movie. Gran Rapidis: Zondervan Limited, 2003.
Smith, Dan. The state of the Middle East: an atlas of conflict and resolution. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2006.
Thalen, Mikael. Brzezinski: ‘Global Political Awakening’ Making Syrian War Difficult. 29 August 2013. 5 February 2014 <http://www.storyleak.com/brzezinski-global-political-awakening-making-syrian-war-difficult/>.
