GeorgiaWaterdown

Ms.Gardner
English10/period6
28April2016
IfwearenottoStrangletheFreeMindatitsSource
Whendoescontentbecomemorecensoredandwhendoestherealitybecomemore
diluted?Censorshipisdefinedasthepracticeofexaminingbooks,movies,etc.,andsuppressing
unacceptableparts.Thusthecreationoffalseaccusationsandinvalidcontexteveninhistory
booksaroundtheglobe.Censorshipshouldnotbeallowedinmostglobalcircumstancesbecause
thetruthshouldbetaught,thevoicesshouldbeheard,andtherealityshouldbefaced.

InparentalcircumstancesIunderstandthefearofwhatachildmightlearnaboutorsee

whenthereisnofilter.Nevertheless,whenconsideringafilterputonhistoryorcurrentissuesin
ourworld,itlooksmorelikeapoliticaltacticofavoidingrealityratherthanprotectingtheyouth.
Whitesouthernersdislikedthemessagethat
ToKillAMockingbird
gave,in1968whenMartin
LutherKingJr.wasassassinatedtheywerefurtherembarrassedandchosetoremovethepopular
bookfrombothmiddleandhighschools.InU.S.Historybooksthereareatleast28countsof
falsehistory(Fitzgerald).MollyPitcheraheroineoftheRevolutionaryWarwasnotevenareal
humanbeingbutafolklore.
Withthecontinuationofcirculatingfalsehistorysomegenerationswillnotknowthe
truth.Theendresult:amassofuneducatedadultswhowouldbescoffedatinthefaceofreality.
Censorshipisnotjustintextbooksbutalsointodaysfreedomofspeech.InSeptember2015a
sophomoreincollegewroteacriticalpaperaboutblacklivesmatter.Hedidnotcriticizethe

movementorwhatitstandsforbutratheritstacticsandhowithasapproachedsociety.Hewas
instantlylabeledaracistandcontinuouslycriticizedforit.InDecemberor2015heleftthe
University.StudentsatYalethatspokeoutaboutFeminismreceivedmultiplebashfulcomments
aboutnotonlywhattheyweredoingbutabouthowignoranttheywereacting.Thisbecameso
populartheoffensewasknownasmicroaggressions(Anderson).
Ifthesuppressionoffreedomwithintodaysspeechcontinuestheoutcomewillmake
moreofanegativeimpactonthesuppressorsratherthanwhatishappeningnow.Asaresult,
peoplemightusethetermfreedomofspeechasawayofsayingwhatevertheyplease,
knowingthehigherpowerwillnotbeabletosuppressit.Ultimately,censoringthereality
happeningintodayssocietywillnotbenefitanyone.Censoringhasbeenhappeningforages,
reversecensoringhasbeentoo.Fiftythousandchildrenayearwerebeingabductedafter1984
atleastthatiswhatthemassesweretold.
Then,in1985,theDENVERPOSTwonaPulitzer
Prizeforshowingthewholethingwasahoax(Hodges).InJanuaryof2011NewSouthBooks
publishedaneweditionof
HuckleberryFinn
thatsubstitutedthewordslavefortheoriginal
wordnwhichappeared219timesintheoriginal.Twainscholarsandeducatorswere
outragedathowslantedandUtopianthenewversionwas.Therefore,futuregenerations
maynotlearnthetruesignificanceofracialwritingorthedepthofwordsandtheirmeanings.
Manycouldarguethatthetermfreedomofspeechcanbethrownaroundlooselyin
manysituations.Forexample,peersareusingfreedomofspeechtosayhostilecomments
aboutoneanother(Chhokra).Thisnegativitythatisbasedaroundtheabilitytoexpressyour
opinioncanbejustasharmfulasnegativitythatisnotconsideredfreedomofspeech.Many

mightbelievethatbeingabletoexpressanopinionfreelywithouttheconsiderationofothersis
notharmful.Yet,ifthesituationwasreversedtheverdictwouldlikelybedifferent.
Inconclusion,
censorshipshouldnotbeallowedinmostglobalcircumstancesbecause
thetruthshouldbetaught,thevoicesshouldbeheard,andtherealityshouldbefaced.
Censorshipwouldtakeawaythebasicrightsofwhatfreedomofspeechstandsforandremove
thebasicknowledgeweshouldallhavearighttolearn.Withthisremoval,currentdaycouldbe
alteredforfuturegenerationsjustashistoryisforus.Sonomorecensorship,nomorefalse
history,nomorehiddentruththisworldisrealanditshouldstaythatway.

WorksCited
Chhokra,Shubhankar."WhenIsCensorshipOkay?."UniversityWire.29Nov.2015:n.p.SIRS
IssuesResearcher.Web.5May2016.
McNeil,Jordan."Let'sTalkAboutItInsteadofBanningIt."UniversityWire.15Feb.2016:n.p.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.Web.5May2016
Sullum,Jacob."Don'tLetPrincipalsCensortheInternet."TheLedger.30Dec.2015:n.p.SIRS
IssuesResearcher.Web.7May2016.
Tompkins,Courtney."HowStudentsAreFightingFreeSpeechLimitsatSchools,Colleges."
PasadenaStarNews.21Nov.2015:n.p.SIRSIssuesResearcher.Web.7May2016.

Vega,AnthonyM."Ic.galegroup.com."Www.8June2014.Web.4May2016.
Warthog,James."Laws.com."Laws.com.3Jan.2015.Web.5May2016.