Censorship Poem

All over the world people aren't aware,
But the truth is that it's everywhere,
Truth and knowledge you don't supply,
All that people want to know is "Why"?

In this world truthful power is quite rare,
Tell me mister, what's the scare?
If we can't handle it, which i'm sure we could,
Then why is it that you are so misunderstood.

Wars and Violence you try to suppress,
But all that leaves is added stress,
So why all the lies from leadership?
Everybody knows that it's from Censorship.

Poetry Banned?

As i was surfing the internet trying to find a current issue related to censorship, i stumbled on to a website that was an archive of all the poems that have been banned from America Online. Of all the things that i have heard of, that should be censored, poetry is not one of them. The website posted comments from the author, and then the poem. Some of the poems had been edited from their original form. I found it amusing that some of the authors thought it was kind of funny that their poem had been banned over the use of a few common expletives that people use every day. What i want to know is, if people are censoring something as typical and unthreatening as poetry, what else are they censoring? If a few bad words give someone the right to remove a form of expression from the internet i believe that that is a step in the wrong direction towards an uncensored world.

Do Uncensored Videogames lead to Crime?

In the world today, many people associate violent, profane, uncensored videogames to be the cause of crime. It has long been certain peoples oppinion that the media is responsible for multiple forms of crime, and since video games are a form of media, they are often scrutinized. By now most people have heard of the video game series "Grand Theft Auto". This popular series allows you to commit crimes freely in an unrestricted environment, and often rewards you for your criminal enterprises. Some would say that this is a simulation of the life of a criminal, but where does the game end, and reality begin? Obviously most people are capable of answering this question by themselves. So then why is it that people often criticize uncensored games for desensitizing people into committing crimes? I do not think that there is a direct link between these games and the people that seem to emulate them. For instance the 2 shooters at Columbine High School played violent video games such as "Doom". That does not mean that if they hadn't played that video game, they wouldn't have brought guns into the school. Certainly nobody could blame a video game for that tragedy. So, the question remains, "Do video games lead to crime?" and I'll tell you no. If there is ever a case where someone commits crime based on something they saw in a video game, then that person probably had other issues prior to emulating the game. The bottom line is that video games are a form of entertainment and a way for people to express themselves. You can't associate the actions of a few with the rest of law abiding gamers, it is unfair, and intangible.

*Anderson, Craig A. (October 2003). Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions. American Psychological Association.

*Freedman, Jonathan L. (2002). Media violence and its effect on aggression: assessing the scientific evidence. Toronto: University of Toronto Press

Censorship Survey

I decided to take a survey in my weight training class that would ask some simple questions about controversial music. First, "Do you think that it should be allowed for people to censor the music of popular artists?" Of the ten people i surveyed, only 3 of them said that it shouldn't be allowed to censor profanity, the others thought that since you could choose which version of the music you would buy, it doesn't make much of a difference whether it's censored or not. The other question that i asked was, "Should television networks be allowed to censor the music that they play on their shows?" It is my personal oppinion that networks should be allowed to do whatever they want. They are a business and they want to do what they can so that they can make money. Of the people that i asked, all of them agreed that it is up to the network as to what they want to show. Although some of them dissagreed that it would be offensive to see explicit lyrics displayed on tv. Unfortunately, we have little control over what is censored and what isn't, so basically we just have to deal with it.

Learning Summary

Since i have begun studying and blogging about censorship, i have realized that it is an extremely broad topic, and there isn't usually a correct answer about what should be done with it. I learned that people all over the world have been frustrated by censorship, or remain oblivious to it. I personally feel that censorship is setting the world back by only delaying people from recieving information that they will inevitably become aware of, if they desire. The problem with censorship is that it cannot be stopped for more reasons than one. Mainly, the people that do the censoring are the ones that are usually in power. Also, many people don't care, or aren't educated enough for it to make a difference in their lives whether something is censored or not. I wonder if censorship will ever go away, and if it does, will the world be a better place?

Censorship in the Military

Screening and censoring the mail that soldiers send home is an age-old strategy used by most militaries around the world. The problem is that often times the government will edit or confiscate letters they feel pose a threat to the security of the war. The military should not be able to screen mail because the odds of one of the letters reaching enemy hands, and also containing useful information are too slim. It isn't fair to the soldiers, the families, or the American public because it denies them much desired information about a war that we are supposed to be supportive of.
Now that we are entering a new era where numerous messages are sent home to families over the internet, we have to decide whether or not those messages should be screened also. In truth these messages pose more of a threat because they are posted on the internet where insurgents can possibly get their hands on them and use them to disrupt the war effort. It is messages like these that should therefore be screened and possibly censored.
The reality is that the internet is not a very safe place to be putting important information that you don't want to be shared. Recently the army has adjusted a lot of the rules concerning how you can post things on the internet. The military believes that by reading enough of the e-mails or blogs that soldiers post, they may be able to construct an idea of what the military is doing. Therfore they fell that it is necessary to censor what soldiers post on the internet.

Internet Censorship

<http://courses.cs.vt.edu/~cs3604/lib/Censorship/notes.html>

Currently there is a huge controversy over what should and should not be made available to people over the internet. People want to maintain a level of morality without violating the first ammendment's freedoms. For instance, should someone be able to put instructions for making a bomb on the internet? Some people think so, and some don't. As the internet becomes more and more accessible, it continues to amass more and more controversial material. As it is now, almost anyone can put almost anything on the internet without worrying about the reprecussions. This makes it possible for people to publish oppinions that could be harmful to society. For instance if Charles Manson was able to publish blogs from his prison cell it might be detrimental to society, and it is material like that that i think should be censored.

Censorship History

Although censorship does exist to some degree in every country, it is worse in some than in others. "A government which censors the information available to its people, other than in a state of national emergency (e.g., a sudden attack by a hostile military force) is a government which seeks to keep the people in a state of ignorance, and should not complain if the people have no loyalty to it"(<www.serendipity.li/cda.html>).

A summary of James Bacque's intro to "Chapter 8 of Crimes and Mercies"

James Bacque was a writer and for most of his life he had "believed in the democratic system". He later realized that during World War 2 America had commited atrocities in Europe under the leadership of Eisenhower. Then he went to interview a star reporter for the "New York Times" who wrote during this period. His name was Drew Middleton and he had claimed to have visited a prison camp and came back and said everything was good there. Bacque exposed him confronting him with the fact that the US had been killing thousands. Middleton said, 'I'm not surprised that you were able to dig up some bad things from that time.' He then admitted to never actually visiting the prison camp. "What Middleton told me basically was that, yes, he had lied in 1945 and no, it did not matter to him or the New York Times if I exposed this." This was when Bacque realized the true extent of the media, especially the "New York Times", to cover the truth and keep America ignorant to one of the worst atrocities it's comiited this century.

Videogame censorhip

The issue with giving videogames explicit or mature ratings is that it is unfair to try and regulate in such a way that doesn't allow for people to purchase a game at a certain location. At certain stores if a game is rated mature, you must be 17 to buy the game. So some conservatives might argue that this is a triumph over such games as "Grand Theft Auto"or "Hitman", but when a 16 year old goes to a store to try and buy a game they have been waiting a long time to release, only to find that they have to go home without it, it's very unfair.

I think that censorship is an important issue in this country because it often seems like a violation of the first ammendment. Without the freedom to say what you want and express yourself you may feel supressed.