Censorship: Good and Bad

When someone thinks of censorship, some might think about the government trying to hide information from the public. Others might think of books and literature that has been censored because of “offensive material”. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad.

A good example of censorship is this, the country is at war, and they are planning an attack on their enemy. The media present has no right to know how or when the military will strike, and we the public have no right to know it either. If the media were to get their hands on the information, that would mean it would be broadcast on the news for everyone to see, and when the enemy turns on their TV and knows what were about to do, they can counter it and kill our forces. It happened during the war in Iraq, and nearly cost us many more lives than needed.

A poor example of censorship is when a minority doesn’t like something that’s been written in a book, or the newspaper, so they complain and whine to the government till the book is banned, and no one can read about it. The book may have contained vital information for your everyday life, or may have been a great resource for someone, but because some people didn’t like it, no one gets the benefit of that book or literature. This same method can also be used for good. For instance, if the book that was banned was worth being banned, because it contained no useful information for anyone, and was just a hate mongers ramblings, it’s ok to ban such a book. Many people disagree as to the worthiness of a piece of literature to be banned, which is why the books aren’t found and destroyed, just removed from publicly available spaces. This also holds true for movies, and TV shows, and radio broadcasts. While some agree with them, others disagree, and this is where many people disagree.

Some people may think censorship of something is totally justified, and another group think otherwise. Some may think their own morals are higher and better than others, and that they know better than the rest of the world, and that they’re doing the world a favor by banning the book, but this isn’t true. Some people think some ways, while others think another way. No one persons morals can be true for every single person. What some think is wrong, really isn’t, or what they think is right might be detestable to others. It’s all in the eye of the beholder.

Censorship can be an invaluable tool when used properly, to remove things unworthy of being publicly viewable, but it can also be a bad thing, if the government doesn’t allow anything to be read that contradicts them, or opposes their ideas. But, who is right to decide what is right? Everyone’s views are different, and many people change their ideas, so there is no strong and true method to use censorship appropriately. In the end, it’s up to the people to allow or disallow what the majority sees fit to do.