The Weird and The Wacky Meet

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Media Diary 5:  Censorship

Under what circumstances is censorship permissible?  Whom do you trust to make the right decision about what you should and should not read?  If you were a librarian, under what circumstances would you pull a book?

                 Censorship is a thorny issue.  Everyone wants to live in a society where free speech is valued above almost everything else.  Censorship is almost never acceptable.  The few examples where censorship is acceptable all have to do with immediate harm.  Books in a library really do not fall under the immediate harm exception.  This is why a library should stock books that have all opinions and knowledge available.  It’s also important to note that people can make their own decisions.

                 When it comes down to what I want to read, I don’t let anyone make the final decision but myself.  I can be persuaded to read or not read a particular book, but still in the end, I read what I choose.  In short, I don’t trust people enough to make that final say for me.  I don’t think that anyone should make the final say for anyone else, which is why I am so against censorship.

                 If I were a librarian there are no circumstances that I can think of where I would pull a book.  However, as a librarian, I’d also have the option of how I arrange the books.  I think that a good librarian would present options to people and place books that have differing opinions next to each other.

                 For example, a library should carry a copy of Mein Kampf, but maybe right next to it there should be a book about the harms of prejudice, or maybe even a book about the Holocaust.  Call me an idealist, but I really do think that human beings have the capacity to make the right decisions if given half a chance.  Although, making sure that people are educated with the ability of critical thinking also plays a role in eliminating censorship.  If people thought for themselves, censorship would never even be an issue.

Copyright 2005

by Amanda Evans

Date: 03/29/05