Clare Booth Luce, American playwright and a diplomat once said, "Censorship, like charity, should begin at home, but unlike charity--it should end there." It is the personal responsibility of an adult to close the offensive book, turn off the vulgar radio show, not go to the movie that he finds repulsive and to protect his minor child from what he finds subversive or pornographic, but his opinion is his alone and should not be forced on anyone else.
So what is censorship? One definition is that censorship is a device for restricting access to some context that may be labeled offensive or dangerous. But, who decides what is offensive or dangerous? The government? The First Amendment states that congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof: or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.
Thomas Jefferson said, " I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man." Censorship operates on the supposition that no matter what the creative work is about, or how the viewer or reader responds...only one point of view matters...the view of the Censor…"My judgment shall be your judgment."
According to Herbert Foerstel, Arthur of Free Expression and Censorship in America, the most common examples of censorship are in school and public libraries and it mostly involves children's books. Political groups try to remove books that use naughty words or don't have happy endings. Little Red Riding Hood was the 24th most banned book in the 90's mainly because she had a bottle of wine in her basket for Grandma. Many organizations demanded a non-alcoholic picnic basket...and they were successful! Dr Foerstel is the former head of branch libraries at the University of Maryland and a Board Member of the national security archive.
Other books that have been on the censor's chopping block includes: Maya Angelou's I know why the Caged Bird Sings William Falkner's As I Lay Dying Harper Lee's To kill a mockingbird Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath And the list of books goes on and on. What if the Censor had stopped any one of these books now considered major American Literature? Who would have paid the price for the Censor's point of view?
According to the Sunday Age, Hannah Edwards says that experts fear censorship of children's books is rising, with witchcraft themes, swear words and obscenities as the main targets. She also says that many children's books have been criticized for themes generally considered harmless, including the Harry Potter series. It attracted criticism for supposedly teaching about witchcraft and the supernatural.
No one likes censorship--except the Censor, of course. And no Censor ever thinks that what he is doing is harmful. The Censor believes he is acting in a right and moral manner when he fights for his cause, but then again, so does the man who fights against censorship.
Furthermore, Lets take a look at how censorship tends to have effects on the books popularity and sales. According to an article in The Nation, Censorship usually raises a book's notoriety and hence its attraction. But in the new world of more open media, a ban can also increase a book's readership by making it cheaper and more widely accessible. So in exchange censorship no longer achieves its supposed purpose of actually preventing people from gaining access to the information being provided.
President John F. Kennedy once said," We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of it's people."
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