Do You Think That There Are Any Circumstances When a Government Would Be Justified in Banning Books or Censoring Ideas? Explain

Thomas Chapman

March 22, 2012

Journal Entry 8

2nd Period

“Do you think that there are any circumstances when a government would be justified in banning books or censoring ideas? Explain

The debate about whether to ban books or censor ideas has been discussed for years. Parents, schools, churches, government agency, and others have had heated discussions concerning what people should and should not be exposed to in a world setting. In order to discuss this topic, the reader must first understand what the word censorship means. Webster’s dictionary states, censorship is the control of speech or other communication which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the general body of people as determined by a government, media outlet, or other controlling body.

Next, how does a person determine harmful or sensitive. Just opening the newspaper could be harmful or sensitive to a person’s morals or values. The decisions made by the government and news outlets create feelings that are controversial and divisive. Who has that kind of power to determine what should or should not be shared?

In studying this definition one first has to ask how does a person determine what is objectionable? That word itself is very subjective. What may be objectionable to one person may not be objectionable to someone else. The topic would have to be based on someone’s opinion and everybody has an opinion that they want to express. Why should their opinion be more influential than other persons?

By banning books or censoring ideas any entity appears to be crossing the line of the First Amendment. The First Amendment states, “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; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” It specifically says abridging the...