Censorship in America
COM 156
Censorship in America
When America was formed, it was on the basis that people would be free from any sort of government tyranny. Free speech was the most basic form of abuse that the Founding Fathers sought to eliminate and thus, the Bill of Rights had it as part of the first amendment. Yet, over the next two centuries, the government has been enforcing censorship on things that it deems could harm society. Although there are many things that individuals should not see, including pornography and racist remarks, this can encourage Americans to act in rebellious manners. The government should not censor materials because by doing so, it violates the Constitution, suppresses information from us, and forces people to conform to the views of the government as all written material in books and online are confined to things that are deemed acceptable by the controlling body.
By censoring material, the government clearly violates the US Constitution as it limits civil liberties by denying freedom of speech, which is guaranteed to citizens. As American citizens, we have the right to express ourselves as stated in the First Amendment of the sacred document: "Congress shall make no law... prohibiting the free exercise... of speech, or of the press." Therefore, any act that thwarts the media or individuals from getting information out infringes upon their rights. Yet, National Security Letters, those which prevent the recipient of the letter from disclosing that the letter was even received, are still produced by the government and demonstrate that censorship is being implemented by the body that is not suppose to be doing so (ACLU, In ACLU). Even the USA PATRIOT Act, according to Jim Cornehls, makes people become "too frightened to speak up and out, because they fear their names may go on some government list of suspicious persons, [thus] censorship" . Moreover, the Constitution also allows for people to "assemble, and to...