Essay: "The Insidious Threat of Censorship", Part 8

Essay: "The Insidious Threat of Censorship", Part 8 of Several

  Literature:

       Many books have been targets and casualties of morality groups. I read The Satanic Verses by Salmon Rushdie. I'm not a Moslem, but as far as I could tell, there was very little, if anything, taboo in it. Given moralists' beliefs, it isn't surprising that they would decry voyeurism, from skin mags to lingerie ads. Less sensible though, is the way they are itching to build a Fahrenheit 451 bonfire for some of the literary classics, such as Huckleberry Finn. Some moralists still want to ban the teaching of evolution, even though genetics and the fossil record all but prove its validity. All-too-many of these moralists are examples of retrogression, the reverse of evolution. What really gets me is that many of these narrow-minded moralists frequently try to ban certain books from classrooms and libraries. Also, to this day these Harper Valley Hypocrites even pressure publishers not to publish the works of controversial artists and authors.

Essay: "The Insidious Threat of Censorship", Part 7

Essay: "The Insidious Threat of Censorship", Part 7 of Several

      Music:

       Rock music has always been the target of morality groups, from alleged hidden messages, to the antics of that minimally talented strumpet, Madonna. In Alabama, some time ago, a record store owner was arrested for selling a rap music record deemed offensive by certain moralists; after selling the record to an undercover cop.  

       Someday, perhaps record and CD buyers will one-day risk arrest for buying music someone else deems offensive. Personally, Barry Manilow and Julio Iglesias do to my ears what Chinese bamboo torture do to fingernails, but I wouldn't want to ban them for those who enjoy such noise. It is true that if everyone could ban one thing there would soon be nothing left to ban. (to be cont'd)

       The PMRC or the Parents Music Resource Center was a group of unelected Washington-connected wives, Including Tipper Gore, wife of fromer veep Al, who succeeded in getting record labels on music with violent or sexual lyrics. Due to this group a lot of musicians lost business because kids could no longer buy their records and stores like (according to Wikipedia) Wal-Mart refused to carry their music. The PMRC claims they are not practicing censorship, but if it walks and talks like censorship, then it is censorship. Next thing you know, novels will get labels and who knows what will be available for the general public to read, watch, listen to, or even write about. (to be cont'd) 

  [The original version of this essay first appeared in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern student newspaper and as part of my unpublished manuscript "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die" And Other Essays.]

Essay: "The Insidious Threat of Censorship", Part 6

Essay: "The Insidious Threat of Censorship", Part 6 of Several

   Self-Appointed Moralists:

       The Christian Khomeini's, or more specifically, the dubiously ethical, usually conservative morality groups and their members, get away with a lot of things  that they should never get away with. Sometimes I wish that whoever bore these so-called  'Born Again' moralists a second time around would get post-partum depression, and smack these people around and back to reality. Many of these groups and individuals, including many conservative politicians, believe they have the Divine Right to meddle with everyone else's freedoms of action and choice. Funny thing is, the French aristocracy once pretty much believed the same thing, and look what happened to them.

       Many of these moralists like to try to ban, burn and censor any and everything that might offend, contradict, or refute their own beliefs. Nazi-style book burning is just the tip of the iceburg with many of them. As I see it, if the beliefs of moralists cannot co-exist with other beliefs, then something is obviously awry. These people would like everyone to conform to a very narrow-minded lifestyle. They would likely try to banish or punish any dissidents to their narrow-minded beliefs, if they could. (to be cont'd)

  [The original version of this essay first appeared in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern student newspaper in the early '90s and as part of my unpublished manuscript "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die" And Other Essays.]

Essay: "The Insidious Threat of Censorship", Part 5

Essay: "The Insidious Threat of Censorship", Part 5 of Several

    Judicial Censorship: SLAPP Lawsuits:

       Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are a disturbing trend generally used by large corporations to suppress freedom of speech, assembly and other rights. According to Wikipedia half the United States, including Massachusetts have laws on the books protecting citizens against such abusive legal maneuvers. For those unprotected states and for loopholes to protective laws, any industry that carry out any unpopular practices could prevent bad publicity by filing a SLAPP suit against any would-be protestor who may cause the company to lose business or revenue. These companies may file ridiculously exorbitant slander suits to try to intimidate and silence any would-be critic or protestor. Since these lawsuits are often for millions of dollars, many people quickly become too intimidated to continue protesting. In fact, the experience of being 'SLAPPed' may be enough to make many people think twice about speaking up or acting in the face of injustice or dissatisfaction for the rest of their lives. Imagine if these suits existed in the Civil Rights era. Luckily some gutsy people have countersued due to these groundless slander or nuisance litigations, and many such individuals have received handsome rewards. I think SLAPP suits should be illegal nationwide and internationally, plus any attorney who litigates SLAPP suits should be immediately disbarred and fined.  (to be cont'd)

 [The original version of this essay first appeared in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern  in the early '90s and as part of my unpublished manuscript "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die" And Other Essays.]

Essay: "The Insidious Threat of Censorship", Part 4

Essay: "The Insidious Threat of Censorship", Part 4 of Several

    The Freedom From Religion Foundation:

       Asking if freedom of religion for the faithful includes freedom from religion for the faithless is a good question to ask. I personally think it should. Members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation want to have  "Under God" removed from 'the Pledge of Allegiance', and  "In God We Trust" from money. I absolutely agree with them. Perhaps this would be a gesture of good will for atheists, Buddhists and religions that do not involve a god. However, these same people also would like to ban free Bibles from hotel rooms. I'm sure that religious people could give scores of reasons to read the Bible, but with illiteracy so widespread in this world and in our own nation, anything that might encourage reading should be allowed. I feel the same way about the works of Nietzche, the "Egyptian Book of the Dead", "Playboy" and other controversial works of literature.  (to be cont'd)

  [The original version of this essay first appeared in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern student newspaper and as part of my unpublished manuscript "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die" And Other Essays.] 

Essay: "The Insidious Threat of Censorship", Part 3

Essay: "The Insidious Threat of Censorship", Part 3 of Several

 More about that later.

        A ludicrous cause bordering on censorship:

       Banning War Toys: 

       With all the problems we have with our economy, the environment, America's infrastructure, etc., why do certain people waste their time? The idea that the youthful use of war toys has anything to do with violence or aggression later in life is absolutely ridiculous. It is especially an absurd cause when the very kids they are trying to deprive of war toys can easily get ahold of a real firearm if they wanted to. While they're at trying to ban war toys, these people would probably try to ban boxing, football, karate, ice hockey, or even  "The Three Stooges." (to be cont'd)

 [The original version of this essay first appeared in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern student newspaper in the early '90s and as part of my unpublished manuscript "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die" And Other Essays.]

  

Essay: "The Insidious Threat of Censorship", Part 2

Essay: "The Insidious Threat of Censorship", Part 2 of Several

       I am not so much concerned with these broadcast preachers as I am with their gullible, brainwashed and lobotomized followers who like to form so-called  'morality groups'. With the possible exception of certain dangerous cults, I have no problem with freedom of religion; provided that nobody is forced to accept or practice someone else's beliefs (except of course for laws). If these people want to change things in a legitimate way, that's fine; but unfortunately members of morality groups and the so-called religious right use all kinds of underhanded schemes to try to impose their will and nonbelievers and others.  (to be cont'd)  

 [The original version of this essay first appeared in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern student newspaper in the early '90s and as part of my unpublished manuscript "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die" And Other Essays.]