Controversial Issues: Censorship In The United States
Mike Revelle
Mr. Perkins/ Mrs. Peters
PIG 12/ ENG 12
6 March 2014
Controversial Issues
“I have had it with these monkey-fightin’ snakes on this Monday-to-Friday plane.” –Samuel L. Jackson. This is a line from the movie Snakes on a Plane that before it was censored contained some choice words. Since the First Amendment censorship, has played a role in American life. Censorship is basically the editing or removal of material, either written or oral, as it may be considered to be offensive or inappropriate to some. Censorship protects our children from seeing what could possibly damage them mentally and keeps things that should not be seen in public in the shadows.
The origin of the term censor can be traced to the office of censor established …show more content…
in Rome I 443 BC. In Rome, as in the ancient Greek communities, the ideal of good governance included shaping the character of the people. Hence censorship was regarded as an honorable task. In China, the first censorship law was introduced in 300 AD. A celebrated legal case in 1734-1735 involved John Peter Zenger, a New York newspaper printer. He printed a newspaper that publicly bashed the ruler at this time, and he was taken to jail. In court and he was charged with seditious libel for assailing the corrupt royal governor of New York. His lawyer Andrew Hamilton defended him well, and was made famous for his words "truth cannot be libel." This court case paved the way for the adoption of freedom of the press in the United States Constitution (History of Censorship in the U.S.A.). In 1791, the year that the First Amendment was put into place censorship began in the newly formed United States. Freedom of speech meant that people could say whatever they wanted, citizens could not voice political opinions that would impose danger to the United States ( The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798). There have been a number of attempts in the United States to forbid speech that has been deemed "seditious". The Sedition Act of 1917, passed in connection with the United States joining the Allied Powers in the First World War, was a controversial law that led to imprisonment of many prominent individuals for opposing the war or the draft. The Sedition Act expired shortly after the end of the First World War; the state sedition acts, if in place, are undoubtedly unconstitutional under the Brandenburg Doctrine created after the Supreme Court case of Brandenburg vs Ohio which was decided that the government cannot punish inflammatory speech unless that speech is directed to inciting, and is likely to incite, imminent lawless action.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government, created by Congressional statute to regulate interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the media, public safety and homeland security. (Federal Communications Commission) In 1798, President John Adams signed into law the Alien and Sedition Acts. The United States set out punishments of up to two years ' imprisonment for opposing or resisting any law of the United States or writing or publishing false, scandalous, and malicious writing. Today there are many more different types of censorship in the world because our technology has developed through time. Television, internet, and movies did not exist until recently which means that when they started they could basically say anything they wanted. Movies began to have …show more content…
ratings as to which age was allowed to see it depending on the profanity, language (like cursing), and indecency. TV shows were also rated on these three major things and had different age ratings as to what age the show was appropriate for. Also some shows are put on channels that have many shows with around the same rating. An example is Comedy Central, which is a channel on which shows that have a higher amount of profanity, language, and indecency than others would be shown. The internet is the newest thing that has to be censored the most. The internet presents knowledge of just about everything, and as time goes by, it continues to accumulate new information.
People can go there and put whatever they want on it like their own opinions of things. People should not have the ability to speak openly. There aren’t many laws to support censorship, but there are government agencies like the FCC to enforce rules on TV so that they do not show anything obscene or profane. Today the U.S. is even trying to censor across borders. It’s trying to “tone down” any anti-American sentiments (Reaves). Censorship exist everywhere around us and most people hate the idea of it. Many people believe that there should be no limit to what should be shown on television. If everything wasn’t censored, TV programming would be more enjoyable. Censorship denies the access to vital information. It contradicts the First Amendment by the suppression of words, images, or ideas that are offensive, these happen whenever some people succeed in imposing their personal political or moral values on other. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights. Censorship in the United States raises the controversial issues of the freedom of speech which is protected in the constitution by the First Amendment and is guaranteed to all Americans. Censorship by the FCC is unconstitutional. Anyone that believes in the First Amendment is basically against censorship. My partner believes that there are and endless amount of arguments on why censorship is a thing. I believe that censorship is a great thing during our time period of rising technology. Some TV shows try to push the boundaries of what should be allowed to seen on television. There are many reasons why people and shows should be censored like people putting their own opinions out to be seen. Some things just shouldn’t be put in the public. Everyone has a right to their own opinion but trying to push their ideals on others is wrong. Some shows are inappropriate for children to see like sexual acts on TV or extremely profane things. Children take in everything they see and hear so if they hear comedians swearing on TV or some idiot twerking on TV they may try to reenact it. TV is hurting our kids mentally, our children are in danger. (Hollings) Yes it’s the parent’s jobs to watch out for their kids but what about when the parents aren’t around all the time to stop their kids from watching things they shouldn’t see. Censorship is needed to stop people from pushing their ideals on others and to protect the young generations from obscene or profane things. Though most supporters of censorship are big companies and the government, they are still people who think it is right. In 2004 lawmakers wanted to start restricting what was being televised. They wanted to make TV more family friendly. (Thierer) Large companies like Apple, Adobe, Dell, Intel, McAfee, and Microsoft. I think it is clear that Television needs censorship, since many adult shows are readily accessible to children.
I believe that TV should be policed accordingly. That means censoring adult or offensive shows that are readily accessible to children, among other much-needed censoring measures. I think that people who make shows think that they can put their ideals out and try to get people to follow them. They try to push the boundaries of what can be shown. I feel that the government should be allowed to censor certain things on TV. In 1975 the Federal Communications Commission made it so there was a certain time period on TV known as the “Family Hour.” This hour allowed TV shows to only have certain things in them such as family friendly language and actions. I feel the government should put something like this into place today. If you turn on the TV today it’s nothing but blood, sex, violence, cussing, and drugs. In my opinion children under the age of 17 shouldn’t be viewing things like this. Even though most of us have become desensitized to things like this it doesn’t make it right to put them on TV. Grant it they can view things like this all over the internet, but the internet is now an extension to TV media, and I feel the government should be able to put some type of censorship on it as well. Sometimes these things are extremely obscene and profane. I think that censorship is a great thing that we should have because during our time people can put anything out in the public for all to see and that they should be censored. Censorship is basically the editing or removal of material either written or oral, as it may be considered to be offensive or inappropriate to some.
Censorship protects our children from seeing what could possibly damage them mentally and keeps things that should not be seen in public to stay in the shadows. Many people hate censorship because they think it takes away their freedom of speech. It doesn’t because as long as the people don’t say things that should be said they won’t be censored. Censorship stops things from being seen that shouldn’t be. Censorship is a necessity for the new
generations.
Works Cited
The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. n.d. 19 March 2014. <http://www.earlyamerica.com>.
Federal Communications Commission. What We Do. 27 March 2014. <http://www.fcc.gov/>.
History of Censorship in The U.S.A. 2014. 20 March 2014. <http://www.censorshipinamerica.com>.
Hollings, Ernest F. TV violence-survival vs. censorship-save the children. 23 November 1993. <http://www.nytimes.com>.
Reaves, Jessica. Reach out and censor someone. 5 October 2001. <http://www.time.com>.
Thierer, Adam D. Should government censor Speech on cable and satallite . 29 March 2009. <http://www.cato.org>.
Mr. Perkins/ Mrs. Peters
PIG 12/ ENG 12
6 March 2014
Controversial Issues
“I have had it with these monkey-fightin’ snakes on this Monday-to-Friday plane.” –Samuel L. Jackson. This is a line from the movie Snakes on a Plane that before it was censored contained some choice words. Since the First Amendment censorship, has played a role in American life. Censorship is basically the editing or removal of material, either written or oral, as it may be considered to be offensive or inappropriate to some. Censorship protects our children from seeing what could possibly damage them mentally and keeps things that should not be seen in public in the shadows.
The origin of the term censor can be traced to the office of censor established …show more content…
in Rome I 443 BC. In Rome, as in the ancient Greek communities, the ideal of good governance included shaping the character of the people. Hence censorship was regarded as an honorable task. In China, the first censorship law was introduced in 300 AD. A celebrated legal case in 1734-1735 involved John Peter Zenger, a New York newspaper printer. He printed a newspaper that publicly bashed the ruler at this time, and he was taken to jail. In court and he was charged with seditious libel for assailing the corrupt royal governor of New York. His lawyer Andrew Hamilton defended him well, and was made famous for his words "truth cannot be libel." This court case paved the way for the adoption of freedom of the press in the United States Constitution (History of Censorship in the U.S.A.). In 1791, the year that the First Amendment was put into place censorship began in the newly formed United States. Freedom of speech meant that people could say whatever they wanted, citizens could not voice political opinions that would impose danger to the United States ( The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798). There have been a number of attempts in the United States to forbid speech that has been deemed "seditious". The Sedition Act of 1917, passed in connection with the United States joining the Allied Powers in the First World War, was a controversial law that led to imprisonment of many prominent individuals for opposing the war or the draft. The Sedition Act expired shortly after the end of the First World War; the state sedition acts, if in place, are undoubtedly unconstitutional under the Brandenburg Doctrine created after the Supreme Court case of Brandenburg vs Ohio which was decided that the government cannot punish inflammatory speech unless that speech is directed to inciting, and is likely to incite, imminent lawless action.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government, created by Congressional statute to regulate interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the media, public safety and homeland security. (Federal Communications Commission) In 1798, President John Adams signed into law the Alien and Sedition Acts. The United States set out punishments of up to two years ' imprisonment for opposing or resisting any law of the United States or writing or publishing false, scandalous, and malicious writing. Today there are many more different types of censorship in the world because our technology has developed through time. Television, internet, and movies did not exist until recently which means that when they started they could basically say anything they wanted. Movies began to have …show more content…
ratings as to which age was allowed to see it depending on the profanity, language (like cursing), and indecency. TV shows were also rated on these three major things and had different age ratings as to what age the show was appropriate for. Also some shows are put on channels that have many shows with around the same rating. An example is Comedy Central, which is a channel on which shows that have a higher amount of profanity, language, and indecency than others would be shown. The internet is the newest thing that has to be censored the most. The internet presents knowledge of just about everything, and as time goes by, it continues to accumulate new information.
People can go there and put whatever they want on it like their own opinions of things. People should not have the ability to speak openly. There aren’t many laws to support censorship, but there are government agencies like the FCC to enforce rules on TV so that they do not show anything obscene or profane. Today the U.S. is even trying to censor across borders. It’s trying to “tone down” any anti-American sentiments (Reaves). Censorship exist everywhere around us and most people hate the idea of it. Many people believe that there should be no limit to what should be shown on television. If everything wasn’t censored, TV programming would be more enjoyable. Censorship denies the access to vital information. It contradicts the First Amendment by the suppression of words, images, or ideas that are offensive, these happen whenever some people succeed in imposing their personal political or moral values on other. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights. Censorship in the United States raises the controversial issues of the freedom of speech which is protected in the constitution by the First Amendment and is guaranteed to all Americans. Censorship by the FCC is unconstitutional. Anyone that believes in the First Amendment is basically against censorship. My partner believes that there are and endless amount of arguments on why censorship is a thing. I believe that censorship is a great thing during our time period of rising technology. Some TV shows try to push the boundaries of what should be allowed to seen on television. There are many reasons why people and shows should be censored like people putting their own opinions out to be seen. Some things just shouldn’t be put in the public. Everyone has a right to their own opinion but trying to push their ideals on others is wrong. Some shows are inappropriate for children to see like sexual acts on TV or extremely profane things. Children take in everything they see and hear so if they hear comedians swearing on TV or some idiot twerking on TV they may try to reenact it. TV is hurting our kids mentally, our children are in danger. (Hollings) Yes it’s the parent’s jobs to watch out for their kids but what about when the parents aren’t around all the time to stop their kids from watching things they shouldn’t see. Censorship is needed to stop people from pushing their ideals on others and to protect the young generations from obscene or profane things. Though most supporters of censorship are big companies and the government, they are still people who think it is right. In 2004 lawmakers wanted to start restricting what was being televised. They wanted to make TV more family friendly. (Thierer) Large companies like Apple, Adobe, Dell, Intel, McAfee, and Microsoft. I think it is clear that Television needs censorship, since many adult shows are readily accessible to children.
I believe that TV should be policed accordingly. That means censoring adult or offensive shows that are readily accessible to children, among other much-needed censoring measures. I think that people who make shows think that they can put their ideals out and try to get people to follow them. They try to push the boundaries of what can be shown. I feel that the government should be allowed to censor certain things on TV. In 1975 the Federal Communications Commission made it so there was a certain time period on TV known as the “Family Hour.” This hour allowed TV shows to only have certain things in them such as family friendly language and actions. I feel the government should put something like this into place today. If you turn on the TV today it’s nothing but blood, sex, violence, cussing, and drugs. In my opinion children under the age of 17 shouldn’t be viewing things like this. Even though most of us have become desensitized to things like this it doesn’t make it right to put them on TV. Grant it they can view things like this all over the internet, but the internet is now an extension to TV media, and I feel the government should be able to put some type of censorship on it as well. Sometimes these things are extremely obscene and profane. I think that censorship is a great thing that we should have because during our time people can put anything out in the public for all to see and that they should be censored. Censorship is basically the editing or removal of material either written or oral, as it may be considered to be offensive or inappropriate to some.
Censorship protects our children from seeing what could possibly damage them mentally and keeps things that should not be seen in public to stay in the shadows. Many people hate censorship because they think it takes away their freedom of speech. It doesn’t because as long as the people don’t say things that should be said they won’t be censored. Censorship stops things from being seen that shouldn’t be. Censorship is a necessity for the new
generations.
Works Cited
The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. n.d. 19 March 2014. <http://www.earlyamerica.com>.
Federal Communications Commission. What We Do. 27 March 2014. <http://www.fcc.gov/>.
History of Censorship in The U.S.A. 2014. 20 March 2014. <http://www.censorshipinamerica.com>.
Hollings, Ernest F. TV violence-survival vs. censorship-save the children. 23 November 1993. <http://www.nytimes.com>.
Reaves, Jessica. Reach out and censor someone. 5 October 2001. <http://www.time.com>.
Thierer, Adam D. Should government censor Speech on cable and satallite . 29 March 2009. <http://www.cato.org>.