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As Americans, we all want to know what the latest news is in society and what are our
government is up to. After all it is our first amendment right to be informed and to speak out
against or for what we feel is right and wrong in society. These fundamental freedoms are the
base for us to stay informed and prevent our government from abusing censorship of information
we as a society have a right to. Throughout time and especially now more than ever the
controversy over what information should and shouldnt censored and its abuses have been an
issue Even now given recent events of the past few months the question comes to hand how
much can we trust our government with telling us the truth?. With scandals of censoring
important, public information and the numerous leaks of classified information it is our job to
question what is right and wrong we as a society should be trying to stay informed now more
than ever.
The debate has been argued for decades whether censorship does more good than harm
during the Watergate Scandal and has become a popular topic since then. Now with the 2016
election and Russian Probe events going on with the Trump Administration, I think that it is now
more than ever a time to discuss the impacts it has on society. y some thirty years ago, but has
gained rapid popularity again with recent events. There are many pros and cons to censorship, it
obviously has some benefits and has done good for society on a number of issues has proven to
be very useful and stopping major outbreaks of chaos and psychological harm throughout the
world. But the issue has also arisen where does the line draw of what counts as abuse of
censorship. Throughout this paper, I seek to explore the positives of censorship and how it has
helped society throughout the past couple of decades and the negatives of it, and how it can be
abused by powerful, government officials. By the end, I hope to arrive at the conclusion of is
censorship of sensitive and classified information a necessity or a tool for corruption or abuse of
power.
Before we delve into the censorship in the United States, I think it is important to look at
it from a global perspective first and compare its positives and negatives to those of the United
States. The abuses of censorship are more common on many other countries than the United
States that dont have the same base, fundamental freedoms as we do. A more recent example of
how censorship is abused in other countries is in TURKEYTurkey. Much of the media outlets
and newspapers are not allowed to speak out against the government and those that dealt with
severely which I whole violate basic fundamental rightswho tried expose these violations of free
speech were then silenced and persecuted with the abuse of censorship in their country. There are
some though who comment on these hardships though and openly speak out against it. Yavuz
Baydar, a journalist for the CUMHURIYET DAILY which is one of the few newspapers left in
Turkey that does not let the oppression of censorship silence their opinions. They explained to
the public that the new emergency rule passed gives the government the ability to shut down
media outlets that are a threat to national security. Anyone who speaks out against the growing
violence in South-eastern Turkey or speaks out in any way against the government runs the risk
of being shut down and prosecuted. This is just one of many examples of how censorship has
been twisted and abused by people in positions in power to silence those who speak out against
them no matter what. Although this shows the hardships many countries have to face with the
abuses of censorship, it isnt right to totally discard censorship and say it causes complete harm
Looking at Censorship in the United States it differs a lot from the abuses and benefits
from other countries. Our first amendment right, which is fundamental, protects people and
media from censorship such as what happened in Turkey. In the past decade, there has been
much controversy over censorship and its abuses up to now with the Trump administration. The
recent controversyThis controversy over what the government can and cant censor along with
behind closed doors scandals started with the Bush Administration with the Patriot Act
following 9/11. This gave more power to the government to collect information from people and
target anyone they felt was a threat to them. One of the most controversial uses of censorship
during this time was political appointees during Bushs administration censored climate science
reports from government agencies. According to TIME, A survey found that nearly half of Formatted: Font: Italic
1,600 government scientists at seven agencies ranging from NASA to the EPA had been warned
against using terms like global warming in reports or speeches, through bushes eight-year
presidency. (Walsh 3). A scandal as large as this one shows yet again one of the darker sides of
censorship over the past decade in the United States. Many abuses of censorship are directly
linked to presidential administrations trying to promote their own agenda and popularity by
censoring what is even covered by our first amendment rights. Similarities can be seen with this
through the Trump administration in current day. Reports have shown that they have threatened
the EPA to take down their websites in order to not promote global warming. These examples
show how in modern day censorship is a powerful and corrupting tool that can directly control
societies and must be stopped at every point to not be abused. But aside from the bad parts of
censorship, there are many some benefits to having censorship in a society and it can be argued
Censorship, while it may come withhave its hardships, can offer many benefits to society
itself. There comes a time when censorship is just without a question necessary and protects
more than it tears down. One of the most primary examples of how censorship can do this is
through the censorship of military secrets and classified information. While the questioning of
what is going on with our military, especially during a time of war, is important, the need for
secrecy is even more. Revealing military secrets publicly to our everyone,enemies including our
enemies, during a time of war puts us at more of a disadvantage of a society than anything. Due
to this, information is classified or routinely censored to prevent secrets from being leaked into
the wrong hands or causing widespread panic. While it can be argued that this should be public
times.
Another case for censorship being a necessity to society that steers away from classified
information is to prevent the exposure ofto dangerous media exposed to children and to prevent
psychological harm to people. Children, most of all, at such a young age exposed to things such
as violence and pornography can have a detrimental effect to their psychological healthare easily
influenced by the outside world and peoples actions so things such as violence and pornography
if not censored have a detrimental, psychological impact. Children most of all are easily
influenced by anything, Sso when you exposeexposed them too material like this it can shape
their adulthood in a negative way. Studies have shown that children exposed to pornography
through the internet tend to show an increased aggressive behavior as adults. This and violent
media, if not censored from children can have negative mental health effects on our children.
These examples are just some points that have been made in favor of censorship and show how
in some cases it is a necessity that can protect society from physical and psychological harm. But
like most things, once abused and over used it can cause just as much harm as not using it at all.
The major controversy has come down to the abuse of censorship and its shadow over
freedom of speech and press across the world. The over abuse of censorship has silenced many
media outlets and people from ever speaking out against their government and leaders. Those
who try are dealt with through imprisonment, discredited, or even worse fates. This has been a
common issue throughout the 20th century with examples such as the U.S.S.R., Nazi Germany,
and the Middle East dating far back. This over abuse must be countered against in order to
preserve basic human rights and we must not let our country fall to the overabuse of censorship
in modern day. .
Over the past decade many have argued that the abuse of censorship, especially classified
information, has been a major issue in our country. Many argue that the American people have a
right to know majority of classified information that our government keeps, while the other
believe that it is necessary for society. Many traces of abuse can be lead back to Bush
administration, as above with the global warming scandal. An example is the Patriot Act, which
at the time seemed like a good way to prevent terrorism, has turned to be another tool for
silencing people. It gives extreme powers to law enforcement agencies over what to do with
immigrants and access to anyones records without warrant. Fast forward to present day and one
can argue that censorship is more of a threat now than other. Many view the Trump
administration as a threat to the first amendment right. With his attacks on media outlets and the
judiciary branch, he has used censorship to cover up scandals and to try and discredit the media
from reporting any of this. Another example is Trumps administrations involvement with
Russia. The use of censorship has been used throughout to try and cover up many ties with
Russia which includes the exclusion and resignation of many key Trump advisors who have been
reported tied to this scandal. Many view this as a major abuse of censorship that is just one step
closer from attacks on basic democratic beliefs. All of these examples show how censorship,
So, in conclusion, while many are divided on the stance of censorship and its growing
problem throughout the world, we must remember that while it can be a threat that it is necessary
to protecting society and preserving our future. The best way to keep balance through censorship
is recognize its importance while also fighting against its abuse. Now more than ever is key to
remember this for soon its shadow can spread over our country and take away many freedoms
- Walsh, Bryan. The Right to Speech Vs. the Right to Censor. Time, Time,
time.com/4688211/the-right-to-speech-vs-the-right-to-censor/. Accessed 15 Mar. 2017.
- Witherbee, Amy, and Ames C Cushman. Counterpoint: Sometimes Censorship is Necessary.
Web.b.ebscohost.com, Great Neck Publishing , 1 Mar. 2016,
web.b.ebscohost.com/pov/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=c4d574fe-bf7a-4829-87b1-
afa800a28353%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9cG92LWxpdmU%3d#AN=12428150&db
=pwh. Accessed 6 Mar. 2017.