Censorship

Most of you who know me could rather accurately pin me as an activist for some of the more liberal causes: gay rights, education for everyone, equal treatment for the sexes, blogger rights, and so on and so forth. With that being said, you can only imagine the other host of topics that would get my blood boiling. Censorship is most definitely one of them. When the retail giant WalMart announced that they were going to start censoring the music that they sold after the whole Sheryl Crow incident which I understand they have every right to do so. But their decision certainly left an impact where WalMart was the only place to purchase music.

Then there is the age old debate on what books are appropriate for students to read. This post actually came as a reaction to an article in the Orlando Sentinel. Granted this article shows the 'oversight committee' granting access to this book, it strikes at the core of the fundamental issues: how can an 'oversight committee' tell me or my kids what to read? The article talks about advanced junior and senior students who had to fight to read a book that certain parents thought was inappropriate. Now if these same certain parents had their way, their kids wouldn't have the opportunity to read classics such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Beloved or Fahrenheit 451. I am always amazed at the power of a miniority regarding questionable content to sway the opinion of the majority. Also the short sightedness of those who go on hearsay rarely read those books that they condemn or take their meaning completely out of context. Lists like these remind us that taking the word of others without experiencing it ourselves can keep us from some of the greatest literary masterpieces.

So for all of those uppity parents out there that will buy their 10 year old kids Grand Theft Auto in any of the iterations but shield them from books that may call into question long standing prejudices.