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What: The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states that, “Congress shall make no law…prohibiting the freedom of speech or of the press…” (Legal 1). But yet, everyday the media we receive is either rated for content or censored. Censorship, as defined by Dictionary.com, is the act, process, or practice of censoring. It is also defined as the prevention of disturbing or painful thoughts or feelings from reaching consciousness except in a disguised form.
Censorship is beginning to affect every aspect of American media. The media being target includes, but is not limited to: films, television, music, literature, internet, and pornography. Censorship, along with violence and sex in the media, has become a major issue for legal and moral debate recently in the United States .
Why: People have started to support censorship because they feel that harmful media will corrupt our youth and society, and they also feel that it is moral to support censorship. The opposing parties believe that censorship is immoral because we as Americans are entitled to the rights freedom of speech and to the freedom of the press. They feel as though censorship is a violation of their First Amendments rights and should therefore be deemed unconstitutional.
Where: Censorship is a national issue and applies to everyone in the United States . Everyone receives either censored or rated media content. The content comes it different forms, but it still applies to the entire nation and different parts of the world as well.
When: Censorship is an ancient virtue which started in Greece . “In the trial, conviction, and execution of Socrates in 399 BC, we see the evidence of censorship. Socrates was executed on charges that he corrupted the youth and that he did not acknowledge the gods that the city did but other new divinities of his own …” (History 1).
Censorship in the United States , even though we are technically protected from it in the First Amendment, still continues today.
How: Censorship laws such as libel, slander, and defamation regulate most areas of free speech. Private industries, agencies, and academies have worked together to volunteer to come up with rating systems for video games, music, and movies. The ratings shown on TV, and the banning of some books, were both implicated by government regulation.
Law:
There are very few censorship laws in America , but the law we do have, have proven to be effective and remain constitutional, for the most part. The majority of these laws focus on the issues of freedom of speech; such as defamation, libel, and slander. Defamation constitutes the publication of anything injurious to the good name and reputation of another. The most common form of defamation is called libel (Gifis).
Libel is a tort case which consists of a false malicious publication printed for the purpose of defaming on who is living. Also, because libel falls under the tort classifications, one must prove that the defendant had a duty, and that there was a breach in that duty. The plaintiff must also prove that the defendant had causation (the consequences of the action were reasonably foreseeable) and that financial and social damages resulted from these actions (Gifis).
The best and often times only defense to any of these charges, is telling the truth. The United States only punishes those in the media who lie to the people and print something false. If what you said was true, then you are safe from a lawsuit (Gifis).
So far there are no laws regulating the films, music, or games we play because they are implicated voluntarily by organizations such as the MPAA and the ESRB.
Jesus and Church
The church supports censorship around the world. Many references in the Bible are given to when Jesus taught us that we do not simply sin by our actions, but by our thoughts and dreams as well.
The church especially focuses on the sexual aspect of harmful media when discussing its morality. “… God shows us in the fullness of his revelation in Jesus that its [sex] proper use is to be highly prized and its abuse severely condemned” (Lawler 42).
Others believe though that is not up to individuals themselves to decide, and if God does find it to be a sin, that should remain between the individual and God. “God will judge …” (Heb 13:4). Jesus also challenges us to be non-violent many times in biblical stories.
Jesus once protected a woman from being stoned by the Pharisees. Jesus said, “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone” (John 8:7). This relates back to violence and sex in the media in support of those who oppose censorship. This says to us that we are all sinners and we are not the one who is responsible for judgment. The church still stand with the believe that we should leave the final judgments in life to God, but regardless of the argument presented, they still side as Pro- Censorship.
