Censorship - We, as grown up individuals, may think we don't need it and yet, without second thought impose restriction on those around us. We control what our children see, read and say. No doubt we have their interests at heart. Drawing a parallel, a government may deem it necessary to censor content that is distributed via television, radio and now even the Internet to protect its people. Then the question arises, who gets to decide what is offensive? Is such a body acting in the interest of the people or are they fueling a political agenda?
The degree of censorship in the media varies from country to country. Some have little or none, where as others often exercise discretion in specific areas. For instance, religious content of a program may be heavily scrutinized in India, due to India's experiences with communal tension and riots. We see various forms of pornography being prohibited on moral grounds. Most countries, if not all, probably ensure that programs are void of military intelligence. With the world constantly at war, with terrorists at large, it is justified that a government takes such measures.
On the other hand, we find that various forms of human expression such as music and literature are suppressed or edited for content. Our reasons being, they are against social norms of the region or because it is the convenient thing to do. It could simply be due to the fact that, what one has to say is radical and is against the powers that be. Then, again, it may be the fear of change.
Groups involved in screening content should probably do the bare minimum that is appropriate to protect physical lives and let the rest come through. Open expression and debate feeds our emotional intelligence. It would help us get to a point where there’s no unease but, a free flow of thought and we as individuals get to decide what we see, read or listen to.
Going off a totally different tangent, I wonder if a powerful thought/message can be contained even with all that we have in place today. Could censorship be to a thought what a cocoon is to a butterfly? There is hope that something so powerful so as to change the course of humankind will emerge no matter what the obstacles.
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nice... I am impressed..
ReplyDeletePower corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely...
The act by itself cannot be branded as good or evil, or just or unjust. Censorship is a just powerful tool. And as is with all powerful tools its effect on the censored in particular and society in general, depends on the Power that yields it.
Impressive Divya. I think your conclusion could be clearer and stronger despite the gray area. In my opinion, censorship may be a necessary tool but one that should be used minimally and very carefully. There are examples where I feel it is necessary - for example, violence and pornography in kids toys. It's tough to draw lines in gray areas and everyone's standards differ but that said, it is not all that difficult to find good balance and not be on either extreme. For instance, controlling what a nation sees is an unfair extreme but being careful in exposing our children to the right content seems fair.
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