When I think of censorship I think of the days of Tipper Gore. Her thoughts on parental stickers were good-- don't get me wrong. I'm a mother and I appreciate a heads up on what's contained in the music, video games, and TV shows that my children ask me to listen, play, and watch, but her censorship didn't stop there. She started to ban books from schools. She was a very upstanding Christan woman and I can understand her thought process, but let me explain why this can be hurtful and dangerous.
Some of you may remember a few of the titles that were banned, but for those who don't-- let me enlighten you. One of the first book victims was Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because the book depicted racism-- something that is appalling, yes, but was in deed a fact during the days that Mark Twain wrote. I believe Mark Twain is one our world's most brilliantly gifted writers. He had a beautiful heart that came through in his writing and if he were alive today he would probably find a way to rewrite the book, however, even if he tried, why would we let him? That book is a part of our culture and a part of history whether we like it or not. People can learn from that piece of history-- even today because it's about a little ignorant, uncaring boy who turns into a knowledgeable, compassionate man once he learns the hardships of slavery. To me that speaks volumes and is quite Christan to its core.
Victim number two on the chopping block was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, another great classic. This one was banned because Snow White was living with seven men. Look, perhaps I'm a little innocent moralistically speaking, but the story is about dwarfs-- NOT men. So now you know. I'm completely innocent I don't think dirty thoughts when it comes to anything Disney and I most certainly don't think ill thoughts about Bert and Ernie either. This is kid's stuff people! Let's keep it there and not ruin the wonderfully fond memories of childhood with dark, negative adult crap!
Book number three I found a little comical or rather ironic I should say since it was Fahrenheit 451. In case you don't know, that book is about book burning. It was banned because there was foul language in it. Okay, perhaps the language was a little foul, but we read it in high school when we were 16 and we were told to look past the foul language and appreciate the literature. Why do I find the banning of this comical? Well, it's simple. The government was the one burning the books. Granted they did it for "good" reasons. They wanted a Utopian society, one free from crime, a wonderful want but they went about it in the wrong way. They wanted people to watch TV and consume "happy pills" to get them to "think" their way instead of allowing them to have the freedom to search for knowledge and develop their own thoughts. Tipper, I love ya dear, but when you banned this one it just proved to me that you didn't get the book.
Smashwords recently sent me an email about Paypal, along with major banks, wanting to censorship certain books due to content. While I applaud their efforts on moral thinking because I'm not a fan of brutality to humans or animals either, I wonder like Smashwords, how far this may go. It's one thing to make certain topics off limits due to morals, but it's something completely different when we make those off limit terms loosely without thought.
I would never harm an animal. It's not in my nature. I love each and everyone of them. I've even had problems with killing flies-- no joke. So I can see bestiality being a problem. The thought is DISGUSTING-- it really is. HOWEVER, Smashwords has a valid point when they bring up the issue of paranormal. And this is something I need to pay attention to because I'm writing about things that could be censored. In fact EVERY writer out there could be.
Let me give you an example. Everyone loves the Twilight series and there are a lot of Jacob fans out there-- me included (though I rooted for Edward too-- call me crazy). But what if Stephanie Mayer wasn't allowed to write the series because Jacob, a werewolf, was involved with Bella, a human. Does it sound crazy? I don't think so. Werewolves-- at least in Twilight and other movies, TV series, and books like it portray a wolf as an adorable animal. Let's face it-- people love wolves. They are fascinated with them. And how can you even think about harming an adorable animal? Granted Jacob is fictitious. He doesn't exist in our world. But in his world he's a beautiful animal. This could be considered-- dare I say-- a bad thing when it comes to censorship. I have to stray from the harsh terms because I can't say it. I just can't make this dirty like some people. It just makes my experiences with falling in love cheap.
Why can't I say it? Why don't I want my experiences made cheap? Because Twilight, like Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Fahrenheit 451 touched me and I can't see any of these works as evil or filthy. I have a heart and I have morals. I'm also intelligent and I think for myself.
It's sad that people want to censorship because it takes away our free will as a human. Without getting completely religious on you, God granted us free will. I'm torn spiritually like everyone else when it comes to censorship because-- let's face it-- we all have limits when it comes to negativity, evil, and just plain crap. But who are we to judge? If we ban a book like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, what are we telling our kids? It sounded good at the time to let you see it but now not so much?
Maybe I was hurt because I lost my childhood that year. The year that Tipper banned something because she wanted to make it dirty and the year I lost Jim Henson, another dear man who made many great childhood memories for me. Perhaps I am bitter.
I don't know if I have an answer for all of this. I love America and its beautiful thoughts on the right to freedom and the separation of Church and State. Yet, I worship God and I try to be a good Christian and profess my faith. I go to Church and I even teach religion to the little ones. So I'm torn with censorship. But I'm also no special spiritual guru, nor am I Mother Theresa. I have no right to instill anything on anyone. Yet, I am human and I have feelings. And I don't want those feelings cheapened by someone who thinks dirty about childhood stories.
The thing is I think censorship is good when it comes to the person or parent. If you personally can't watch something, turn it off. If you don't think your kids can understand it, get them away from it. If they wind up seeing something innocently-- do what parents do best and have a discussion about it. That's the beauty of censorship and I don't believe any establishment has a right to force anyone to believe what they do. Period.
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