Essay about The Perpetual Battle Against Censorship

There is more than one way to burn a book, (176) says Ray Bradbury when explaining the reason he wrote Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury at the time was upset about condensed books, or books which had been simplified for easier reading. Luckily, this fad seems to have passed. However, he was also upset about people who wrote asking him to change the role of women or African-Americans to make them more or less dominant in some of his works. One of the major themes in Fahrenheit 451 was just that; a society where everyone got what they wished and literature was eliminated entirely so it wouldnt offend anyone. Sadly, this still continues to happen in the United States. Many books have been banned from school and public libraries because†¦show more content†¦According to the ACLU, this applies not only to pure speech (books, newspapers, leaflets, and rallies), but also nonverbal expressions that communicate ideas (ACLU . . .). To take the good with the bad, not only does it pr otect popular ideas, but also ideas expressed by hate groups and those against the government. The only exceptions that have ever been made to the first amendment are the two Supreme Court cases Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942) and New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) (ACLU . . .). In the Chaplinsky case, the court ruled that free speech was not protected if the speech was fighting words or words meant to provoke the person to whom they are addressed (ACLU . . .). In the case of New York Times v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court ruled that free speech is also not protected when it is slander against public officials (ACLU . . .). Mostly however, these two Supreme Court cases apply only to journalism, as most classic and contemporary literature is not directed simply at one person. Despite all this protection, the decision to ban books from libraries is largely left up to the schools and institutions themselves (Banned Books Online), and a federal ban is very rare, practically nonexistent today. If we have the first amendment, then why are books still federally banned? There is a U.S. law that forbids the trade of obscene literature, or articles of immoral useShow MoreRelatedWhere Is the Balance Between Order and Freedom?1612 Words   |  7 Pageshas been like a pendulum, swinging back and forth due to cause and effect. Lately, for the past decade, the line between order and freedom has been swinging towards the side of increased order; this is evident by the Patriot Act, recent internet censorship bills, and the people’s reaction to American society via the Occupy movement. 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