Abstract
Pornography is a big problem affecting all countries in the World and it cuts across all members of society. Effects of pornography are broad and the consequences are hazardous as it affects the moral fiber of the society. Members of the community exposed to pornography are at a risk of committing crimes that could destroy the lives of innocent victims. The dissemination of pornographic material has been catalyzed through the lack or little censorship by Organizations responsible. It is common to find people attending a viewing of and public staging of pornographic shows. These shows are conducted with the full knowledge of authorities (Irving 487). Unfortunately little is being done to stop this as we have reached a point where civil liberties are being used as a defense against such behaviors. At the moment society is under attack and the response from the Government has been very weak in combating pornography. We can no longer afford to hide under the veil and feign ignorance on the crimes brought about by perversion. The society should all unite against this vice. Censorship against the vice should be encouraged.
Introduction
Censorship is the control of communication from one person to another or from one media to another. This communication could be in the form of speech or literature. Many times this communication is suppressed by the deletion of the material to be communicated. This suppression or control is normally done by societies, Governments or even media organizations that are responsible for communication of both print and electronic media. Most of these bodies censor material that rare deemed to be harmful t the physical and mental health of the public or material that can provoke negative public sentiments. The level of censorship varies from one country to another with countries such as China and other Authoritarian regimes censoring any communication that is deemed anti Government. Freedom of speech is very limited in these countries. Censorship has affected even well-meaning individuals and great thinkers from passing on their thought and inventions. For a long time the grip of censorship against the arts and entertainment has slowly reduced but the results of such actions have only served to increase the level of crime through acts of fornication (Irving 492). As much as too much censorship is bad, we must also look at the places and societies where censorship has been eased. At the moment we are finding out that society is quickly devolving backward as the behaviors that are being perpetrated by the arts and entertainment world leave a lot to be desired. In his article, Pornography, obscenity and the case for censorship, Irving Kristol talks about the negative effects that the society could reap as a result of little censorship. He gives a good example where he talks about how the consequences of allowing the propagation of pornographic material through both print and electronic media. Today crimes such as rape have increased steadily over the years and that is why we should get a better way of controlling the media in a way that all freedoms are respected and also in a way that we are able to reduce pornography and all acts associated with it (Irving 489).
Role of Censorship
Apart from the unethical censorship of material that is found to be “politically incorrect” or material found to be innocent, indecent acts are viewed relatively from one person to another and what is seen as offensive to one person can be found to be pleasing to another. Taking this into account Censorship of material should be seen in the context of the effects of the communication to be propagated. A famous playwright, Shakespeare defined censorship as the tongue-tying of art by authorities. At the time art was easily labeled as immoral as soon as it was seen as going against the leaders and rulers of the time. These days the situation is different as we are seeing art has taken a different direction and the ideologies being communicated have resulted in tragedies within the society. Positive Censorship has always been meant to assist and shield the public from concepts that are perilous and also protect the children from violent behavior and pornography. Censorship has always been viewed in a pessimistic manner as it has been seen as the greatest threat to freedom of speech but in fact censorship has served to control the society. When human beings are faced with a common problem, they tend to unite against the common enemy. It is through censorship of certain content that can bring any disunity has been seen as the best way of achieving and conquering the common enemy. In many democratic nations, censorship has been limited to banning explicit material from viewing or being published. This has been done by categorizing the material with age restrictions (Irving 494). In this day and age of the internet it has become more and more difficult as we are even seeing and hearing material that was banned over 20 years ago. Censorship of explicit and pornographic material should be encouraged as we cannot imagine the catastrophe that could result from lack of it (Irving 493).
Conclusion
The policy that one can do what he/she wants to do as long as it does not hurt or infringe on the rights of another individual has long been used as an excuse for the deviant behavior that we are currently seeing. Acts such as couples having sex in public are immoral and unacceptable and this only serves to encourage other people to commit the same offense. Human beings have the ability to act like animals if they choose to but this will only lead to dehumanizing acts such as murder and other acts that we cannot imagine (Irving 495). It is therefore my personal opinion that pornographic or other obscene acts should be punished by the Governments and authorities responsible to safeguard the society from losing our moral authority. The problem is bigger as we are currently seeing and its repercussion could lead to a society where the transmission of sexual diseases could easily wipe out the human race. These are just a few reasons why the Government should enact and enforce the censorship law.
Works Cited
Irving, Kristol. “Pornography, Obscenity, and the case for Censorship” New York Times: 487-95. Print.