Censorship
White Lake (MTCC Newswire) 9 April 2016 EDITORIAL by and Copyright © 2016 Neil E. Clement, All Rights Reserved.
Many television broadcasters have taken to the practice of ‘blurring out’ any part of any picture of any scene that they deem is offensive, and if necessary, the sound will also be damped or altered in some fashion, clearly violating the intent of the original author. Programs that have been on the air for decades and once perfectly acceptable to most viewers are now officially deemed as unacceptable and therefore must be censored (or heads will roll).
Amendment 1. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
I try to imagine what it would be like to try to read and actually follow the storyline of any book that has had major sections ‘redacted’ or even altered from the original (which is worse than redaction), the very same thing that is currently happening to film, but the image fails me. I suspect we don’t have long to wait for this to occur, and particularly in our educational publications; if, in fact, this process has not already begun.
The people that want to censor everything you see and hear on any public broadcast station, based on their notion of what is offensive, have managed to pass federal laws that do exactly that. Congratulations! The Orwellian future has officially arrived. Freedom of speech is officially a thing of the past. Whether or not it becomes a thing of the future is up to us but at this point I have serious doubts.
“But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty once lost is lost forever.”
John Adams (1735-1826), in a letter to Abigail Adams, 1775
What should be illegal is the ability to make money broadcasting censored pre-recorded programs unless it is specifically and clearly noted in every frame of the broadcast that this is what is taking place.
The strange thing about this situation is in how one goes about defining just what is ‘offensive’ and what is not. All the evidence would indicate that practically any kind or level of violence is entirely permissible, even encouraged, while a woman’s breast is completely taboo and any hint of such a thing must be hidden from the viewer. Even behind clothing. Especially behind clothing. No areola shadows or nipple points allowed! Abundant cleavage, on the other hand, appears to be just fine, depending.
‘Nasty’ language is felonious and must be blocked, by altering both the sound and the speaker’s mouth.
Various hand signals are now totally verboten. It makes me feel bad for all the people who can’t talk without moving their hands.
It seems simple enough to me. If you don’t like something, don’t watch it. The stuff that people have no interest in will just naturally fall by the wayside by the simple process of elimination.
Official censorship is a dangerous step in the wrong direction as it only serves to silence the people and stifle innovation.
Many television broadcasters have taken to the practice of ‘blurring out’ any part of any picture of any scene that they deem is offensive, and if necessary, the sound will also be damped or altered in some fashion, clearly violating the intent of the original author. Programs that have been on the air for decades and once perfectly acceptable to most viewers are now officially deemed as unacceptable and therefore must be censored (or heads will roll).
Amendment 1. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
I try to imagine what it would be like to try to read and actually follow the storyline of any book that has had major sections ‘redacted’ or even altered from the original (which is worse than redaction), the very same thing that is currently happening to film, but the image fails me. I suspect we don’t have long to wait for this to occur, and particularly in our educational publications; if, in fact, this process has not already begun.
The people that want to censor everything you see and hear on any public broadcast station, based on their notion of what is offensive, have managed to pass federal laws that do exactly that. Congratulations! The Orwellian future has officially arrived. Freedom of speech is officially a thing of the past. Whether or not it becomes a thing of the future is up to us but at this point I have serious doubts.
“But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty once lost is lost forever.”
John Adams (1735-1826), in a letter to Abigail Adams, 1775
What should be illegal is the ability to make money broadcasting censored pre-recorded programs unless it is specifically and clearly noted in every frame of the broadcast that this is what is taking place.
The strange thing about this situation is in how one goes about defining just what is ‘offensive’ and what is not. All the evidence would indicate that practically any kind or level of violence is entirely permissible, even encouraged, while a woman’s breast is completely taboo and any hint of such a thing must be hidden from the viewer. Even behind clothing. Especially behind clothing. No areola shadows or nipple points allowed! Abundant cleavage, on the other hand, appears to be just fine, depending.
‘Nasty’ language is felonious and must be blocked, by altering both the sound and the speaker’s mouth.
Various hand signals are now totally verboten. It makes me feel bad for all the people who can’t talk without moving their hands.
It seems simple enough to me. If you don’t like something, don’t watch it. The stuff that people have no interest in will just naturally fall by the wayside by the simple process of elimination.
Official censorship is a dangerous step in the wrong direction as it only serves to silence the people and stifle innovation.
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