Censorship
     Everyone has a voice and an opinion. Some people, unfortunately, are censored and denied the right to express their opinion because it is different. Because everyone thinks they are right, if something is new or different, it will, more often than not, be disliked because people do not like to hear new and different ideas. It is not right that some people can express their opinion and some are censored and cannot express their opinion because their opinion is different from the norm. Censorship is wrong because it denies an individual the chance to be heard simply because they have different ideas. It also restricts freedom of information, which is vital to the survival of Democracy. With censorship, moral, artistic, and intellectual growth would cease to exist, and people would have no choice to believe what the government tells them, because they would have no other sources of information to turn to. Nazi Germany used censorship as a prime tool to keep the average people ignorant and promote anti-Semitism.
     The United States Constitution says in the First Amendment, “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech” (qtd. in Murphy) which means that any material in any medium; art, music, literature, spoken, cannot be altered by the government in any way. The people of the United States of America are free to express their opinion in any way, shape, or form without fear of repercussions from the government or others. Therefore, censorship is a violation of an American’s First Amendment rights.
According to an article on Eric Nuzum’s website, after September 11th, a list of over 150 “lyrically questionable” songs was circulated to radio stations, urging restraint of these songs, “out of respect” for the dead. ( Nuzum). In the list, “all songs by Rage Against the Machine” was listed. Rage Against the Machine is a band famous for its controversial political views. Almost none of Rage’s songs bear reference to flying airplanes into buildings. There is no reason for all of their songs to be censored. This is an example of censorship. Silencing someone because of ideas that are different. Rage Against the Machine has a right to express their ideas without repercussions, and to censor all their songs from the radio is a violation of their right to free speech.
According to an article in U.S News and World Report, a University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill wrote an essay in 2001 about how victims of the World Trade Center attacks deserved their fate, and compared World Trade center workers to notorious Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann. (Kingsbury, 16) It went largely unnoticed till recently when he was denied a chance to speak at Hamilton University, due to public outcry and threats of violence. Colorado governor Bill Owens called for Churchill’s resignation in light of his comments. Churchill stands by his comments, and so do most scholars, even though they do not agree with his ideas. Even though his ideas might not be appropriate, by the United States Constitution, he is still entitled to express them without fear of harm or repercussions such as being fired. Everyone has the right to earn money, and censorship almost denied Ward Churchill income if he had been fired. To fire him on the grounds of his comments would be unconstitutional, and Mr. Churchill would have very right to seek legal action.
Censorship has recently been expressed through school officials outlawing outlandish fashion styles or clothing that displays suggestive bands. . Stigmatizing solely because of fashion is a form of discrimination; no different than saying all Arabs are terrorists. According to an article in the Rock Out Censorship website, Kent McNew, a student from Surry County High School in Virginia, was suspended for his dyed blue hair soon after the Columbine shootings. (Alexander) If unusual hair colors denote school violence, there probably would not be a high school left in the United States that has not had a shooting. Clothing is a form of expression, and by the United States Constitution, the government cannot penalize citizens for expressing themselves.
Censorship is not just an issue in the United States. In late 2004, controversial author, newspaper columnist and film director Theo van Gogh, great nephew to painter Vincent van Gogh, was shot to death in Amsterdam. He published several articles and books that insulted and enraged members of the Muslim and Jewish communities. As with the United States, the Netherlands’ Constitution provides a right to Freedom of Speech to all its citizens. Since his assassination, Theo van Gogh has been described as “a martyr to free expression”. According to salon.com, he called himself "a fundamentalist when it comes to free speech." He said on a radio program earlier in the year "People always tells me I cross the line. But free debate is a war of ideas. It's a place where we should be able to hurt each other." (Rovers, 3). A Muslim Extremist murdered Van Gogh over his controversial opinions on the Muslim religion. Censorship has a root in discrimination. Dictionary.com defines “discriminate” as “to make distinctions on the basis of class or category without regard to individual merit”. (Dictionary). Van Gogh was an accomplished film director. He was assassinated for his beliefs alone, with no regard to his personal film achievements. Because Theo van Gogh had the courage to stand up and point out what he thought was wrong, in a totally legal manner, all his actions got him was an assassination. The Muslim extremist community censored Theo van Gogh for criticizing them on the less glamorous aspects of the Muslim religion.
Censorship is wrong. It promotes one idea, which usually is not a good one, as with Nazi Germany. It strips the common man of individualism, keeps him ignorant, and makes him a prime target for manipulation by malicious persons. Censorship has long been the tool of fascists, and totalitarian dictatorships who seek to use the common man for their own malicious intents. Censorship ensured that the Nazis had the German public in their grip as they bombarded them on a daily basis on how their lives had been improved from the day Hitler became Germany's leader. Nothing good has or will become of censorship.
Murphy, Gerald. "Bill of Rights." Legal Information Institute. 14 Mar. 1993. Cornell U. 12 Feb. 2005 .

Kingsbury, Alex. "A Windy War of Words." U.S News and World Report Feb. 2005: 16.

Nuzum, Eric. "Sound Off: Our Attitudes Toward Music Parallel Our Belief in Freedom." Parental Advisory: Music Censorship in America. 30 Oct. 2001. 12 Feb. 2005 .

Rovers, Ronald. "The silencing of Theo van Gogh." Salon. 24 Nov. 2004. 9 May 2005
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/11/24/vangogh/index.html

"Discriminate." Dictionary. 2000. 10 May 2005 .

Alexander, Jeff. "Blue In The Face." Rock Out Censorship. 2003. 10 May 2005