CENSORSHIP, YES! CENSORSHIP, NO!

 

CENSORSHIP, YES!  CENSORSHIP, NO!

Hollywood adopted a Motion Picture Production Code in 1930 which was more or less vigorously enforced until 1968, when it was replaced with the current MPAA film ratings.  The Code was a way for Hollywood to censure itself so that, as it states, “No picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see it.”  While there probably were some exaggerations in enforcement, such as not allowing a married couple to be shown sleeping in the same bed, the existence of the Code coincided with the so-called “Golden Age of Hollywood.”  The absence of nudity, coarse language and graphic violence did not suppress the quality of movies but, in fact, may have enhanced them.

When I was young censorship was a dirty word.  Today, it has become acceptable and even necessary in the opinion of our political and cultural elites.  It is practiced by social media giants, universities, conglomerates, financial fat cats, cable news networks, and many groups and organizations which cheerfully admit that they exclude from public view content and individuals that challenge their own beliefs.  Their commitment to a radical social agenda on topics such as abortion, gender identity, vaccinations, race theory, election integrity, climate change, and more convinces them that the suppression of other ideas on these matters is justified.  Their attitude is similar to that of the communists and fascists of the twentieth century who were so zealous about their theory of history that, once they gained power, they suppressed all other political thought.    

I agree with those who say that the kind of censorship noted above is a threat to the free expression of ideas and therefore to every vibrant democracy.  But there are forms of censorship which I think we ought to support.  For example, thankfully, depictions of pedophilia are still illegal in our nation, even though there have been some notable challenges even to that form of censorship.  But all kinds of pornography are so damaging to people and society that the Church teaches that the civil law ought to prohibit its manufacture.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials” (#2354).  The grave injury done to the actors, vendors and its viewers is so significant that it should be illegal, just as certain drugs are illegal because of the damage they do to people’s bodies.

Censorship can be dangerous to a free society.  It can inhibit the free exchange of ideas which has been the source of so much of humanity’s progress in knowledge and science.  Censorship will often prevent reality from being seen and known, and it hides corruption.  It can perpetuate lies and stifle creativity.  In the hands of the powerful it is manipulative and controlling.  It creates a false impression that everyone thinks in a certain way and sows fear in those who think differently.   They become afraid to express what they know to be true.  There are good reasons for some limited government censorship, as I mention above, but one must always be weary of government and monopolies which lean one way and seek to indoctrinate the public.

There is an important group of people, however, who ought to be zealous in their practice of censorship.  I mean parents!  Yes, indeed, they need to block images and ideas that would rob the innocence of the young minds in their care.  They must protect them against the ongoing attempt by the elite to form them to their way of thinking and acting.  Parents need to monitor what their children see and hear on the internet, on television, on social media, on the computer, and in video games.  Many public libraries are no longer safe places for kids, as are too many public schools where students are forced to embrace unscientific theories about race, gender, sex, and history (or else they get a bad grade!).  This is particularly rampant today on college campuses.  Young people will have to deal with all these issues when they get older, but they deserve to have their youthful innocence protected. 

Parents should be the biggest influence on the values of their children.  This is only made possible if they are not passive to the culture.   By the practice of healthy censorship when they are young, and by patiently speaking with their children at the right time, in the right way, about issues of the radicals’ agenda – and having raised them with Christian values – parents can prepare their children well to confront the brave new world they will live in.