Censorship: A Villain with Many Faces
By Amy Bridges
O N C E R E G A R D E D A S A WAY TO P R OT E C T
THE PUBLIC FROM HARM, CENSORSHIP HAS
BECOME A SUPPRESSOR OF PERSONAL
RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS.
ancient Athens, Socrates and his teachings were
taken down by censorship. His wisdom was feared.
I am a masked crusader fighting for justice. I am
Super Nom de Plume. I am here to save the day
from the evil injustices of the world – the literary
world that is. Freedom of speech is something
everyone holds dear and yet the evil villains of
censorship are still able to control the masses.
“Esteemed friend, citizen of Athens, the greatest
city in the world, so outstanding in both intelligence
and power, aren’t you ashamed to care so much to
make all the money you can, and to advance your
reputation and prestige – while for truth and wisdom
and the improvement of your soul you have no care
or worry,” said Socrates.
The censorship villains have been sneakily trying
to find their way into the crevices of the written
word since the earliest moments of man. They’ve
been able to disguise themselves as being
honourable and hide in plain sight.
How dare he try to improve the well-being of the
people? How dare he try to make people see that
there is more to life than money and status. And
what if people
listened? His words
would threaten the
entire Athenian way
of life. The followers
of censorship and
the
ones
who
feared
anything
different voted 280
to 221 against this
“tyrant.” Socrates
was forced to drink
hemlock poison in
399 BC for his sins.
And all because of
the fear that his words could in some way sway the
people into doing or thinking something perverse.
Talk about individuality versus enlightenment! What
would the world come to?
“The origin of the term ‘censor’ can be traced
to the office of
censor established
in Rome in 443
BC,”
according
to the Beacon
for Freedom of
Expression. “In Rome,
as in the ancient
Greek communities,
the ideal of good
governance
included shaping
the character of
the people. Hence
censorship
was
regarded as an honourable task.”
Censorship hid in plain sight so well, it slowly
started to punish the “wicked” that crossed it. In
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