Censorship Essays - Freedom Of Expression, Nat Hentoff, Mark Twain

Censorship Essays - Freedom Of Expression, Nat Hentoff, Mark Twain Censorship The First Amendment of the United States expresses that, Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. However, the list of banned books in public schools as well as in public libraries is quite extensive. Most proponents of literary censorship, both parents and organized public groups, act with what they perceive to be highest cause: protecting their families as well as their communities from evils and injustices. They see that they are preserving the values and ideals that the entire society should take in to account. The result, nevertheless, is always the denial of anothers right to read. And by denying the right to read, you deny the intellectual freedom that every child and young adult deserves. There is an excellent essay written by Nat Hentoff entitled, Why Teach Us to Read and Then Say We Cant. In this essay, Hentoff explores several different circumstances where books were challenged in the settings of public schools. He also tries to find the answers to why anyone would want to prevent a child from reading such classics as Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Sallinger or Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet. Hentoff believes that the elimination of books such as these from school shelves is a form of thought control. Hentoff states, Attempts to control what children read, and thereby think, have been increasing across the country, according to annual accounts by the American Library Association and People for the American Way. He also points out that those figures that the ALA present are an understatement due to a great deal of underreporting that he discovered in his research. It is evident, supported by Hentoffs findings, that there is a major problem in this country when it comes to the censorship of literature for children. Why do people see it as a solution to the problems of Americas education system? Fortunately, the only encounter I personally had with this sort of ordeal was merely a near miss. In high school, when the curriculum called for the reading of Mark Twains classic, Huckleberry Finn, a debate had just started in a neighboring school district over whether it was suitable for reading in a public school. It was an issue my English teacher asked the class to keep in mind as we read the novel. By the end of the novel, I became quite aware of how ludicrous the idea of banning the book was. It was the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) that was pursuing the issue based on the fact that it contained the word nigger a number of times. The NAACP felt that the liberal use of such a modern-day derogatory word would prove detrimental to the self-esteem students in minority groups. This was so hard for me to understand based on facts that were so obvious to me: Twain used such slurs both as a way to accurately portray the tone and setting of that tim e as well as to poke fun at the absurd ways they were used. Twain was in fact against the discriminatory treatment of African-Americans. Each person that is involved in the debate over literary censorship believes that they are doing the right thing for the students. However, I believe that children and young adults alike, should be given the opportunity to determine for themselves what is offensive and what is acceptable. I have found that this type of learning is beneficial to a persons morale and will make that child a stronger and more knowledgeable person in the end. However, if that child is sheltered from all that is seen as offensive around her, she will grow up nave to the real world. In closing, I will leave you with a quote by Alfred Whitney that I think is suitable, Books wont stay banned. They wont burn. Ideas wont go to jail. In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas. The source of better ideas is wisdom. The surest path to wisdom is liberal education.

Case P3 DB - Smart Custom Writing Samples

Case P3 DB - Smart Custom Writing Insidious nature of alcohol.Since the early childhood we are inculcated with the norms, principals and laws of life. We are thought the basics of ‘DOs’ and ‘DO NOTs’. We are moralized, normalized, socialized. We learn to differentiate between ‘good’ and ‘bad’. Still, unfortunately the theory is not always reflectively applicable on practice. On our way we might meet hindrances to stumble over and thereafter be led astray. One of such spokes in one’s wheel is an acute issue of alcohol drinking. This burning ‘substance’ can get a dual response. For some in their world perception picture drinking is not a gloomy and dark color. Rather, their life canvas is brightened and vivified. Here, another point arises – the limit. Is it excessive to share a glass of wine at a family table or a bottle of beer in front of a TV screen while enjoying a football match? These and other questions concerned with alcohol beverages can evoke hot discussions. Still, notwithstanding pros and cons, there are some commonsense and reasonable standpoints on the matter. Presumably a glass of wine in a friend’s company at the end of a working or studying week now and then can’t be considered heavy drinking as compared to a regularly repeated vomiting ending of a party. Such cases of fuddling oneself which at first time seem to be just ‘relaxation’ can very quickly acquire the scale of alcohol abuse problem. So, what is heavy drinking, alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence? In my opinion, the problem starts with heavy drinking, when a person doesn’t see the limits of alcohol consumption. Hence, large quantities of beverages consumed in effect lead to alcohol abuse – the habit to drink constantly without even noticing the fact. Gradually a person becomes alcohol addicted and dependant, the latter meaning the organism insistently requiring another dose of poisonous ‘evil’. Here comes the addiction, when inside the brain take place some chemical processes which change the brain control mechanism and therefore the barrier refuses to counteract alcohol intake. Thus, we deal not only with the uncontrollable person’s behavior, but also with the difficult psychological problem. Indeed, harmless and non-hazardous drink as it may seem turns into poison for the alcohol dependant person. Actually, in the blink of your eye the situation can appear to be disagreeable to the extent that you have sunk into the mire of alcohol dependence. It is really hard to figure out where and when the line is crossed giving a range of factors such as genetic predisposition, a family you were raised in,   socially-related aspects, etc. which may precondition, stipulate, provoke and severely affect each particular case. Indeed, drinking has a delicate balance. Queerly and oddly may sound the fact that 30 grams of alcohol consumption per day have the power of preventive measures to lessen and mitigate the ischemic stroke possibility, as the medical regular research data claim. Moreover, the alcohol addicted people are not the only dependant participants of the morass. Even our nearest and dearest can overlook the moment when an enjoyable glass of wine happened to turn into the alcohol sea of trouble. Thereby, they become involuntarily entangled in the ‘life buoy and life boat’ seeking process. Such a ‘life boat’ for ‘drowners’ is not a myth altogether. Special institutions such as Alcoholics A nonymous are called for to extend a helping hand to those in need. Their mechanism of active help provision is based on the very first step towards the recovery. First is the acceptance of the problem, not denial. All the other steps seem to function as derivatives of the conscience, the most striking and astounding human’s brain instrument. To my way of thinking, the one in trouble must not be neglectful of a chance to get back to a normal life stream with the assistance of Alcoholics Anonymous only on the grounds of personal disdain or unlucky treatment cases.   I believe the first and foremost of the curing factors is one’s inner will healing power rather than other circumstances that can put one back on the right track.