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Censorship

And so, in the light of the cancelled play in a Birmingham theatre, the debate around freedom of speech rages pointlessly onwards.

People want the right to be able to air their point of view. Which may be all well and good, and it has to be said, it is a right which is all too seldom exercised. A certain religious group, which shall remain nameless on this entry, has defied that right by using violence, and the threat of violence, to silence a play which does not portray that religion in the most kindly of circumstances. Of course, the standard reaction is to become dismayed at such things, and to rage against that group for their cowardly actions.

And such is the debate right now. Those arguing that freedom of speech must be maintained against those that believe that too much freedom will ultimately allow illegal activities to proliferate without heed.

But perhaps there is a deeper issue at play here. People have views, opinions and preferences. That much is certain, and no degree of cencorship will ever change this. However, does the ownership of an opinion give one an automatic right to air that view to others? I don't think it does. You may have read before my views on celebrities using moments in the limelight to stretch their political voices onto us. If not, it might be worth a read. But this is not the only potential abuse of a free voice. There is certainly an argument for censorship, say, in keeping certain truths of life from those too young yet to understand them. With a truly free reign to voice opinion, it could be that some people learn certain things at too early a stage. This can certainly adversely affect people's lives as much - if not more - as it could potentially benefit them.

It's hard to take a definitive stance on freedom of speech when there is so much to consider. There are things I'd rather not hear, things I'd rather people weren't told, and facts I'd rather people weren't exposed to without the correct interpretation attached. With a truly free world, these things cannot be controlled. But any society in which we can readily be censored ultimately asks to be governed by an invisible dictatorship.

The black and whit arguments here are not answers to the problem. The problem itself is far more complex than is given credit, and I for one cannot see a clear, 'one size fits all' solution.

In the case of one particular play in the West Midlands, however, I do believe that the religious bigots involved would do the world a favour by either ceasing their inherent hypocrisy, or finding some quiet way to remove themselves from the gene pool.



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PUBLIUS - 2005-01-05 02:20:22

Happy New Years

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Copyright Insane Bartender 2004-12-21 1:45 p.m.

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