You may know or not already know this, but all across North America, throughout the past decade, small groups have formed to eliminate certain shows on television. Now these groups are targeting South Park.
As a Country we have a certain freedom that allows our individual freedoms that hold different beliefs and social values. Frequently, one person's values will challenge another person's values, which will create arguments. Arguments, which create massive problems and turn people against each other. Because such problems arise in today's society, the government must step in and put their foot down. But where do they start? Who is to decide the difference between good and evil? Right from wrong? We, as a society, always fail when we try to draw the line that separates the right from the not so right. So, why should we worry about it if no one knows the answer?
Four or five years ago, maybe more, parents and other censors wrote enough letters to have Much Music take the television show "Ren & Stimpy" off the air due to their so-called "gross, and disgusting" actions. Recently, the creators of the television show Beavis and Butt-Head stopped making the show, because of an increasing pressure from the public (this is only a rumor that I have heard). The creators of Beavis & Butt-Head, switched over to making a new television show "King Of The Hill".
Censoring television shows does little. Take for example South Park. In Canada South Park is rated 18+ which means the show is for mature audiences only. When South Park first aired it came on at 9:30pm; now it is on at 12:05am. Do you really think this is an accomplishment of censorship? I would hardly think so. First of all people under 18 can just stay up later to watch the show or secondly they can program their VCR to tape the show for them. This act of censorship is just an inconvenience to many people. It didn't resolve anything. Similar shows like Saturday Night Live, and other late night comedy talk shows have experienced a similar regulation.
What really ticks me off is why people can't except certain shows on television. As a person from Canada I am constantly being told that I live in a "free" country. To a certain degree I believe this is true. However I feel it is wrong when a television show receives a good rating and is forced to be cancelled, by reason of a small majority of people that didn't like the show. In my opinion I don't consider myself to be living in a free country where I have people deciding for me what to watch on television. And why do these censors always pick on a show like South Park? How is South Park so different from a television show like Jerry Springer or a Soap Opera? Shows like these are based around 'how hard a guy screwed his best friends wife'; and are shown in broad daylight right in the afternoon! Even hockey on television is another example. You can hear, or lip-read, fans, coaches, and players swearing their heads off in the background. And again hockey is shown all around the clock, but oh no…not South Park! These people don't know where to draw that line between good and bad!
Stan-"...I think if parents would spend less time worrying about what their kids watch on t.v., and more time worrying about what's going on in their kids lives, this world be a much better place."
Kyle-"Yeah, I think that parents only get so offended by television, because they rely on it as a babysitter, and the soul educator of their kids." -Quoted straight out of South Park.
There are so many other examples, besides television, where censorship doesn't work. Take for example movie rentals, almost any restricted movie can be rented by an under aged teenager because a movie store can not afford to take the loss of the movie not being rented. However this is not the worst part! A restricted movie can act as an incentive towards a teenager because they would be willing to bet that there will be either a lot of action, sex, and/or violence in the movie. Or another example where censorship has failed can be found in books. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, even Little Red Riding Hood by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were all centered material in the past. How can a sinless book shuch as Little Red Riding Hood be banned?! The book is about an innocent girl who mistakes her grandmother for a wolf if anything there is a strong moral behind the story 'do not always trust a person'! The point here is censoring limits people to learn and enjoy specific material and topics.
Like I said earlier cnsoring material violates our right to free speech. For example a banned book that has violent content. The author of this violent book has the right to express his imagination, opinions, and ideas to someone else. If this book were to be banned wouldn't this be violating the authors rights to free speech? Another example where free speech faild recently occurred at Greenbrier High School. A student got suspended for wearing a Pepsi T-shirt to school on a Coca-Cola Day.
I believe there should be no censorship in our country. Censorship limits or restricts us from information, violates our Freedom of speech, and furthermore doesn't even work. No government can entirely control censorship, they don't even know where to begin where to draw that line. Since we can not control censorship we should just learn to live with it. Until there is no censorship law I can't call Canada a free place to live.
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Collins