Censorship and the Abolition Thereof

Censorship has been a thorn in the side of creativity for hundreds of years, since Biblical times. It has prevented the free sharing and intertwining of ideas and philosophies, been a constant impediment to the publishing of the true feelings of the artists, and its biggest crime is being an enemy of the imagination.

As a surrealist artist, my imagination is my biggest asset, and what comes out of my head is the stuff that goes on to entertain, enlighten and amaze the spectators.

But censors, who have been around since the beginning of society, have made this modern place, the earth, into a den of policing, constant fear, and intimidation.

That is why in America, and other countries, laws have been adopted to PREVENT censorship. This is because the founding fathers of the United States saw that the laws of England were restricting their ability to live and express themselves in such force that when they came upon the opportunity to write NEW laws, they chose laws that allowed people to speak against any negative authority that were imposed on them. In England, they weren’t allowed to speak anything that was critical of the monarchy, which is a lot like political protesters who fight against what they perceive as negative political influence or people. I myself have fought for pro-choice legislation, for the seperation of church and state, and most importantly, for freedom of expression and speech.

Our founding fathers wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in such a way that if the various governmental offices that they were creating ever resembled the very opressive kingdom that they just fled, that the people themselves would have the power to fight back. My friend Paul Curtman likes to point out that the government is given LESS than 30 powers in the constitution. He should know, he’s a scholar. They have NO power to keep we, the people of the U.S., from saying WHATEVER we say fit, even if (and specifically if, in fact) it offends the status quo. As a society, we have created language to engage in the most elaborate form of communication seen by any form of life on earth. We have more ways of communicating than other species, and I intend to use words to get my points of view across. I refuse to believe that a country founded by sharp-tongued nonconformists could have degenerated to the level of thin-skinned pussies.

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TEXT OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION;

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

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These freedoms mean something to artists, because even if they aren’t fighting against the government as a whole, they may be fighting against some type of injustice they see happening, or giving an alternate viewpoint of a perceived fundamentalist assumption of moral ‘normals’.

Even for people who are just having fun, perhaps at the expense of a person, group or agency, such as parodies and satires, the groups making the art have the right to make their points and put it in front of people who choose to see it.

Even in this modern society, protected by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, we still have people trying to mark or stop that.

— The military censors the blogs of military personnel

— The FCC still exists, and decides what is appropriate for us US citizens to listen to.

— The Church of Scientology uses the legal system to fights critics of the church.

— The Library of Congress censored the findings of WikiLeaks.

— Religious organizations STILL infiltrate government and use their biased agenda to negatively affect the people.

— People still treat minors as though they aren’t capable of processing right and wrong.

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"Without Freedom of Thought there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such Thing as Public Liberty, without Freedom of Speech." -- Benjamin Franklin, Founding Father and one Bad Ass Motherfucker

It seems that a lot of the arguments posed by moral watchdogs and overbearing religious zealots is that children are being put in the line of fire for offensive material. I have two points to make about this, that may have never occured to the readers here;

1. If the people who argue against what they perceive as offensive content, truly took the time to know their kids, they would come to the conclusion either that (a) this music really means something to their child, and as their parent it is their duty to allow them to express themselves, or (b) that this music, while it may not fit the ideals of the parents (who were raised in another generation), is art, and it expresses a moral point for the artist that is obviously being received for the moral betterment of the child listening to it.

2. If the child has the means to come across the material and CHOOSES to listen to it, it is their right to do so. Even in extreme cases, such as if they were listening to the recorded output of Mr. Charles Manson, or perhaps if they were reading vocally Satanic literature, it is their CHOICE to listen to it, and since there is absolutely no valid proof that music or other material can force a child to be a murderer, or a demon-worshipper, the child should be left with only the moral guidance of the parent, with the parents trusting that they are good enough parents that their kids can listen to music or read books without being so weak as to automatically accept the materials’ ideals. Young people are smarter than today’s yuppie bloodsucking society would like to believe. In many cases, they’re smarter than the adults.

To censor things for young people is bad, because it stunts their creativity and their culture. But some people think that some books, music, and art should be banned entirely. Since the religious censorship of the ancients, people have, for some reason, thought that some letters, arranged in a certain way, are offensive to the person. Not only does this undermine the individual’s right to choose what is acceptable for them and their dependents, it also puts a moralist (if they werent, why would they be the censor, or at the very least why would they WANT the stuff cenosred in the first place) in charge of deciding what is appropriate and what is inappropriate. Its impossible to pick a person who is neutral on everything, and a whole panel is worse. Even if you took 100 total strangers into a warehouse, and sat them at a white table, and said

“Today, we’re examining some radical, violent, sacreligious art.”

THEN showed them a picture, whether it be something up for subjective reasoning, or something else, you might as well have showed them something blatant, like, say a picture of Satan performing fellatio on Jesus. There is NO way to avoid it, in getting a test group together, you’ve programmed these people on what to say before you begin.

You cant rely on anyone to choose for you what is and what is not appropriate.  If you choose to look at a picture of Shirley Temple winking and see a girl with pent up sexual frustration, as opposed to an innocent child actress, it is YOUR morals that are way off point.

Moreover, censorship does no good, and by its very nature cannot. Trying to stop people from seeing things,  only makes them want to swee it more, and at a higher cost. Trying to keep people from knowing things makes them try harder and at more extreme ends to learn it. Forbidden fruit is always sweeter, what’s not to be eaten is the most coveted and desired, and I intend to eat every bit of history that ever existed. Secrets are delicious.

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Many of my favorite people had a lot to say on censorship and freedom, including my hero Samuel L. Clemens, aka Mark Twain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain

“Nature knows no indecencies; man invents them.” ~Mark Twain, Notebook, 1935

Most people, when they hear the name Mark Twain, they think of a series of innocent-enough, comfortably-written children’s books, like Tom Sawyer. But during his life, even moreso in his later years, Mr. Twain wrote several books, and a mass of articles and letters, condemning herd mentality, and the  Christian church. He wrote with a sword-tongue the book “Letters from the Earth”, which is an absolutely amazing book, I advise all of you to read it if you are interested in the subjects of religion and freedom.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Zappa

“I think that if you use the so called “strong words” you’ll get your point across faster and you can save a lot of beating around the bush. Why are people afraid of words? Sometimes the dumbest thing that gets said makes the point for ya.” — Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa — Amazingly bizarre musician, who was extremely popular for his odd music, big-time productions, imaginative and strange imagery, not to mention his biting criticisms of big government figures on the Right, and his bitter hatred for censorship.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud

“What progress we are making.  In the Middle Ages they would have burned me.  Now they are content with burning my books. ” ~Sigmund Freud, 1933

Freud wrote of the taboo that exists in all of us, in the dreams, in the subconcscious, in the furthest reaches of every mind. And the public reacted with fear.  Freud unlocked the padlocks of our minds, and showed many moral do-gooders that even THEY had sexual perversions and dirty thoughts, and he also influenced my favorite artist, Mr. Salvador Dali.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_carlin

“The whole problem with this idea of obscenity and indecency, and all of these things bad language and whatever it’s all caused by one basic thing, and that is: religious superstition. … There’s an idea that the human body is somehow evil and bad and there are parts of it that are especially evil and bad, and we should be ashamed. Fear, guilt and shame are built into the attitude toward sex and the body. … It’s reflected in these prohibitions and these taboos that we have.” – George Carlin

George Carlin — The only stand-up  comedian listed here, I know I could list hundreds of people who have fought censorship and general shit-headdery, but I chose the who that personified the mentality I agree with on the subject. I believe George Carlin was the smartest man born in the last 80 years. Rest In Peace, George.

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In closing, my opinion on censorship IS; fuck it. Fuck it and then bury it alive.  — AA (Tom)

Helpful links on censorship and the constitution;

— The Constitution online; http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html

— The First Amendment on WikiPedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

— National Coalition Against Censorship http://www.ncac.org/

— Some 1st Amendment Quotes http://thinkexist.com/quotes/with/keyword/first_amendment/

— America Censored documentary (sorry if this link becomes broken, it may get taken down by the owning company) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKW9ltIHZYQ&feature=related

— Frank Zappa on Censorship http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWkwnZ-fF24

— Website of our legal consultant, and a real First Amendment pro, Larry Walters — http://firstamendment.com/

— Website of our friend, Libertarian politician, and true liberty devotee, Mike Badnarik; http://constitutionpreservation.org/

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More Selected Quotes on Censorship —

“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.”
—Salman Rushdie

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“Fuck you.” – Mary Todd Lincoln

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“It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creeds into law if it acquires the political power to do so, and will follow it by suppressing opposition, subverting all education to seize early the minds of the young, and by killing, locking up, or driving underground all heretics.”
—Robert A. Heinlein

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“Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.”
John Milton

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Take away the right to say “fuck” and you take away the right to say “fuck the government.”  ~Lenny Bruce

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““Censorship in any form is the enemy of creativity, since it cuts off the life blood of creativity: ideas.” – Allan Jenkins

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