My reflection on tonight’s lesson in our Free Speech class did not come easy for me. My personal feelings about pornography is that it is not speech. It is not an expression. It is an act of sexual violence that actually leads to the kind of society that we have today. I feel that we live in a culture of sexual violence. Tonight's lesson dealt with pornography and its relation to free speech. We looked at the distinctions between obscenity and indecency in their legal and ethical dimensions as well as the presence of the media (tv and the internet). I was evaluating my own thoughts and was thinking deeply on the matter. I was intently focusing on the different perspectives surrounding the issues. We were trying to look into the rights of the citizens as well as their responsibilities surrounding the freedom of expression from different perspectives. Personally, as we were going through this, I have realized that I have known from day 1 of this course exactly where I stand on most issues. Tonight was quite different.
The artistic freedom of expression was a complex issue for me, and I have to suspend my stance on this issue. I started analyzing myself and my values and beliefs deeply. I ask myself where do I stand on this issue? All of a sudden I am this person who has always known her definite ethical and moral stance, but now my ability to think regarding free speech has been suspended.
The lesson was thought-provoking.
Freedom of speech and of the press both have great impact on me. I have to say that I am against censorship or any form of it. Censorship is deleting parts of publications or banning information; it is against the right of people to express their opinions publicly without interference from any governmental agency. Having lived under Martial Law during the Marcos dictatorship, I value freedom to its greatest extent.
Freedom is a necessary part of our existence as human beings. I value freedom like you’ll never believe it. My life experiences have provided a matrix for me to become an open-minded liberal person. One does not realize how important freedom is until it is taken away!
Secondly, I think, the cultural aspect has a considerable effect on my stance or future stance on this issue as well as my decision-making ability. I have to analyze the issues and how it pertains to me as a person with many hats - a mother, a student, an employee, a religious believer. I have to look at the big picture before I can say that I am either in favor of free expression or not and its impact on many angles. Before tonight's lesson, I believe that obscenity must be regulated. I don’t think that it is free speech. If a material has explicitly offensive sexual nature, it is not freedom of expression nor free speech. The trouble that I am having about this is that once we hand over the power to the government to censor even a minute part of our lives, they can censor anything! Yes, they can, even the so-called "art."
But then again, I believe that if something has the power to corrupt people, the idea of political liberation of sexuality goes down the drain. It is not my intention to be judgmental. I'm simply trying to figure out why we have a culture of sexual violence amidst a scenario of so much freedom that people possess in their hands! I have to point out that my beliefs and values that shaped my thinking dictate my stance on this. Someone or some agency must be held accountable for their action when it delivers harm to innocent lives, primarily children. When there is detrimental material over the television or the internet, and the parties concerned have no regard for the damaging effects to those who choose to look and use these obscene and indecent pornographic materials, then, maybe censorship is good.
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4 comments:
Hi Marie,
I wasn't there in class for the discussion but your post was very thought provoking to me. I understand what you are saying about people taking responsibility for the obscene material that children may stumble across. But then again I also agree with you that once you start being able to censor anything.. that is the beginning of our rights being taken away. I think that pornography will always exist, it is one of those things like alcohol, even if there was a prohibition on porn, in that place would become a black market which would probably even make it look more appealing to young people because everyone wants what they can't have. Unfortunately, there are some irresponsible parents out there who don't really care what their children are doing, but then again for the parents that do care, there are censors for your computer so your kids won't stumble across offensive material.And the same kind of thing applies to television. Yet, another thing I always think of when this kind of topic comes up is that it is very funny to me how parents will cringe and fast forward through kissing scenes in movies and say"gross" "that's bad" to their kids and also completely hide them from any kind of hint of sexuality in media or never even educate them about the birds and the bees when they are of a decent age because it is so forbidden. Then the parents will turn arund and buy their kids toy guns and let them watch terminator and that is perfectly fine. It's telling kids.. all sex is bad, kissing is bad, loving is bad. Oh, but killing someone , yeah that's ok, that's a cool thing to watch on t.v., what do you think about that issue? Or, do you think it's an issue?
~Rose :)
Why does it seem that whenever we wonder whether we are taking away someones free speech on an issue it is usually perversion that we are discussing. Don't descent people have the right to enjoy a free life with a sebse of morality that seems to be desperately lacking today. Yes,there is right and wrong, we just refuse to talk seriously about what wrong is. So we continue our decline into decadence and ever increasing violence, as though life means less because we have lost the hope that our spirituality gives us in secularizing everything and politicizing our spirituality.
Dear Blogdog,
I really have to agree with you on that! Right on! We have the right to enjoy life with a sense of morality, dignity and respect. Yes, nowadays our society seems to desperately lack a sense of sensible morality. When we refuse to talk about what wrong really is for fear of taking immoral people's freedom away, maybe the First Amendment needs to be amended!
Dear r.f.m.
Since you brought up another important issue, I merely want to comment on the last portion of what you have said. First of all, I want you to know where I stand with regard to gun control. I am in favor of getting rid of ALL guns, if it is possible. But I realize that it isn't possible. So when our civil liberties are taken away, I have a problem with it. With the issue about guns or gun control and violence on TV relating to having access to guns, I don't think that I have to worry about it. The National Rifle Association is the single most powerful non-profit organization in our country. It bases its political activity on the principle that gun ownership is a civil liberty protected by the Second Amendment of our Bill of Rights. It has over four million members who mostly are very rich and highly politically influential people who control the puppets in our Congress. It is truly an issue when children started shooting each other and killing each other because guns are so accessible. It is an issue when children go rampantly shooting teachers and other students in schools! How many universities, colleges, and high schools have we had lately that have been involved in this -- Columbine, Virginia Tech, UC Davis, four other schools in San Diego? It's all because media's impact is so great on having the right as a citizen to own guns whether you are going to use it or not. Or, whether the gun is for self-defense or for hunting. Gun control is something that they said we have to leave alone. But you really raised a very good point for all of us to ponder on --parents will fast forward television shows in order to avoid kissing scenes on television because sex is such a taboo but approves violence on TV that involves guns! It is ironic that the longer we go on like this as a society the more young people end up being dead or killing countless lives when firearms are easily accessible. Just like pornography (not erotica), it is about time for Americans to look into violence against women and this so-called right to bear arms, which also leads to violence. Aren't we all tired of it?
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