The freedom to read is essential to the democratic way of life.  But today, that freedom is under attack.  Private groups and public authorities everywhere are working to remove both books and periodicals from sale, to exclude certain books from public schools, to censor and silence magazines and newspapers, and to limit controversial books and periodicals to the general public.  The suppression of reading materials is suppression of creative thought.  Books and periodicals are not the only things being suppressed by pressures to the political and social systems. They are also being brought against the educational system, films, radio, television, and against the graphic and theater arts.  Censorship occurs often in today’s society, much of which is justifiable, but in some cases is simply unnecessary.

What is Obscenity?  Obscenity is difficult to honestly discuss.  After all, what makes a thing obscene?  It is something too vague to be defined.  People often see things differently.  Some see obscenity in nude pictures, statues, paintings, etc.  While others find less obscenity in these things.  This is where the discrepancy is found between what should and should not be censored.

The world is filled with obscene things.  And it would seem that parents are just trying to protect their children from the outside world.  But does it really help?  My friends’ sister was upset with her parents for raising her in such a sheltered environment.  When she went away to college, she got a taste of what the real world was really like.  These days, an average elementary school student knows many things.  They are influenced by a wide range of sources, from television and other forms of media, their environment at home and school, to their personality and background.  What they read does not necessarily mean that they will follow it.  Literature is a valued source of knowledge for these children, and should not be held back.  So rather than applying full censorship, it should be made an age related censorship.  Many complaints were issued about the immaturity of the readers.  Younger children should be prevented from borrowing material intended for an older age group.  Controversial materials should still be held for special order, available on request or under a section for parents and teachers who can decide for themselves whether the material is suitable or not.

The concept of censorship is a notable effort to clean up society, but can be over used in areas where it does not apply.  Our world is not perfect.  We live in a world filled with violence, sex, racism, etc.  Certain literature like hard-core pornography should be censored to the general public.  These types of explicit sex truly have no meaning.  They degrade the human race by increasing physical, mental and sexual abuse against people.  Ordinary obscenity should be censored closely, but with an objective view.  It may cause an increase in the violence against women, so as a result must be reduced and kept out of reach of the immature readers.  We have a social system that mainly frowns upon the violence against women.  There should be access to most types of literature, but in varying degrees of freedom, determined not by censorship, but by controlled access.  Parents are trying to protect their children from the harsh realities of life, but are they helping, or hindering?

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse.

For my grandchildren, I’d like better. I’d really like for them to know about hand_me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meatloaf sandwiches. I really would. I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated.

I hope you learn to make your bed and mow the lawn and wash the car. And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen. It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.

I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in. I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother (or sister). And it’s all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he’s scared, I hope you let him. When you want to see a movie and your little sister wants to tag along, I hope you’ll let her.

I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely. On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don’t ask your ‘driver’ to drop you two blocks away so you won’t be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom. If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one.

I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books. When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.

I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a girl, and when you talk back to your mother, that you learn what Ivory soap tastes like.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole. I don’t care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don’t like it. And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he is not your friend. I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandma and go fishing with your Uncle.

May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays. I hope your Mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through a neighbor’s window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Christmas time when you give her a mold of your hand.

These things I wish for you _ tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it’s the only way to appreciate life.

“We secure our friends not by accepting favors but by doing them.”

by Paul Harvey

Some measure sucess with dollars, some with job position, but CyberHobo measures it with happiness! When that last hour of our life approches us, what do you really think you’ll remember?

The ones we love?
The ones who love us?
The happy times in our lives?
The money in our accounts?
The time I spent working?

I hope to look back and say… What a ride!