To go along with our discussion about the little black marker . . .
Several years ago when Eminem came out with his first rap album, there arose a big controversy over whether or not censorship labels should be put on music. His lyrics were more obscene than any we had yet seen on the market, and parents were very upset that there was nothing on the packaging to indicate what might lie beneath. I remember that there was even an episode of Donahue dedicated to the topic. Free rights activists argued that there should be no such labeling, and parents were adamant that there should. At that time, I had the chance to decide for myself how I felt about censorship, and I’d like to share those thoughts here, particularly how they pertain to literature.
First of all, I fully believe in free speech and in free agency. If a person wants to listen to obscene music, I support their choice to do it, as long as they don’t do it around me. That violates my choice not to listen to it. I think that if you want to go buy Eminem’s CD, you should have the right to do that.
However, making a choice means having proper information. You can’t truly make a decision without knowing what your choices mean. If I were to go buy a CD and listen to it, being unaware of what it contained, I would not have made a choice to listen to inappropriate content; I would be unaware of the content until it was too late. It’s almost like slipping alcohol into someone’s Sprite at a party. To truly choose, you must be informed.
I don’t believe that our music and our books should be labeled: “Warning! You should not listen to this music (or read this book.)” But I would like some kind of hint on the cover as to what is contained inside, so I can choose for myself whether or not I want to buy it.
Few things make me feel more cheated than to pick up a book and start the first few pages, fall in love with the setting or the story or the character, and then turn the page to find something so unexpected that I’m shocked. I feel as if I should know upfront what I’m getting myself into. Perhaps a swear word on the first page so I know I should be on my toes. Something, anything, so my decision can be mine alone.
So should we have censorship? No, not in the sense that someone else decides for us what we read/listen to or shouldn’t. That takes away our free agency. But there should be information out there so we can make our decisions logically.
We all have our boundaries. There are things that bother you that probably wouldn’t faze me, and vice versa. I can’t say for 100% certain that every book I review for you will match up with your boundaries. But one thing I do promise, and that is this: I will never review a book that I can’t recommend in good conscience, and I will always warn you if there’s something you may want to watch out for. By doing this, I’m deciding for myself what I read, and giving you the information that you need to make your own decisions. And that’s what makes free agency so great.