Censorship An Individual Or Institution - 1392 Words

Aaron Browning Vonda Ford English 5-6 28 January 2014 â€Å"********* *** ******† Censorship: the intentional suppression of information that is deemed inappropriate by either an individual or institution. Censorship; has been an issue throughout all of history. Whether it is the trial of Socrates or the Licensing Act, all censorship has ever done is limit information and repress other points of view. Censorship comes in many forms and can be very subtle or opaque; the one constant is the benefit of the powerful and the restraint of the masses. Some may find forbidding information useful, and some may think that freedom of speech; is not a right; but rather something to be sacrificed for the greater good of society. Censoring anything, be it†¦show more content†¦The trial of Socrates was held in 399 BC, and he was charged with corrupting the youth and impiety. Socrates was executed shortly after, and he became a martyr to free thinkers across Greece. Inspired by Socrates, the playwright Euripides Became one of Freedom of Expressions most early advocates. Later in the Roman Empire Censorship became more prevalent with the invention of the Censors. A Censors job is to eliminate all information that may be harmful to society or the ruling government. When Rome was Christianized in the late 300’s the Roman Catholic Church was no less eager to suppress information then Rome. When Pope Paul IV came into power he Established the Liborom Prohibitum in the mid 1500’s. The Liborom Prohibitum is a list of works that the Church deemed inappropriate to read; It lasted more than 400 years and spanned more than 20 issues until it was finally stopped in the mid 1900’s. The librorum Prohibitorum included both scientific and literary works by authors such as Isaac Newton. The invention of the printing press in 1450 revolutionized the way that Europe created information. Printing was faster and cheaper than transcribing, and it being readily available created an information boom in Europe. Newspapers and the postal service raised the awareness of current events, and allowed people to create formulate and share opinions over long distances. In the year 1643 the English government created