Freedom of thought

Chapter 1 Review of the Portable MLIS

Thoughts are the only thing we have which nobody can screen and say “No, that's a thought we don't like or Yes, we like that idea. You can keep that one.” Only our own will is capable of that. Everything else though is subject from the radio and television all the way the content of libraries. Other people choose what is to be there on the shelves, not you, and hence because of that there is already one level of censoring. That is because every person is different and if asked to find a solution for one problem two people may very likely have two very different answers. Thus is the case with librarians and books. Just because there is a human element involved it limits the scope of what potential could be there. Yet that is true regardless of where one goes but this inbuilt censorship should not be ignored. It should be accounted for and thus we won't be surprised by it. Children, however, tend to not have as much as a problem with this.
Perhaps it is since they have not been molded by society. They do not have the forms in their minds which claim that some ideas are “good” or “bad”, “outlandish” or “fool hearty.” They are free to think in whatever way they wish which is something that we as a society tend to lose. Thus the thought of deliberately screening children for the sake of their protection I find, troublesome at best. What is wrong with a child asking what is sex? Does the answer of reproduction not sit well with some people? If so they may take their discomfort and find the nearest facility where they may vent their displeasure for the truth is the truth. Religion also holds no bar here for there are a plethora of examples in religious works of people multiplying.
The most likely reason why people want children to be limited on what they can view and learn is that people are afraid. Their long held values and beliefs would fall under constant attack with questions that have no answer. What again is a child's most potent question but “why?” Many people would not be able to answer or at the very least don't believe that they can and so to avoid the argument altogether they sweep the concepts they are concerned about under the rug and wait, hoping the children grow up and find an answer they agree with or put it off as them now been a “teen” or “that generation.” What censors are doing is attempting to keep the fact that fewer and fewer people are actually fulfilling their roles as parents. Who else cast the most shackles on our intellect but those who raise us?