Introduction
Pretend that you are in a time and place where all the laws and
moral codes of conduct of today are null and void. The inhabitants of this world are
human, just like you and myself. They eat, breathe, walk the dog, and raise
families. However, as you continue to wander around this world, you begin to notice
something very strange. It's not in what these people do, but in how these people
receive information about the world around them. They are given access only to the
ideas and principles that a higher entity deems is safe and acceptable for them to
absorb. Their view of the world is a fractured one. Their vision is perfectly
clear at times, and at others, it is about as blurred as it can get.
Does this sound a bit scary to you? It should. Of
course this is a fantasy world. It sounds like it was lifted right out of the pages
of a George Orwell or Robert Anton Wilson novel.
But just how fake is it?
Our world today, when viewed by an outsider, is not too much
different than the one pictured above. It's no secret that the human race has tried
numerous times to kill, suppress, and influence groups for the purpose of furthering
another's goal. But now, an even greater crime is trying to be committed, which more
and more people believe every day is the "right" thing to do. It is the
censorship of information, and the irony to the story is that it's happening in those
institutions which primary purpose is to disperse it - libraries. This is not the
book banning type of censorship that has been around for the last few decades. This
is the censorship of a new information source - one that proves a threat to anyone that
has anything to hide.
The name of this beast that has a price on its head higher than any criminal? The Internet.
To explore the different aspects of censorship
on the Internet, you can select one of the sections below, or click
here to begin.
Censorship Throughout History - Primary instances of
suppressing the thoughts & ideas of another.
Why It Won't Work - The cracks in the wall that censorship is
building.
A Final Note - For those that might have the wrong impression
of what I am saying.
All material herein is copyright (c) 1999 by Justin McAdams. If
for some reason you would like to use any material found here, just drop me an
e-mail. I welcome your comments, suggestions, and concerns, too! You can
send them to me at jmcadams@udel.edu.