Censorship in America

This week in American Studies, we have discussed a current event topic regarding our current book, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. A publisher has decided to release an abridged version of the Mark Twain novel that removes the N-word from the book altogether and replacing it with "slave". This movement is another addition to the 21st-century phenomenon of censorship and "politically correct". I completely disagree with this decision wholeheartedly. I personally believe that if Twain had heard that a third-party publisher would essentially rewrite the meaning of his story, he would be outraged at this. It also goes to what we are as a nation. I think that we have to realize that the N-word is engraved in our nation's history and flaws and that by simply hiding it from our nation's youth, we are simply not accepting our failures in the past and not accepting it. Instead, we should teach our children about the background behind this word and ensure that we learn from it in a positive way.

This movement presents a striking parallel to the Native American mascot controversy in the United States. In 2005, due to strong pressures from the far left, the NCAA decided to create a self-evaluation into all collegiate athletic programs with possibly "offensive" imagery. One of the schools on this list was the University of Illinois due to their mascot, Chief Illiniwek, which the NCAA deemed "hostile and abusive". Chief Illiniwek, meaning "the indomitable human spirit" was a 70 year tradition that was created to celebrate the Native American heritage of the state of Illinois. Chief Illiniwek's His costume was designed by a Native American chief from the Lakota Tribe and his dances, performed at halftime of University of Illinois sporting events, was proclaimed by the U of I Board of Trustees "His ceremonial dance is done with grace and beauty. The Chief keeps the memory of the people of a great Native American tribe alive for thousands of Illinoisans who otherwise would know little or nothing of them." Despite all of these truths, clearly the NCAA was extremely ignorant and did not look into the history and background of what Chief Illiniwek. At Florida State University, however, the NCAA allowed the use of the nickname "Seminoles" because of tribal support. But because there were no more living members of the Illini tribe to support the Chief, the NCAA forced Illinois to retire the mascot and logo, therefore destroying a great and respectful symbol that payed homage to our state's rich history. 


The censorship of Twain's novel and the University of Illinois' revered symbol are alike in so many ways, as they have fallen victims to this new era of unjustified politically correctness that is attempting to rewrite our nation's past. Instead of teaching our children about our past through these devices, many people and organizations are attempting to blind our citizens from the truth. Censorship, simply put, is not what America has ever stood for and never shall be.