CENSORSHIP
                by Philip A. Severson, (PGHP, Iowa)

     I don't know how much more help I can stand from those who
are bent on saving me from myself, tell me what to eat what I
should wear and generally tell me how to live. I thought we
learned our lesson during prohibition, that you can't legislate
morality or human nature.

     If we keep this up we will once again give organized crime
the incentive to make money, giving the majority of people what
they want. More and more this country is being governed by
meddling small minds bent on imposing their will on the vast
majority. One of the more prominent groups has bragged their
cause is just because they had 46 thousand letters supporting
them. That is no mandate to tell 250 Million Americans what to
do. Let me see a million letters. I might be impressed even if
that's not one percent of the total population.

     One of the best ways to control people "for their own good"
is by censorship. A minority or a government begins by demanding
some restrictions to prevent embarrassment or leaks of
information at the wrong time. At first the penalty for breaking
a restriction is a token fine. The bad thing is that it takes no
special vote or legislation to escalate the penalties and fines.
From there it is no problem to change the misdemeanors to
felonies and the fines to jail terms. All this and the general
public has not been given the chance to say yea or nay. What
started out as a mere slap on the wrist is now a sword over your
head, and it takes the judgement of the supreme court to restore
your constitutional rights.

     One of the fundamental rights what gets lost almost
immediately is the right to choose. Everyone pays lip service to
this right so long as it applies to their freedom to do what they
want. Yet they are quick to withhold that right from anyone who
does what they don't like. in doing this they deprive the
majority of people if life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,
they very words that start our constitution. All this in the name
of helping us for our own good.

     Concern for your fellow man is admirable; too attend to his
health and welfare commendable. You must not and cannot force
your morals and opinions on others however sincere, because in
doing so you infringe on their freedom of choice. If you place
restrictions on the freedom of choice, it is only a matter of
time until your morals and opinions become suspect. Your freedom
of choice to live as you see fit will be lost.

     Hitler took away freedoms from one group at a time, using
real or trumped up charges to justify his actions. One by one he
removed the Trade Unions, the Masons, and the Jews. Finally all
churches were banned, and the last refuge of truth and justice
was gone. Using censorship to subtly bend and finally break the
bonds of freedom of choice, he won control of a country and
almost the world.

     We must never forget our country was founded on the right to
make our own destiny without any hindrance from others. Families,
communities, and countries must respect these rights for others
as well as themselves. Trying to suppress another's rights is a
double edged sword. In your zeal you may destroy the hated object
of your intolerance, only to find that you are now the best
target.