Publications Should Be Censored .What's Your Opinion?

　　你对出版物应该审查持什么态度?

　　Suppose you are in the position of a parent. Would you allow your children to read any book orsee any film they wanted to without first checking its content or finding out whether it issuitable for them? If your answer to the question is "yes," then you are either extremely permissive or just plain irresponsible. If your answer is "no ," then you are exercising your rightas a parent to protect your children from what you consider to be undesirable influences. Inother words, by acting as a censor yourself, you are admitting that there is a strong case forcensorship.

　　Perhaps you will say that children need protection and it is the parents'responsibility toprovide it. But with adults, it is another thing. Of course many adults can decide what is goodand what is bad, but not all of them can do so. Censorship is for the good of society as a whole. Just imagine what chaos there would be if we lived in a society without laws! Like the law, censorship contributes to the common good.

　　Moreover, when discussing censorship, we shoAuld not confine our attention to greatmasterpieces of genuine art, but should consider the vast numbers of publications and filmswhich make up the bulk of the entertainment industry. When censorship laws are relaxed, unscrupulous people are given a licence to produce virtually anything in the name of "art", but actually are very far from being work s of art. There is a tendency to equate "artistic" with "pornographic". The vast market for pornography would rapidly be exploited. One of thegreat things that censorship does is to prevent certain people from making fat profits bycorrupting the minds of others.