The sharp teeth of censorship.
There is nothing more terrifying to me than censorship.
The silencing of art that moves, enrages, saddens, and terrifies being eradicated simply for being what it is—for challenging what’s normal to us.
For introducing what makes us so afraid. For forcing us to ask uncomfortable questions. For opening a door to another perspective. For being against the grain of what is considered “normal” or “acceptable” in traditional society.
Nothing is more terrifying than the control and eventual eradication of art.
Censorship is an act of fear. It’s a weapon to use against other voices that promote strong ideals. Ideals that ruling powers may not agree with.
Censorship is a method of manipulation. It’s a tyrannical shackle to clamp around your ankle and force you to think you’re wrong for daring to speak up.
Censorship is an act of insecurity. It’s a ball and chain wielded by weak monsters who have no clue what it takes to bring something courageous into the world.
There is nothing more dangerous to the autonomy of an artist than the minds of the weak, the inarticulate, and the non-creative who fear the power of art and its abilities to sway minds, educate the independent, and incite action.
Advocating for censorship is advocating for the control of all art.
Art is meant to be provocative.
It’s meant to change you.
You shouldn’t walk through a museum and feel like the same person walking out of it. You should never dive into a book and be the same person after reading the last chapter. You should never walk into a cinema and leave without a new perspective, new idea, or feeling moved or challenged in the slightest.
The negative emotions are just as important as the positives.
It’s important to recognize what offends you. If a piece of art makes you think, it’s doing its job well. If it’s making you reconsider where you stand, it has a purpose.
Many supporters of censorhip claim it’s justified for a clean society.
Parents long to protect their children from offensive material in schools. Strongly religious families deny the introduction of counter-believing art to their children for fear of their minds being changed.
The small-minded discourage questions.
The only way to silence the concept of questioning is to erase it entirely.
To brainwash civilians of the art that challenges them.
Art you hate and art you love are equally valuable and must both exist to push us forward as human beings. We need both oppositions to make us think deeper, harder, and with intellectual diversity.
Instead of painting censorship as a token of freedom, recognize it for what it is.
Recognize censorship as the dangerous shark sent to feast on the thoughts of artists.
Artists who paint, create music, write, talk, think, and speak freely. Artists who pose threats to only the weak and unchallenged.
Independent thinkers are worldly thinkers.
Censorship not only silences the voices of artists, but it also promotes tribalistic thinking that halts societal growth and development.
Every time you feel offended, disturbed, saddened, or horrified by something you come across that objectively works as a piece of art:
Remember the importance of those feelings, those thoughts.
You would never come to the passionate conclusions you do without these challenges.
Discomfort helps us grow, in every respect.
Remember that.
This was originally posted on my personal Substack, where I publish my fiction, but also where I explore creativity, art, and self-discovery. Subscribe here if you’re into that.
