Banned Books Week 2012

Today marks the beginning of Banned Books Week for 2012. Since the time of the first books enemies of freedom have sought to have many banned or destroyed as they attempt to limit and control the spread of ideas and dictate what people can think. A sign of a civilised society is its ability to accept a diversity of thought and belief, even when some find some of the concepts offensive. It's our duty as defenders of freedom of thought to fight the narrow minded bigots who try so hard to impose their values and 'morals' on the rest of society.

The Eroding of Freedom in Australia

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25235298-5003402,00.html

I don't know what's more alarming: the Australian government forming a secret list of sites to be banned or the way the Australian public is so compliant in letting it happen. How can we possibly be so ignorant of the lessons of history? 

Let's be perfectly clear. This proposed censorship has nothing to do with banning child pornography. Kiddie porn is already banned in Australia and people caught with it usually receive a gaol sentence. No, this is all about banning thought. It is about censoring ideas. It is about the government deciding what concepts we should be exposed to. It is about repression of the people and ending freedom of speech.

The banning of sites is bad enough but keeping the list secret under threat of gaol is a truly dangerous development. No government should be given the power to ban any site it deems to be promoting undesirable thoughts. To not only be given this power but also the power to keep secret the identity of the banned sites is unconscionable and can lead to nothing but trouble and an abuse of power. After all, if everything is above board and they have nothing to hide, why refuse to subject the list to public scrutiny? Something smells very fishy in Denmark here.