I Truly Value Freedom Of Expression. Do I Sometimes Take It For Granted?

At The Miami International Book Fair today, I listened to a panel on censorship and freedom of expression around the globe. What a timely topic since President Obama is in China expressing support for freedom of expression and full access to electronic media, today.

At the session on censorship, I was amazed to learn that book banning is not a thing of the past in the United States. In fact, parents sue and a win cases against school boards every year. I even learned the Diary of Anne Frank is one of the most frequently banned books in US.

What I found most disturbing is that today, thousands of authors worldwide are in prison, missing, kidnapped, facing death threats, awaiting trial etc. for what they have written. The final panelist read a long list of names of those imprisoned in other cultures, many from the Middle East, Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa.

The panel raised my awareness of International PEN, the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. PEN originally stood for "Poets, Essayists and Novelists", but now includes writers of any form of literature, such as journalists and historians. Other goals included: to emphasize the role of literature in the development of mutual understanding and world culture; to fight for freedom of expression; and to act as a powerful voice on behalf of writers harassed, imprisoned and sometimes killed for their views. It is the world’s oldest human rights organization and the oldest international literary organization.

Some popular books that have been banned in the United States over the years are the Wizard of Oz, Catcher in The Rye, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Color Purple, Charlotte’s Web, Animal Farm, Winnie the Pooh, and of course--- the most famous banned novel (worldwide) in our lifetime: The Satanic Verse by Salmon Rushdie. (BTW, I heard Salmon Rushdie speak at the book fair last year and he was riveting)

The following were the top three reasons cited for challenging materials in the US as reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom:
1. the material was considered to be "sexually explicit"
2. the material contained "offensive language"
3. the materials was "unsuited to any age group"

In China, today, President Obama speaking on freedom of expression and access said "These freedoms of expression and worship, of access to information and political participation - we believe are universal rights."

China is an authoritarian country in which there are no elections for the country's national leaders. Media outlets and the internet are heavily censored, and those who speak out against the government are often imprisoned.

Mr. Obama added: "They should be available to all people, including ethnic and religious minorities, whether they are in the United States, China or any nation."

After his main speech, he addressed the issue again in a question and answer session with Chinese students - many of whom spoke English.

Mr. Obama said freedom of information - including open access to the internet - was important.

"That makes our democracy stronger because it forces me to hear opinions that I don't want to hear - it forces me to examine what I'm doing," he said.

He said the internet was a powerful tool to mobilize people and had helped him win the presidency last year.

I agree wholeheartedly with the president. It often makes me wonder: Do we take Freedom of Expression for granted?

Here is a video of the panel on censorship and freedom of expression that was live streamed on C-Span on Saturday November 14th 2009:
http://www.c-spanarchives.org/program/289995-3

Here is C –Span’s description of the panel on censorship and freedom of expression:

Panelists from PEN International spoke about censorship. Panelist included: Mary Gordon, author of Reading Jesus: A Writer’s Encounter With the Gospels (Pantheon); Ana Menendez, author of The Last War: A Novel (HarperCollins); Francine Prose, author of Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife (Harper); Sam Tanenhaus, author of [The Death of Conservatism (Random House); and Michael Thomas, author of Man Gone Down: A Novel (Grove), "Panel on Censorship," a PEN World Voices event of the 26th Miami Book Fair International, took place Saturday, November 14, 2009, 11:00 a.m., in the Chapman Conference Center of Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus.

updated news report on Obama visit:

November 18, 2009
Chinese newspapers emphasised the US president's positive comments

China has tried to neutralise US President Barack Obama's attempt to speak directly to ordinary Chinese people.

Officials have used their control of the media to make sure citizens receive only a censored version of the US president's comments.

In a question-and-answer session on Monday in Shanghai, Mr Obama praised China and urged it to adopt certain universal rights and freedoms.

But in news reports about the session, Chinese media outlets largely ignored the criticism and played up the positive comments.