By Josh Williams

Looking at the multiple forms of media we now have in our entertainment arsenal, anyone can agree that our generation is a bit more graphic than its predecessors. Many video games are centered on violence. Movies contain sexual content, drug use, vulgar language, and anything else that would make parents want to write angry letters to their senators. So, when we consider what, if anything, we might want to censor from public viewing, why are classic novels now appearing on the list?

NewSouth Books, a publishing company based in Alabama, will replace the N-word with the word “slave” in Mark Twain’s classic “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Apparently they feel that the word is degrading and disrespectful to black individuals who have to listen to it or, in this case, read it. While this is not a pleasant word that should be used today, completely removing it from a classic work of literature is not the answer. There are shows on television with someone called Snooki getting blatantly drunk in public, cursing excessively, and exposing herself to the millions of people watching. Yet this company feels that a book should be the priority to be censored.

This censorship would not be a big deal if the intentions were not so serious. This masquerade of people getting their feelings hurt, while a noble cause, cannot be the reason for this atrocious editing. If that were the case, numerous television shows, rap songs, movies and other books would also be edited. I believe that the context the word was being used in is the reason that “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was chosen for censoring. The N-word was being used to refer to slaves. I believe that we are slowly trying to forget about our faults in history. The mistake I refer to is enslaving numerous Africans to do work in our stead. While this is a terrible blemish on the face of American history, this does not mean we can just forget about it altogether.

This one book might not be enough to completely remove our dark history. However, Tom Sawyer’s classic will set a precedent. If a literary classic such as “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” can be edited, other works will be changed as well. If this is the case, and censorship is now gaining momentum, this might be one of the last columns I am allowed to write.