Music Censorship

Foreword:

This is an essay I wrote for my Colloquium class. It is a piece of crap, and I refrained from going all out because I wanted a good grade, but it is still worth reading and kinda interesting. So, enjoy, I hope you have more fun reading it than I had writing it.

Modern music censorship dates as far back as the 1950's with Elvis Presely's too-lewd hips, and has reached hitherto unforeseen heights in the 1980's and 1990's, with police raids on the homes musicians and listeners alike. The censors have mangled songs from Nirvana's "Rape Me" (changed to "Waste Me" so their album could be sold at K-Mart and Wal-Mart) to Cole Porter's "I get a Kick out of You" (specifically, the line "I get no kick from cocaine" was too strong for the radio). The people who actually enforce censorship range from Ed Sullivan to the Federal Communications Commission.

How is this an ethical issue? Well, the United States of America is held together by the simple idea that we all have the right to do, say, and be what we want. America is a diverse country, and the right of each of us to be who we are lies at the very core of our culture. Furthermore, music censorship is like a slap in the face to the artist who created the music. It is a very personal insult to tell someone that something they have worked and sweated over is wrong and has to be changed before the public can listen to it.

The act of censorship is invariably caused by people who seem to think that they have our best interests in mind. The phrase "for your own good" comes to mind. My argument is that it is the right of the individual to decide for oneself what to listen to. It is not the place of a government, another religion, a special interest group, or a business to decide for them. I have divided my report into four sections, Governmental Censorship, Religious Censorship, Business Censorship, and Familial Censorship.

The Federal and State Congresses are refrained by the First Amendment from actually censoring the press or speech. While the potential censoring of music has been discussed in Congress, it has not happened as yet. The great bulk of governmental censorship occurs at the county and community level.

In one of the most famous cases of music censorship, in January of 1990 police in Dade County, Florida set up stings to bust record stores selling 2 Live Crew albums to people under eighteen. While the courts did not actually press charges, this resulted in both 2 Live Crew albums being confiscated to the band being persecuted for holding concerts in Florida. Record dealers were similarly persecuted in Alabama and Tennessee. This all resulted from failing to comply with "Parental Advisory" stickers placed on albums. These stickers are discussed later, in the business censorship section.

A similar event occurred in San Francisco in 1986, when the band The Dead Kennedys were arrested for "distributing harmful material to minors." This harmful material came in the form of a painting by Swiss surrealist H. R. Giger, a man most noted for his work on the design of the movie "Alien." When the case was brought to trial, instead of the painting, the prosecution focused on the band's anti-establishment lyrics. After a year of trial the band was acquitted, but fighting the charge cost the small name band and its supporters over a hundred thousand dollars in legal fees, not to mention a year of their lives.

While such persecution is legal under the letter of the law, it is neither ethical, nor true to the spirit of the law. Persecuting people for the beliefs they express and the way they express themselves often results in witch hunts, much like the persecution of communists in the first half of the century.

Proponents of governmental censorship think it is the government's job to protect them and their children from material they hold objection to, instead of taking the responsibility onto themselves. When governmental censorship actually occurs, it causes our constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech to become invalid. Free speech applies not only to what one says, but also to music, art, literature, etc.

Another issue at the heart of American ethics is that each of us the right to worship who and how we want. Therein lies the concept of separation of church and state, and one of our most valued freedoms. Many people and groups seem to forget this at times.

Groups like the Christian Coalition and Focus on the Family have long tried to shove their morals down other peoples' throats. Tammy Faye, one time wife of famous televangelist Jim Baker, along with Tipper Gore, wife of vice president Gore, helped form a group called the Parents' Music Resource Center (PMRC). The PMRC were instrumental in pressuring the record industry to label music "offensive" music with explicit lyrics stickers.

One of the purposes of many religious groups is to tell families what they think is good for their children. If a parent chooses to get their information from these groups, that is their own business. The problem arises when they try to interfere in the lives of families that do not hold the same religious or moral beliefs, by influencing government and business authorities. They have no right to try to force others believe as they do. Religious freedom means separation of church and state. A church should not have a hand in the affairs of those they can not count amongst the faithful.

In 1985, when Congress held a session to discuss the prospect of labeling records and enforcing a ratings system, the PMRC was the major force behind organizing the hearing. Tipper Gore, founder of the PMRC and wife of the then Senator Al Gore, used her influence to give the issue publicity. Even though there was no actual law passed on the issue, the PMRC eventually got what it wanted.

Using its powerful influence and threats of an organized boycott, the PMRC convinced the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) to enforce a sticker policy, putting the familiar Parental Advisory sticker on any album deemed to have violence, sex, drugs, or any other objectionable material. Large record chains that were a part of the RIAA were forced to comply.

This may not sound too threatening to freedom of speech, but what happened as a direct result is perhaps the worst case of censorship yet. Fearing what the RIAA would do, large record chains placed the parental advisory stickers on their products. Many large companies, wanting to uphold their reputations as family stores, simply dropped the records from their supplies.

In the mid-90's, large chains such as Wal-Mart and K-Mart became the number one dealers of music in America, due to the low prices and ease of one-stop shopping. Neither of these chains will carry a record that has a Parental Advisory sticker on it. Therefore, the record industry now often forces bands to release two copies of their albums, one a normal version for record dealers that will risk potential persecution by authorities (as in the 2 Live Crew case) and another for chain stores that don't want the parental advisory stickers.

Now, not only is someone else deciding what we can and can not hear, these censored albums are not even allowed to note on their covers that they were censored in the first place! So, an unsuspecting person who purchases a censored album has bought damaged goods. Usually, they are not even permitted to return such an album to the store they purchased it at.

It is not the place of big business to decide what is good for you and I. Part of living in a free society is taking on the responsibility to make right choices for oneself. Taking away the right to choose is against every ethic held dear to the U.S. We are "The Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave," as the song goes.

The family, not the community, is where any censorship at all should be occurring. It is up to the parents to decide what is right for their children. Parents should keep themselves informed as to what music their child is listening to, and listen to it themselves, at least once. It is the only way parents can be sure that what their children are listening to meets the household standards, but it could also be a wonderful way to bond with their children.

Parents today sometimes take too little interest in the life of their children. This is not always their fault, as long work hours with both parents working can make it difficult to spend time with their children. Often, when a parent notices something may be wrong, it is too late to make a difference. The care and raising of ones' child should not be left to a television. This is easier said than done, but there is always some way for a parent to take and interest in the life of their child at some time. Helping a child make right decisions, while not clouting the child over the head with your opinions, is too easy to forget to do in our fast-paced world. It is neither the right nor the responsibility of the government, business, or church to make these decisions for you.

Well, there ya are. Hope you enjoyed it.

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