Here is a real
doozie of an issue that is actually being debated before the Supreme Court as
we speak: SWEARING AND PARTIAL NUDITY ON TV.
Well this is not as
easy of an issue as it sounds.
The
Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) has been able to regulate the “public airwaves”
by fining companies multi-million dollar sums for isolated expletives (like
Cher saying “fuck” while accepting an award (other have done the same many
times) as well as accidental nudity such as that of Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe
malfunction” during a Super Bowl half-time show.
It all started with
my favorite comedian, the late
George Carlin and his famous “Filthy Words”
monologue that first aired on the radio. I still remember his “Seven Dirty
Words you can never say on Television”. Anyway, some important twit heard that
monologue while driving with his 15 year old son and from the resulting Supreme
Court 1972 case “FCC vs. Pacifica Foundation”, the FCC has had the power to
regulate what is uttered or shown on the public airwaves to protect
America’s
young and innocent children.
Today, we live in a
world totally different than in 1972. We have cable and the internet, which is
not regulated. We have movies shown on TV like “Saving Private Ryan” where
soldiers say “fuck” many times as they invade the beaches of France and battle the Germans. The
FCC allowed that but fined a Martin Scorsese documentary called “The Blues”…go
figure!
Well, yes we have
come a long way but I will agree that I don’t want kids exposed to constant
swearing and nudity so we obviously have to reach a “common sense” agreement to
be fair to all parties concerned and it is NOT fair for cable and internet to
do what they wish while subjecting “regular” TV to such harsh and “arbitrary”
standards.
First, parents have
tools available to them to regulate what their kids watch or listen to. If the
parents don’t give a shit or don’t want to trouble themselves to regulate what
their kids watch and listen to (but want others to do the regulating for them),
I say tough shit; your kids, your responsibility.
I don’t want to be
limited in what I watch or listen to just because some kid “might” be watching
and listening too!
Movies and TV Shows
are “rated” for a reason and parents are privy to those ratings so they can
control what they allow into their home.
Companies that want
to attract a certain viewing audience (for advertising dollars / that’s how
they make money) will broadcast programming that will be attractive to that
viewing audience; that is common sense and good business sense…so let the
market guide programming.
To fine networks for
accidental and random occurrences of swearing or nudity is just plain stupid;
if you invite someone to say a few words when they accept an award or
something, how in the hell are you going to control what that person says.
And what if a kid
hears the word FUCK accidentally; its not like they never hear that word and
MORE just going to school and talking with their friends who may have parents
that let Fuck fly all day long…what are you going to do about that…jail the
offending parents?
I remember my son’s
peer group which had one kid that just swore up a storm all the time, the rest
of the kids did not. We found out later that the kid had a policeman as a
father and learned all the words from him. That particular kid, has carried his
behavior into adulthood, while the other kids, now doctors, nurses, managers,
etc., probably know when and if swearing is appropriate.
We cannot live in a
modern world and still abide by outmoded social mores; the new rules need to
make sense in our world today.
I am not sure if
today’s Supreme Court judges are capable of thinking modern and of our world as
today and not yesterday. They are pretty Catholic and that may have a sway on
their decision and that may be just too bad for us.
If they are true to
their job description of upholding the Constitution, they will take the First
Amendment literally which protects speech as a recognized freedom, within
limits of course (no yelling fire in a crowded theater).
We shall see…
