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Freedom of speech

4 min read

To the editor:

If there was a television on right now, of what kind of things would viewers be exposed? A typical channel would consist of many shows, commercials, advertising, and news. Perhaps if audio was being broadcasted into the average user’s radio, what kind of ideas, opinions, or things would be said and heard? A noticeable trend might appear in what is being viewed or heard in media. The trend of censoring certain words or concepts for American viewers because the material may appear to be “inappropriate” or “too vulgar”. This notion is quite an interesting choice as it seems like an unnecessary thing to do. It shouldn’t be up to the government or the FCC to determine what is allowed to be heard or seen. Censoring in television and radio isn’t needed and should be taken out all together.

The way censoring is used really doesn’t make sense. An average TV show has plenty of suggestive themes, violence, and even possible drug use. People view these concepts every day and it is allowed to be observed, yet a scene of somebody dying in a gruesome way will not be shown, even though our minds can already put together what would have happened subconsciously. Many things are implied in what we watch, making our minds have to put together the rest, instead of just showing it. We turn on the local news and hear that there were 10 robberies and four homicides as if that’s the way it’s supposed to be. These words bring negative and depressing feelings into people, but are still told without hesitation. If these real life situations are actually happening, then why should we censor out veracity in our shows? We can see somebody get shot at point blank range, but we aren’t allowed to hear a “curse word” because it’s considered bad? It’s like lying to ourselves in an attempt to shelter people from the truth. One might say without censoring certain things, the material seen would be too overwhelming for the minds of children and regular people alike. However, one day they will have to learn that life isn’t always tranquil and perfect. Lying to them would be a bigger mistake, as eventually they will have to discover it on their own. A protective bubble is put on us in order to make it seem like these things don’t actually happen.

On the radio, music is played and written by artists who put forth effort into their songs. Even though the music may be excellent, a reference to drug usage is entirely censored out, to the point where the song might not even make sense anymore. Or a few curse words are used to express anger or even for comedic effect, but those concepts are filled in with empty noise, even though our minds can imply and subconsciously fill in the blanks. Just because we don’t hear the full word, doesn’t mean we don’t know exactly what the singer wanted to say. It seems basically redundant to remove it anyway. A word never physically harmed anybody, and it is said by almost every person looked up to, even our president. If someone were to walk down the street, they could hear almost every bad word known in that short distance. It doesn’t hurt or deteriorate who they are, so it is no different if it is said on television.

The way life has become so secluded that we have to censor out the dark parts of it in our media just because it may seem “uncomfortable” for some is not always correcting the problem. If our movies have vulgar language, nudity, and violence in them to the extreme that they do, why not our television and radio that is broadcasted to the general population? The government loves to hide things from us in order to maintain order, but again, this is hiding under a blanket of lies and deception. Likewise, it is a part of life that does not go away; it is definite and therefore, it should be kept how it was originally.

Drew Wood

Cape Coral