Censoring Music

Nancy Ponder

            Freedom of speech and right of expression are the ideals for which our country stands. These two principles are the very same things that artists depend on the most to make their music, but as important as those things are, many artists feel that these basic human rights are being taken away from them. Some feel that music is another form of expression and a way of putting ideas or opinions out for others to hear. When music is censored or not played at all because it is viewed as offensive, it makes people wonder if there is a  limit on our freedom of speech.

            Artists do have broad boundaries as far as what they are allowed to say and what messages they want to send, but they do not have total control over the issue. Is that fair? Music is supposed to be like poetry or art, it is another form of expression, and when that expression is limited, it defeats the whole purpose of music. Granted, some of the content may be construed as offensive, but what one person considers to be offensive, others may find to be genius.

In some countries such as in Afghanistan or China, artists’ freedom of speech is severely limited. In countries such as those, where many freedoms that we take for granted are only dreamt about, but never known, it is easy to imagine that music would be censored. But in a country where freedom of speech is held in such high regard, it is difficult to believe that music would even be censored at all.

While freedom of speech should be taken into consideration record companies will say that they have to keep in mind that many of their listeners may not want to hear certain lyrics. Some record companies advise their artists not to say certain things in their songs for fear of being banned in other countries and others will even go as far as taking out certain words when the song is aired over the radio. “I don’t think that it should be censored because it takes away the true feeling of the music. I mean if it’s like every other word is profane then that is one thing, but even then it sounds pretty stupid when you hear a beep every two seconds. And it is not like people have to listen to it if they do not want to”, said Junior, Sasha Crawford.

After September 11, certain songs were viewed as being “insensitive” to the events, and in order to protect the American public, those songs were not played on the radio. But does preventing people from hearing certain words protect them from the reality that they are facing? If anything, it could help the situation. Most people do not have to be dealt with as if they are fragile, so who can determine what is truly best for everyone?

Censoring music can also be considered a generational issue. When asked what she thought about the subject, Sophomore, Benhan Tafla said, “I don’t think they should censor music because it is sheer common sense. The parents should be aware that there is a CD warning label. It’s the parents responsibility to monitor what their kids watch or listen to because music is not the only factor that affects teenage behavior.” Politicians and certain organizations say that the some artists are irresponsible with their influence and positions. They also say that lyrics in some songs are a bad influence on today’s youth because it is vulgar or abrasive. And because of this it causes unruly behavior in teens.

Many people would agree that a child does not become unruly because of the music that they listen to. It is not as if hearing profanity and references to sex is going to affect the impressionable minds of teenagers. By restricting what people are allowed to listen to, it only gives them a greater desire to hear it. Half of the things that are said in songs are things that we have already seen on television or heard in real life. “I think that most parents try to blame the music for the problems in their child’s lives, because they don’t want to think about the possibility that it is their fault that their kids are the way that they are. And probably, because they do not understand the music either”, says Junior, Saleha Bholat.

When artists are silenced, not only are their options and expression limited, but society’s as well. We have freedom of speech, but only if people like what we say?