OPPapers.com

Censorship Of Music

A group of girls grab hold of each other’s hands as they race around a roller-skating rink in New Iberia, Louisiana. “The Chicken Dance” is blasting over the floor as excited roller skaters flap their elbows along with the song. Meanwhile, in the rinks parking lot, a fight breaks loose! The rink’s management is accused of instigating the incident by playing music over their PA system. Police confiscated over 60 CDs amongst which were Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and albums including songs like “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” and “The Hokey Pokey”. It only makes sense that those fighting outside were only doing so because Britney Spears said “Hit me baby, one more time”-right? That is absurd! Censorship of music not only violates the freedom of speech, but it is largely based on fear and allows music to falsely serve as the scapegoat for problems with youth in our society.
Censorship puts restrictions on what communication can been seen and heard between people; therefore, infringes on individual rights and limits the freedom of speech. The most common type of censorship in music is of “obscene” lyrics. Trying to narrow down the definition of obscenity starts to become an issue of morals. Who gets to decide what is moral and immoral? The Government? Religious Groups? Schools? I firmly believe that only a parent can choose for their own child what is appropriate to listen to, and what is not. Another common form of censorship, which peaks around times of political turmoil, is political censorship and is used to maintain unity and compliance. Popular artists and groups such as The Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam, Madonna, Neil Yong and Green Day have all been silenced for being anti-Bush and anti-war. Censorship is being used as a way to prevent children from being corrupted, yet all it is doing is keeping minds from being stimulated and limiting their freedom of expression. Police officers in Northwood, Ohio, for example, order 14-year-old Daniel Shellhammer to take...