Music:
Rock music has always been the target of morality groups, from alleged hidden messages, to the antics of that minimally talented strumpet, Madonna. In Alabama, some time ago, a record store owner was arrested for selling a rap music record deemed offensive by certain moralists; after selling the record to an undercover cop.
Someday, perhaps record and CD buyers will one-day risk arrest for buying music someone else deems offensive. Personally, Barry Manilow and Julio Iglesias do to my ears what Chinese bamboo torture do to fingernails, but I wouldn't want to ban them for those who enjoy such noise. It is true that if everyone could ban one thing there would soon be nothing left to ban. (to be cont'd)
The PMRC or the Parents Music Resource Center was a group of unelected Washington-connected wives, Including Tipper Gore, wife of fromer veep Al, who succeeded in getting record labels on music with violent or sexual lyrics. Due to this group a lot of musicians lost business because kids could no longer buy their records and stores like (according to Wikipedia) Wal-Mart refused to carry their music. The PMRC claims they are not practicing censorship, but if it walks and talks like censorship, then it is censorship. Next thing you know, novels will get labels and who knows what will be available for the general public to read, watch, listen to, or even write about. (to be cont'd)
[The original version of this essay first appeared in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern student newspaper and as part of my unpublished manuscript "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die" And Other Essays.]
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