Essay: "Death Before Censorship", Part 1 of Several

Essay:  "Death Before Censorship , Part 1 of Several

       Adolf Hitler, perhaps the most lethal despot in human history, advocated censorship with the following quote:  "Theater, art, literature, cinema, press, posters and window displays must be cleansed of all manifestations of our rotting world. Public life must be freed from the stifling perfume or our modern eroticism."

       Contemporary censors continue to use the same fascist argument in an attempt to impose censorship on us all, and to eliminate freedom in the process. Also, although modern-day censors may not, as a rule, physically torture, harm or kill anyone; their fanatical zeal to destroy the freedoms which make this country worth living in, is very much reminiscent of the Nazi reign of terror. As I see it, censorship must be crushed and contained, because it is just about as harmful to freedom as the Nazis ever were.  (to be cont'd)

   [The original version of this essay first appeared in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern student newspaper in the early '90s and was later part of my unpublished manuscript  "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die" And Other Essays.] 

Essay: "Music Censorship", Part 9 of 9

Essay:  "Music Censorship", Part 9 of 9

       As far as I'm concerned, this trend toward attacking freedom and promoting censorship parallels the  Inquisition, the Salem Witch Trials, and McCarthyism. During the Spanish Inquisition, most people were ignorant and illiterate, and the rest were caught up in the hysteria; or were too afraid to speak up or do anything about the madness that the Grand Inquisitors were perpetrating.

       These days ignorance may still be widespread, but this time the Inquisition-style would-be censors are presumably outnumbered by those of us who prefer freedom over any form of tyranny, censorship included. This new Inquisition, in the form of censorship, can and should be stopped. If it is not stopped, we will only have ourselves to blame for allowing it to continue.  

Essay: "Music Censorship", Part 8 of Several

Essay:  "Music Censorship", Part 8 of 9

 [Note: The original version of this essay first appeared in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern student newspaper in the early '90s and in my unpublished manuscript "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die" And Other Essays before record labeling was imposed nationwide.]

       It seems that most of these self-appointed censors are so-called Born Again religious fanatics, who would probably still believe that the sun revolves around the earth if a church official or clergyman said it were so. There are still remnants of the  'Sun Revolves Around The Earth' mentality that continue to persist to this day. Some examples of this skewed attitude are: "Fetuses are babies."; "Only churchgoers and so-called God-fearing/worshipping folk are moral, decent and righteous."; and worst of all: "If a small minority of supposedly 'decent, moral folk' decide what is right or wrong for everybody, then everyone is better off.", etc. I disagree with all of these ideas.  (to be cont'd)

Essay: "Music Censorship", Part 7 of Several

Essay:  "Music Censorship", Part 7 of Several

 [Note: The original version of this essay first appeared in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern student newspaper in the early '90s and as part of my unpublished manuscript "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die" And Other Essays before record labeling was imposed nationwide.]

       Since comedy is often on records, it would be a natural target for censorship. After all, most comedians, with few exceptions seem to use profanity and/or sexual or excretory humor. Self-appointed censors would most certainly like to ban comedians who act as if they were born with Tourette Syndrome. That is, unable to control their profanity. Andrew Dice Clay is arguably one of the worst of them, but he is also (or at least used to be) one of the most popular contemporary stand-up comics. It seems that most major young comedians use profanity in their acts, with the possible exception of Bill Cosby and a handful of others; but so what? As long as a comedian is funny, and as long as they do not slander anyone, there should be no problem.   (to be cont'd)   

   

Essay: "Music Censorship", Part 6 of Several

Essay:  "Music Censorship", Part 6 of Several

[Note: The original version of this essay first appeared in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern student newspaper in the early '90s and as part of my unpublished manuscript  "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die" And Other Essays before record labeling was imposed nationwide.]

       It wouldn't surprise me, with the so-called War On Drug going on, if CDs with songs about drugs were pulled from record store shelves. Actually, I understand that Wal-Mart, which in some parts of the country is the only store that carries CDs for many miles around, refuses to carry many CDs which are censored by record labeling. Also, I heard that some of the record labeling bills were so broad that when passed, operas which contained violence could also be labeled. At least to me, it is absolutely ridiculous that a record store owner might get arrested and may even do time because a small minority of vocal loudmouths would like to censor or limit our musical options. Perhaps record buyers will be subject to arrest next, in our gradual decline into a Police State. It wouldn't surprise me at all that even one's choice of legal downloads could one day get police scrutiny.  (to be cont'd)

Essay: "Music Censorship", Part 5 of Several

Essay: "Music Censorship", Part 5 of Several

  [Note: The original version of this essay first appeared in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern student newspaper in the early '90s and as part of my unpublished manuscript  "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die" And Other Essays before record labeling was imposed nationwide.]

       Anything could potentially be considered offensive to somebody. Take the Rolling Stones: In over forty years, the Rolling Stones have written and recorded many songs which could make certain people cringe. In 1967, during their psychedelic period, the Stones released  "Their Satanic Majesty's Request", which had nothing that I know of with Satan or Satanism. On their album "Hot Rocks", the song  "Sympathy For The Devil" wasn't really about Lucifer per se either.  "Sympathy For The Devil" is actually about the evil that exists in the world. The only Sympathy For The Devil that the Stones had was hiring the Hell's Angels motorcycle club for their tragic December 7, 1970 free concert at Altamont Speedway (1 fan stabbed, 2 drowned, 1 hit by a car).  

       Perhaps  "Brown Sugar" and a few of their other songs could be construed as racist. One song on the  "Black and Blue" album was banned from many radio stations for the lyrics:  "Scrape the sh-t right off your shoes. Similarly (or not), the nearly unintelligible lyrics of the Kingsmen's  "Louie, Louie" were once banned from radio airplay. Many years ago, on  "The Ed Sullivan Show", the Rolling Stones had to change the lyrics: "Let's Spend the Night Together" to  "Let's Spend Some Time Together". Likewise, when the band The Doors performed on "The Ed Sullivan Show", they were supposed to change the lyrics of the song "Come On Light My Fire" to exclude the word  "higher"; apparently due to its 'high on drugs' connotation. By the way, although The Doors promised to change the offending lyric, they played the original version anyway.  (to be cont'd) 

Essay: "Music Censorship", Part 4 of Several

Essay:  "Music Censorship", Part 4 of Several

  [Note: The original version of this essay first appeared in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern student newspaper in the early '90s and as part of my unpublished manuscript  "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die" And  Other Essays before record labeling was imposed nationwide.]

       A rap music group called  "Two Live Crew" was one of the biggest targets of the crusade to censor music. I haven't heard a lot of their music, but I am aware that their record jacket and lyrics have strong sexual connotations; so they are natural targets of would-be censors. Heavy Metal music is likewise oft scrutinized and under attack for allegedly turning children away from religion, encouraging suicide, rape or murder, glorifying Satan(ism), etc. If music imagery affects the mind, then it won't be long before fanatics try to clear entire libraries so as not to fill the mind with so-called  'corrupt' ideas.  Also, as far as I'm concerned, if children are being turned away from religion, nine times out of ten religion itself is probably to blame.  (to be cont'd)