Music Censorship is a Violation of Free Speech Essay

Others believe that music should not be censored because it would infringe on the artist’s right to freedom of speech, but music containing explicit lyrics should be criticized for their negative content. Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas delivered a speech to the City Club of Cleveland. In his speech he discusses how music has a major affect on youth, and how crimes among teenagers have increased greatly, since music with explicit lyrics have been out on the market. He also expresses that music should not be censored, because the artist have the right to say what they want in their lyrics, but society also had the right to criticize the explicit lyrics in their music. (1-9) The right to freedom of speech is given to all people under the bill of rights. If people weren’t allowed to speak what they felt this country would not be where it is today.

     Racism, hate, sex, drugs, and profanity are among many things people encounter in everyday life whether they want to or not. The one thing that people do have control over is what kind of music they listen to and to take that right away from anyone would be more offensive than having the president of the United States of America get oral sex in the oval office, one of the most honored places in the country. People get more worked up over the things in life that mean nothing, than worrying about crucial issues. Our society can tolerate watching parents smack their children in *Wal-Mart more than they can stand to hear a curse word, or a sexual comment in a song. Music is an

The First Amendment to the Bill of Rights exists because the Founders of our country understood the importance of free expression. The First Amendment states "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press . . ." (Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution 17). One of the ways the American people use this freedom of speech and expression is through the creation of the art form known as music. Music's verbal expression bonds our society through our emotions and experiences. This fundamental right of freedom of expression is being threatened by public and governmental groups who believe they have authority to monitor and decide what others should experience. The censorship of music

The United States of America seems to be protected by a very important historical document called the Constitution. Despite the fact that it was written and signed many years ago, the American people and their leaders still have faith in the Constitution. One of the major statements of the Constitution is the First Amendment, freedom of speech. Although it is difficult to decide what is offensive and what is not, it is clear to see that songs of rape, violence, bigotry, and songs containing four letter words are completely unnecessary for susceptible minds to acknowledge. It is reasonable to say that more people listen to music everyday and for that reason, music tends to be more influential. The American

“Obscene: so excessive as to be offensive” (http://www.webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary). This is the way the Webster dictionary defines obscene. How do you? Some say obscene is vulgar; others say the best way to describe obscene is through disgust. No matter how it is thought of, obscene material is everywhere in society. Television is becoming more liberal, magazines are less edited, and music is more abrasive. At some point, the public must put its foot down and demand censorship in order to keep decency in the world.

Marilyn Manson, The Beatles, NWA, Garth Brooks, and the king, Elvis, What do all these people have in common? Well, yes, they are all musical groups, but there is something more. Marilyn Manson is a heavy metal group who worships Satan, the Beatles were one of the greatest Rock N’ Roll bands of all time, and NWA was a hard-core rap group from the 80’s. Garth Brooks is a country singer and greatest selling performer of all time, and well, Elvis is the king of Rock N’ Roll. So what do they all have in common? All of these artists have or had songs with indecent or obscene lyrics.

The threat of not being able to listen to your own music in the privacy of your own home is expanding further as the years progress and our society grows. Music is a large contribution to many Americans everyday life. Whether its calming and relaxing or energetic and loud, it can help people get a job done. Censorship is the suppression of any information which may be considered sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient , this is determined by governments, media outlets, authorities or other groups or institutions. Music has played a large role in the idea of censorship for centuries because it voices opinions about others beliefs or it contain explicit language.

What could our culture be without music today? Music has been around for thousands of years, but it wasn't the same as what we have today. Music would be classified differently back in the “Stone Age”. It would composed of various sounds and crafted into a single music piece. As centuries went by, music evolved without holding back. Day after day, music is still growing at a tremendous rate. So should music that glorifies a criminal lifestyle be banned? A very controversial topic among social media freaks and conservative people, who could be the one that gets their way.

Censorship in music has been a major problem plaguing America since the early nineteen forties. It came to a head during the nineteen sixties with the Vietnam War and the hippie movement. During the nineteen seventies and eighties heavy metal and hard rock were getting the brunt of the censorship heat. Now in the nineteen nineties the major focus of censorship is rap; primarily gangster rap. Some of the main factors of music in general that cause legal ramifications are sexual content, suggestive violence and obscene language. Censorship is an attack against our first amendment right guaranteeing the freedom of speech. However if a song or album is deemed obscene the first amendment does not protect this.

“Censorship, like charity should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there,” is a quote by Clare Boothe Luce (Fitzhenry, 84). Some parents are against the censorship of music. They believe that they should raise their kids, not some politicians who believe one nasty word will change a whole child’s future.

Second of all, music should not be censored because it reduces an artist’s capability to be creative. A musician uses certain lyrics for a reason. Every lyric has some sort of meaning. Whether it be to rhyme with a subsequent phrase, or going with the flow. Regardless of its purpose, it still has value. However, creativity is not only limited to the lyrics in a song. Creativity can also be express through rhythm and tone. The downside, one can only have so much creativity than resides in the tone of a song. In the song, “Never Take Away My Freedom” it says, “Can take everything I own. You can have and sing my song. You can never take away my freedom” (David Guetta). This means that he could be stripped of everything that he owns. But his freedom can never be taken away by anyone. This holds true about music as well. Artists have the ability to create any kind of music they wish. Lyrics help surpass that limitation of creativity. An artist’s lyrics cannot and should not be contained by the power of the government. It takes time and dedication to create music. Musicians carefully

Music and its powerful means to spread messages to the humans have a big effect on society today. It may affect one in a negative manner such as teaching an individual how to use foul words or it may put one into a bad mood. Although one may not know the hidden meanings behind one song influences an individual as well. One message spread through music is the idea of racism.

Social media provides the world with a wealth of information. What used to be only found in newspapers or heard on the radio, can now be accessed instantly with the touch of a button. Another thing that is now at anyone’s disposal is music. Through social media streaming sites, such as Pandora and Spotify, all people have access to all types of music, whether it be good or bad, positive or negative. This accessibility creates an issue that is evident in children and teens. This issue is one that I strongly care about. It is the issue of bad music. When I say bad, I am not speaking about the talent level of the artist but rather the content of their lyrics. Children and teens are listening to songs that promote violence, cussing, drugs,

Is music really beneficial to society? Do its pros outweigh its cons? The famous Greek philosopher, Protagoras, once said, “There are two sides to every question, one opposed to the other.” This quote implies that although there can be many perspectives of a situation; no person’s belief is incorrect. It simply opposes other’s beliefs. Similarly, even though music is said to have many positive effects, like being therapeutic, it also negatively influences many social, political, and economic issues in the United States today, such as: poverty, unemployment, gun control, police brutality, bullying, and fear of acceptance.

Music is supposed to bring joy and unite people all around the world - whether that joy comes from pop music, alternative rock music, country music, heavy metal music, indie music or classical symphonies music. It shouldn’t be any concern to anyone besides the person who loves listening to.