censored

“Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech.”(United States Constitution) However, it seems almost everywhere; many forms of art are being unfairly censored. One such form that is often overlooked as art is music. “Music is probably the most censored of all art forms”(The Economist; p 73) There are hundreds of artists who have been unfairly censored, ranging from popular music from artists such as Eminem, 2 Live Crew, and NWA, to classical music, such as Mozart’s Figaro. However unfair and unconstitutional this censorship is, the fact is that questionable music and lyrics are encouraging impressionable young children to follow their messages. Rappers like DMX or NWA, preaching gang violence often are “the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” and finally pushes a child looking for guidance into the world of gangs. The truth is that these children need to be protected from the harsh realities of the world surrounding them, but is censoring music the right way to do it?

“No corporation can exist without authority of government. Government shouldn’t allow corporations that infect and contaminate the minds of children to be allowed to exist.” (Dr. C. Delores Tucker before senate subcommittee). This is one solution that seems to make good sense to many to support the censorship of music. Music of artists such as NWA, who urges their listners to say, “F*ck the Police,” or Eminem, who says he’ll “Kill You,” surround children, especially in urban areas. This type of music encourages children to get into drugs and gang violence. In the past eight years, the period in which “gangsta” rap has been heavily promoted, teenage drug use has increased more than four-fold (Dr. C Delores Tucker). The government is the underlying power that allows corporations to send messages like these to children, and the government is the only resource we can use to stop it. “Young people often look to performing artists for moral guidance and inspiration as well as entertainment, but when these artists glorify guns and beatings they are injecting poison into the veins of America’s future” (Coretta Scott King). This argument is not isolated to urban areas, or rap music. In fact, hard rock groups have been blamed as the cause of several school shootings. The shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton Colorado was attributed to the music of Marilyn Manson. The most recent shooting blamed on occured in Santee California; the alleged shooter had said that he was listening to Linkin Park’s album, Hybrid Theory the night before the shooting.