Should our government have the right to censor song lyrics that it finds too violent or explicit?
The Children
When children are little they have no control over what thier parents listen to. If thier Parents are listeing to violent music they will grow up listeing to it and mostlikely proform those actions and have those motives self conssionsly when they grow up. These children will eventualy be the end to our society we know today.
Posted by: AnonymousCensorship
Violence leads to violence and the more kids to listen to the lyrics, the more violent easily influenced little kids will become. Would you like your little brother or sister, or even your child robbing a store? How about mugging someone? Or how about even raping someone? What about murder?
Posted by: AnonymousNo, because the freedom of speech laws should cover song lyrics.
I believe our right to freedom of speech must be extended to song lyrics, no matter how explicit or violent they may be, just as that same freedom covers questionable books or publications (such as Hustler magazine). The best way to censor song lyrics is to not support the artist or record label that produces those that are found to be offensive.
Posted by: IesIComicYes
Because using such vulgar hateful and dreadful cuss words may cause change to others around you and may cause others to behave aggressively .it may cause adults to use some violent language or behave in such horrible ways .this is an assignment for language arts .
Posted by: AnonymousInappropriate
Yes, there is freedom of speech, and yes, it is in the Constitution. But there has to come a point where what people are saying just becomes TOO inappropriate. I do not think that they filter out your opinion; they filter out the bad language which isn't necessary in the first place.
Posted by: Anonymous
No, because our freedom of speech protects song lyrics.
One of the key liberties we have in this country is freedom of speech, which should be protected at all times. I may not even agree or condone the lyrics of a given song, but it is that artist's right to express himself how he or she sees fit. If the government were to begin censoring lyrics, it would become a slippery slope for them to censor other things, such as blobs, movies, or even the news. We, as Americans, would become no different than any other totalitarian country in the world.
Posted by: gwynisinNo, I oppose censorship in any way, shape, or form, because the basic right given to us by the First Amendment is inalienable and clear.
Censorship of music is one facet of our lives that can very easily lead to censorship in other areas. By allowing this sort of censorship, we are simply inviting more. There is a snowball effect when one freedom is allowed to be taken, wherein additional liberties will be slowly stripped away, until we have no more basic rights.
Posted by: J LeCensorship is wrong, and illegal. Yet they still do it
The government has no business suppressing our freedom of speech. To the people who said that violent lyrics lead to violent behavior, then how do you explain islamic sh!tholes like Iraq? Do they listen to song about blpwing themselves up? Next point, we have to keep a leash on our government. Look at how quick they were to capitalize on 911 to urinate on our Constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizure? Treating Ameri am citizens like terrorists does not make us safer. Censoring our freedom of speech and musical expression - does not make us safer.
Posted by: AnonymousNo
Artists should have the right to express themselves in their songs. They're trying to put a message across to people, and if you bleep out the swears, people don't get the full picture of what the artist is trying to say.
Posted by: AnonymousNo song lyrics should not be censored.
Because the parents are the ones who buy us the kids the CDs with the explicit lyrics so therefore they should not be censored for something they do wrong. It's our right as people to listen to what we wanna listen to, plus the freedom of speech counteracts the lyric ban.
Posted by: AnonymousThe government should not have the right to censor song lyrics because our most basic amendment is freedom of speech.
The first amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives our citizens the right to free speech. If the government decided to censor song lyrics, they would without a doubt be taking away this right. Not only that, but on what scale would they decide what crosses the line to be censored or not?
Posted by: AnnoyedDong77It's just music and it's not causing any harm so why should it be censored?
Music is just another form of freedom of speech; therefore the government should not have the right to censor music. Just like speech, as long as the music does not pose an imminent threat, then the government has no reason to censor.
Posted by: AverageHoward86How do the artists feel?
The government has no right to do this. They did not write the songs. Why do they get to decide whether or not to have this censored or not? This should be the writer's decision. If the audience has a problem with it, change the station. It should not be their decision. It should be no one's but the authors.
Posted by: AnonymousThe Power to switch
Parents can change the station if they do not want their children to listen to it. Just because the parents are to lazy to press a button and are not smart enough to understand that they have the power to change the station. Just because the parents are stupid does not mean that everyone has to be affected from one person's beliefs.
Posted by: AnonymousThe government shouldn't have the right to censor anything.
Government and censorship should never ever be used in the same sentence together. It's not the government's job to babysit us. There should definitely be stronger measures on limiting who gets a hold of these violent and explicit lyrics - such that people under 18 should absolutely not be able to buy this, under any circumstances. Parents should be debriefed about what they're buying, and punished if they do it anyway. This should be treated like buying alcohol for minors.
Posted by: 4uncLifeno
it is freedom of speech and artists should be aloud to sing what they would like to sing
Posted by: Anonymouskp
No, because America is a free country. We can do whatever we want to do.
Posted by: AnonymousI do not agree with censorship of song lyrics
The first amendment is the right of free speech, which means that anyone can say anything they like. It may not be appropriate, polite, or honest, but they can still speak it. I don't support "bad" or explicit music, I don't like it or enjoy listening to it. However, I feel that people have a right to do what they want without government interference.
Posted by: AnonymousFreedom of speech is important to our society.
We have a society that values freedom of speech, and agreeing to censorship of anything undermines that freedom. Song lyrics are an expression of people's ideas, and people should be free to voice their thoughts. That being said, I think the government does have a right to regulate the sale of these songs, through a rating system that serves to warn of inappropriate content.
Posted by: TaintedHamelNo, that would probably be unconstitutional; I think they already tried.
Our government should not have the right to censor song lyrics for being too violent. Words can be taken out of context and construed as being violent when they aren't intended to be. Lyrics are open to interpretation, what it might mean to one person is different than what it might mean to another. Our right to free speech is one of the most "American" rights we have. Like it or not, we have to keep it that way or we are nothing but hypocrites.
Posted by: PinkMychWhy should they!
It's called freedom of speech. We could decide not to listen to the bad words if we want, there's nothing wrong with it, it's the people that decide if they want to or not. There might be some parents that hate when their children decide whether they listen to explicit music.
Posted by: AnonymousCensoring is a dangerous practice therefore I would not support the government censoring song lyrics.
I would never support the government censoring music lyrics it deemed explicit or violent. Who would be responsible for determining whether lyrics were acceptable or not? Even if some sort of consensus could be agreed upon, how long would it take until this spilled into other realms like television shows, books and print media like newspapers or magazines? We live in a free society and if someone decides for themselves or their children that they don't like something they can turn off the song, TV show, or close the book, magazine, newspaper, etc... If we allowed censorship it would be just a matter of time until the ruling political party would attempted to silence the opposition if they disagreed with their point of view. Very bad idea!
Posted by: AndonNic3rNo
Most people don't care about the type of music they listen to, if they like it then they can't do anything about it. If people cared then they wouldn't have listend to the music in the first place. I hope this gives at least an opinion about censoring music lyrics and what people think about it.
Posted by: AnonymousThe Government has no right to censor violent or explicit lyrics, especially if the consumer chooses to listen to them.
Censoring lyrics to songs, first off, is a violation of freedom of speech. If songs are going to be censored then books, movies, some sports, and comedians should be censored as well. Freedom of speech is a right granted by our fore-fathers and limiting or revoking that right goes against everything that America was built upon.
Posted by: EWestonCensoring song lyrics would be a blatant violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of expression.
Censoring song lyrics would be a blatant violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of expression. Censorship is a slippery slope and what is offensive and explicit to one person may be perfectly fine to another. Where would censorship stop once it started? While I support warnings about music with explicit lyrics and the censorship of certain words contained in songs played on the public airwaves, I do not support banning or otherwise limiting an artist's right to free expression.
Posted by: NatBIabNo, censorship is unconstitutional and against the first amendment!
The government should never have the right to censor anything. people have the right to express themselves, and I dont care if some stuck up moms are "worried about their kids" They are gonna encounter all that "bad" stuff one day and all your sheltering wil only hurt them in the end. Let people choose what they listen to, watch, read, and think!
Posted by: AnonymousI do not believe in censorship as it takes away personal responsibility & takes away one of our freedoms.
The Government should not be able to censor the lyrics of musicians. There is first an inherent flaw in any ratings/censorship system -- what is offensive to one may not be to another. It has been proven that ratings are too often subjective, not objective. Censoring music not only takes away the right to freedom of speech, it also takes away the personal responsibility for one's actions. It has been shown time & time again that those who commit acts of violence were prone to have done so no matter what entertainment they listened to. Making explicit music into the villain means the more important matters that bring one to violence may be overlooked.
Posted by: MitP4rtyThe government needs to stay out of the freedom of speech and expression.
Music is art, and any attempt at censoring it would be stifling it. And, who
in government would decide how to censor it? Art is all a matter of opinion
and, if you don't like one form or a particular artist, then simply avoid
them and their medium. I don't go around cussing, but absolutely love the
music of Eminem, and nobody should be able to take that away.Posted by: MarsBIueMore on Message, Less on Content
Most people focus to much on the words and less on the actual meaning of the song. Everybody complains about 2 chainz and the fact that he swears in his songs, but what most people don't know is that he has a degree in Literature. Eminem does curse in his songs but they have great meanings in them and everyone complains about that, but do we ever complain about Taylor Swift and ah what is the message in her songs? That she feeling 22 yet she is like 25 years old. So please start thinking more about the message and less on the explicit content.
Posted by: AnonymousOur government should not have the right to censor song lyrics because that is a violation of free speech.
Writing from the United States, our government should not have the right to censor song lyrics. The first amendment guarantees the right to free speech, and it is the job of the government to uphold that right, not to censor music. Whether or not you believe in censorship of offensive subject matter in the arts, it isn't the government's place to do so. The censorship we see on the radio, TV and other places is coming from somewhere in the chain of people bringing the music to the listener, whether it's the artist, the record label, the radio station or someone else involved in it. The government stays out if it, and that's how it should be.
Posted by: OIusIucyno
no way artist need away to express there pain there life and if they have restrictions they cant do that.everyone has the right of freedom of speech that cant be taken away.If parents dont want there child to listen to that they should take control but mature adults who like that type of music are old enough to handle it and if you restrict music tv is just as bad ,aybe even worse so that would come up to.Let people be themselves
Posted by: Anonymousthe First Amendment.
It is a direct violation of the first amendment if music that is produced my someone is censored. If a word that you sang out loud is bleeped over or silenced out that is the same thing as saying you are not allowed to say that. I do not believe in censorship.
Posted by: AnonymousNo, they can put ratings on them but not censor them.
Of course no one wants to hear hateful words spewed on the radio but govt. censorship is not the right answer. Smart marketers will self-censor by pulling that crap from store shelves and keeping it off the air. That is all the censorship we need. Once we let the govt. choose what we should or shouldn't read or hear, we are doomed.
Posted by: Th4Fire