The men that currently grace the covers of our money and national monuments made it so that we can use our opinions, expressions, and beliefs in such a way that the laws of the land would not penalize us. Freedom of speech is a matter of interpretation; it means different things to different people. Every freedom that we have obtained by the laws of the government also comes with a price. That price, as it concerns speech, is simply known as "censorship."
Censorship is just a big word for shutting out certain beliefs and ideas. If you don't believe what a person says, you try to shut their mouths. If you wish to disregard a person's opinion, you combat that opinion with one of your own. It's a very simple process, and you don't have to be the highest on the totem pole to exercise it. It's simple elementary, my friends…if you don't like something, you rid yourself of it. Censorship is a part of the American dream. But who has the right to pick and choose what gets censored and what doesn't?
If you are a big conglomerate such as MTV, you have the right to choose carefully what gets played and what doesn't. Even these high and mighty assholes have trouble in the discernment department. They have continuously censored all the wrong music, and continually played all the wrong videos. Messages in music aren't the only things running amuck these days. Here's my dilemma…
I rarely watch MTV. I'm not the biggest rock -n- roll, pop, or Osbourne fan, so it really doesn't fit into my itinerary well. While flicking through channels, I stumbled across Christina Aguilera's new video, titled "Beautiful." My wife urged me to watch this video because it would shock me to the point of no return. So I watch it…and I have not been the same since! Never in my life have I been so repulsed by ANYTHING on TV!
In this video, you see shots of an anorexic woman, a drag queen, a battered wife, and two men kissing. Not just kissing…I mean French kissing! I don't advocate starving yourself, men trying to look like women, beating up your wife or baby's mama (no matter how much you want to) or gay images in any way, shape or form.
It makes me sick to know that if I wasn't home, my ten year old sistercould have possibly witnessed that chaos on screen. None of the graphics details shown in that video are natural. All you gay activists out there may not like what I'm saying, but hey, I do have freedom of speech, right?
My lack of understanding in this matter is very obvious. Why would they broadcast such trash for the world to see? How can Christina Aguilera live with herself right now? The answers to that are simple indeed. The world has turned in such a way that all of these gruesome ideals have become acceptable in our society. When did this happen? Why let that video be shown, and not a video from Public Enemy?
MTV recently censored a P.E. track, and everyone knows that these are legends with a powerful message of hope, knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. They have been the calling card of Hip-Hop empowerment in a career that spans two decades. Why censor these guys out and show two men tongue kissing?
Across the board, MTV has continually shown little to no ability to discern what should and should not be played. I think it's about time for some action to be taken in this matter.
I'm not the one who will be on the phone with Kwesi Mfume or Rev. Al Sharpton next week, but I feel as if someone of stature should step up and reprimand videos such as "Beautiful." It's appalling to know that knowledge means little where money means a lot more.
If anyone from MTV is reading this, you might want to censor out what I have to say to you: F*** YOU AND YOUR F***ING STATION!