organicsociety

     There is currently public debate over the issue of censorship. Some people believe
that parts of the media that can be found to be inflammatory or degrading should not be
allowed to be broadcast. Performers such as radio personality Howard Stern and
recording artist Eminem have come under attack. I believe this controversies are
symptoms of a divide in our societies collective conscience and that this is a sign of an
organic society.
      One part of the American collective conscience is that we have a freedom of
expression. This conscience says that individuals should be able to express whatever they
want as long as it does not interfere with the rights of other individuals. This a commonly
accepted part of the "determinate system" with a fair amount of volume and intensity, but
a fairly small amount of determinateness. That is to say, this belief extends through nearly
all of our society with a good amount of leverage over individuals, but it may also be
subject to change. This lack of determinateness stems from disagreement over the content
of the belief. For some people, it is a religious content that says such things as obsenity or
racism should not be publicly expressed. But, others have the secular belief that our
government should allow all people to say anything. This creates a divide in the collective
conscience.
      This is all a sign of an organic society. Individuals are making their own decisions
about how they feel about this controversy. They are not conforming to the superiority of
a superior group because the individual is the highest form of development. People are
linked directly to each other, not to society. They are dependent on one another for tasks
that they cannot perform themselves. There are also large populations spread over large
geographic areas, making the very idea of ideological broadcast relevant. Also, there are
laws recognizing the rights and freedoms of individuals, such as Stern and Eminem. In a
mechanical society there would probably be no such considerations as the will of the
society would be the rule for all.

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