NYT columnist Frank Rich has another in what has been a series of columns about the gaging of our culture -- not by people, but by the government. In fact, Rich notes this week that Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) this week even threatened to go after cable and satellite radio, which perhaps demonstrates how insane the discussion on this issue has become.
Never mind that anyone can keep pay TV at bay by not purchasing it, and that any parent who does subscribe can click on foolproof blocking devices to censor any channel. Senator Stevens's point is to intimidate MTV, Comedy Central, the satellite radio purveyors of Howard Stern and countless others from this moment on, whether he ultimately succeeds in exerting seemingly unconstitutional power over them or not.
In it, he recommends the HBO show, Deadwood, which apparently has more crude language then almost any program on TV. But Rich argues that Deadwood reminds us where we come from.
Even indecency is part of an American's birthright. It also, if inadvertently, illuminates the most insidious underpinnings of today's decency police by further reminding us that the same people who want to stamp out entertainment like "Deadwood" also want to rewrite American history (and, when they can, the news) according to their dictates of moral and political correctness. They won't tolerate an honest account of the real Deadwood in a classroom or museum any more than they will its fictionalized representation on HBO.
One of my co-workers recently derided Rich for repeatedly focusing on this issue, but I really think this is one of the most important issues we face. It defines freedom and what kind of country we want to live in. Right now we are in the mode of increasing government intervention in these issues. Perhaps I am more of a traditional conservative, but I don't want the government involved in these kinds of issues. The simple fact is if you want to avoid that language, ones dollars speak much louder than any law. Howard Stern survives because he is popular. And if one doesn't like it, they should turn it off. And if you have children, one should take responsibility for their kids and not expect Big Brother Government to do it for them.
Is it simple or easy? Hell no. I sometimes feel as if we take freedom for granted. Freedom, free speech, freedom of religion and assembly -- these ideals are easy to say, and we do it in this country all the time -- but they are very difficult to live.
We once had a family friend who said that newspapers should tell people "the truth." By that, of course, she meant the truth as she saw it. And then we were in Progue a few years ago where our friends were helping citizens get ready for a market economy and entry into the EU. They told us that people were confused by the amount of choice we have in the United States. Why, after all, does one need 17 different types of toothpaste? And, the natives argued, health care in the U.S. is confusing or non-existent. All of which is true.
Freedom is not simple. It doesn't mean easy answers. It means that you have to watch out for your children. It means making choices. There is so much good that comes from that. We have had to pay so little for those freedoms. It seems that whenever payment time comes, we happily give up on them rather than taking responsibility for good and bad that comes with them.
How's that for a Sunday morning thought.
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