Is Radio Censorship Going Too Far?

We have laws in place to restrict obscenities, sexual allusions and other offensive material from being broadcast over public airwaves. These laws are supposed to help keep broadcasts clean and enjoyable for all ears, both young and old. While I can understand the omission of profanity and some sexual allusions, I have noticed a couple things more recently that to me seem a bit extreme in the way of censorship.

In Kanye West's "All of the Lights", Verse 4 contains the following:

Unemployment line, credit card declined

Did I not mention I was about to lose my mind?

(My mind, my mind, my mind)

And also was about to do that line

On the radio they've been omitting the word "line" in that verse. Up until today, when I actually searched the lyrics online, I thought she was saying "crime" which I thought was a strange thing to be censored. Now that I realize it is a drug reference, I see where they are coming from in regards to deciding to censor it, however, I still don't entirely agree with the censoring.

Nicki Minaj has "Super Bass" airing a lot on the radio right now and in her song the following verse also contains a drug reference:

And he ill, he real, he might got a deal

He pop bottles and he got the right kind of build

He cold, he dope, he might sell coke

He always in the air, but he never fly coach

Now I haven't noticed whether or not their substituting or omitting the word "dope" in that verse, but it is very clear that they are purposely leaving out "coke."

Noticing these and other drug references now being censored out of radio broadcasts makes me wonder when exactly the radio stations felt they had to do this. I wish I had paid more attention to the lyrics over the past several years as I am guessing this censorship may not be as new as I think.

I do not condone drug use nor the sale of drugs, however, I realize that in certain types of music the drug references can fit based on the public image, background of the artist or even the genre itself. Parents, I'm sure, do not really want their children hearing lyrics that have drug references in fear that their children get the idea that drug use is "normal" in society. As a parent myself, I am, of course, concerned about keeping my own kids off of drugs.

Making radio stations censor out the drug references in songs however, is not necessary. As parents, we should be talking to our kids about drugs. This doesn't mean simply telling them over and over "Don't Do Drugs." We should be explaining to them why drugs are bad, why there are people that do them (celebrities included), why such people might do them, and point out the consequences of doing drugs. Our children should understand that our society is made up of many different levels and some levels are more prone to drug use than others due to the uncontrollable (and some controllable) circumstances surrounding their place in society.

Drug use is bad, yes, but it is also a very real part of life for many people and somewhere down the line your children are going to encounter it in some way or another. If we keep forcing broadcasters to censor out things in songs that reference bad things in life, it makes it harder to teach our children about those bad things and it also gives up a tiny piece of our freedom of choice.

Bit by bit, our freedom to choose what or what not we hear is slowly being chipped away, and all in the name of decency.

Lyrics for "All of the Lights", Kanye West

Lyrics for "Super Basee", Nicki Minaj

FCC guide on Obscenity, Indecency and Profanity

Previously Published at Triond.com