This balance in our day and age has not been reached. Art is held up against a test of morality for its content and what the ramifications would be if this obscene material reached the eyes and ears of minors. In our pop oriented and morality fascinated culture our children must be protected at all costs. The question that falls most easily to peoples minds is, but at what cost? Most people feel at ease with the idea of rescinding on their constitutionally guaranteed rights. In order for the added security or protection that government and law enforcement agencies can offer. We have begun to examine this more closely following the tragic events of September 11’th. Sadly the infringement on our civil liberties has not been met with any large public outcry. Thi

Persecuting a person for their chosen way expression leads to intolerance, resentment and a buildup in backlash. Instead of preaching diversity and acceptance, the oppression of those people only breeds the exact hatred, violence and ignorance that those who do the censoring wish to stop.

In the brief time following 9/11, ClearChannel, the largest owner of radio stations in the United States issued a list containing one hundred and fifty songs that were said to be “lyrically questionable”. The songs which include:

“Great Balls of Fire,” by Jerry LeeLewis, “Hell's Bells,” by AC/DC, “Imagine,” by John Lennon, “It's the End of the World as We Know It,” by REM and “Stairway to Heaven,” by Led Zeppelin were said to promote emotion that would be in unsympathetic to those that suffered on that day of travesty. Many politicians took the stance that our world would remain unchanged and that we would not lose any of our civil liberties. The words and actions of other politicians didn’t match those of our commander in Chief. U.S. Senators Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) and

“We’re in a new world,” Gephardt said. “We have to rebalance freedom and security.” Vermont’s governor, Howard Dean, said the crisis would require “a reevaluation of the importance of some of our specific civil liberties.” That day should not be looked on as an excuse to start an epidemic of imposed regulations that replace our rights with another doctrine for behavior.

There is a fine line between wishing for society to be aware of the messages being spewed out and beginning the fast steady road towards a totalitarian state. Dictators oppress their people in a very simple and methodical way. Their liberties are not protected by a Constitution composed by our past brilliant forefathers. With a purely speculative stance I can say that a world unfilled by diverse messages is not what any of these men envisioned when we were granted our protection from outside oppression and suppression of our rights. It is with undue need that I can safely say that we take for granted our freedoms and will only truly miss them if it is replaced with “protection”.

It is without a doubt that these people are welcome to express their own opinions. My writings would be hypercritical if I chastised them for want

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