Editorial: Television censorship is wrong

Imagine, for a minute, Elvis without his hips.

Funny right? Elvis’s whole image was made around his dance movements; they made him unique. However, the Federal Communications Commission, better known as the FCC, took away that uniqueness because they decided that his hip movements were inappropriate for younger audiences, so they showed only above his waist on television.

Censorship has become a big problem for all of us. All Americans  see it at least once when they watch television, and we hate it.

Types of censorship are the beeped out words or blurred images of scenes when we watch shows like Jersey Shore or Teen Mom. Even though these words and images are blurred and marked out, there is still a chance that we could  hear the “bad words” or  see the “crude images”  everyday. When words and pictures are blurred or beeped out, it takes away from the show. The “bad words” express emotion and give the statement a greater effect. The “crude photos”  show us what really happens so we can get the complete effect.

We believe that censorship is wrong. We don’t understand why there is a limit to what we can and can’t see. It’s not like we don’t hear and see crude images in our daily lives. At some point in our lives there is a possibility that we will do one or more of the things that get blurred out. Let us see it, so we know it’s not abnormal, and it does not come as such a surprise.

While we stand strongly against not censoring television, we understand the caution used to try and protect younger children. Parents need to teach their children right from wrong and not rely on a television shows to teach it for them. If parents have a problem with certain shows or channels, they can simply block them or limit their child’s viewing.

Children should also know what they should and shouldn’t watch. There’s a chance that under those black bars and blurry pictures there are things that kids may not want to  It is the parents’ responsibilities to show their children which channels are good and what channels are bad. If you don’t like seeing people party or get drunk, then stick to Barney or Sesame Street.

Our solution to the censorship problem is to have warnings before each show begins and make sure people are aware that the show contains graphic material. Saying “Parental Discretion Advised” isn’t enough to make parents think twice. If parents still let their children watch these shows, then that’s their problem, not the FCC’s.

Television shows should not be censored at all. When programs are censored, it takes away all of the directors’ creativity. If they aren’t censored, people will laugh and enjoy the shows more.

Censorship is something that should have never been invented. If one person is immature and can’t handle expressing themselves without cussing in every sentence, why punish the rest of us?

Editorial written by Chase Gosman, Betsey Brimm, Emily Kunkel,  and Amanda Uhl.

Editorial cartoon by Chase Gosman.