If there was ever a time to stand up and defend our freedom, it is now.
So why one corporation is turning to censorship and suppression of free speech is beyond me.
Following the terrorist attacks on America, Clear Channel Communications (which owns over 1,000 radio stations nationwide) released a list of “inappropriate songs,” which they didn’t feel should be played.
First, let me say this: I am all for sensitivity at a time like this. Like every other American, I was deeply affected by the terrorist attacks on our country, and like everyone I know I am in mourning.
I certainly wouldn’t want to turn on the radio and hear “Bodies” by Drowning Pool (with its constant, disturbing refrain of “Let the bodies hit the floor”), and I would hope most radio stations would exercise common sense and decency, and choose not to play it.
But here’s the bottom line: it should be their choice.
This is America, after all, the land of the free, and the home of the brave. Our First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech. We are, as President Bush put it, “the brightest beacon for freedom.” It is what makes us a target to terrorist groups around the world, and it is what the maniacs who perpetrated the Sept. 11 attacks sought to destroy.
So why is Clear Channel stepping up and taking away freedom at a time when it seems more important than ever before?
And believe me, that’s what they’re doing.
The list of “inappropriate songs” spans far and wide, and goes way beyond normal sensitivity. Tunes that make even vague references to destruction, fire, planes, New York, the month of September, the day Tuesday or which just generally describe negative situations (note Fuel’s “Bad Day,” banned for not being uplifting enough) were included on the list.
Also marked for removal were Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” Don McLean’s “American Pie” and, curiously enough, “all songs by Rage Against the Machine.”
Now, while some of the tunes on the list, such as AC/DC’s “Shot Down in Flames” or Metallica’s “Seek and Destroy” actually make sense, others — like The Bangles’ “Walk Like An Egyptian,” which was deemed “un-American” — are ludicrous.
Either way, the decision should have been left up to individual stations and disc jockeys, who would presumably have the common decency to avoid playing truly offensive tracks.
And even if they didn’t exercise caution, in the end the ultimate choice should be left up to us listeners. If we find something upsetting, we can merely switch stations or turn off the radio altogether.
No corporation should have the right to decide what we do or don’t hear.
After all, some of the“inappropriate songs” may actually be a source of comfort in a time like this.
Radio stations in New York, such as the Clear Channel owned Z100, pointed out that some of the forbidden songs (such as Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York”) were among the most requested tunes immediately following the attack.
I can certainly see why. On the day after the tragedy, I found myself listening to U2’s War, an album which contains such banned songs as “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” Even though I had heard that CD hundreds of times before, it now had a new meaning for me. For the first time, I felt I understood the horrors and tragedies mentioned on the disc.
I can see where Clear Channel is coming from, but I think they missed the point. Presumably, they thought these “inappropriate songs” shouldn’t be on the airwaves, as they might serve as a reminder of the tragedy.
As if we could forget. America has been forever changed by these events, and banning songs won’t help us heal any faster. If anything, it will serve to take away some of the freedoms for which we’ve fought so hard.
