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Don’t tell me what to SAY! by Geoffrey Alls (revisited)

Written by Foresight
Wednesday, 06 February 2008
As a minority, the First Amendment has always held a special place in my heart. The ability to voice and express one’s thoughts when those thoughts are not only unpopular, but hated, has given our country the ability to protect human rights and improve them. This, in turn, has encouraged human rights around the world. The dangers of living in a country that censors speech have been well voiced and well reasoned. Even so, on the scale of societal good and evil, I cannot ignore that the effects of unfiltered speech and press tip a little more each day to the negative side. Advertisements I do not claim to be a conservative but I do believe that morality plays an important part in a successful society. This is even more important in society that built its economy on the idea that people will and should act in their best interest without government interference. Because many times acting immoral may be in your best interest, it is left to public opinion and economic factors to make immoral ventures costly. I fully understand and agree with this concept. I also understand the press and media’s role in furthering it, but it has become glaringly apparent that money is important to these sources, not the betterment of society. It has always been the job of popular media to push the envelope and show the dark areas that society refuses to shed light on. More and more the dark areas have become the only areas that we see. While I appreciated Menace II Society and Boyz in the Hood for the atrocities they laid bare, I believe the Cosby Show and Fresh Prince of Bel Air to have had a more positive effect on not only white’s opinions of blacks, but of black’s opinions of themselves. On the same token, I understand and appreciate the writing of Sopranos, Sex and the City, and Desperate Housewives (the early days), but find it disheartening that the same efforts are not put forth on making shows that support more traditional values. Fifteen years ago, parents were outraged about two cursing and farting teenagers watching music videos (Beavis and Butt-head), but now MTV’s schedule is full of greed celebrating and sexually suggestive shows (My Super Sweet Sixteen, every dating show, and half of the reality TV). As lame as it was, I miss ABC’s TGIF. There is not much opposition to the view that the media is about entertainment first, and truth and education a distant second and third. This type of thinking has not only reeked havoc on popular media, but has laid waste to news programs. One could write a book on the politically biased and controversially driven shows that fill the Fox News schedule. Even more alarming are the type of stories that dominate just about all news networks! Why is it that Michael Vick’s case gets more media coverage then the Mining Tragedy? Why are we more outraged about pit-bull fighting then four teenagers getting gunned down or a young man sitting in prison because of misapplied law that has since been changed (Genarlow Wilson)? This is a direct reflection of the media’s inability to filter itself with integrity. Genarlow Wilson When the founders of this country drafted the First Amendment they believed they were fostering a “market place of ideas”- a battlefield where truth would always be the victor. Instead, we live in a society where the dollar rules supreme, and there are no signs of her ever being dethroned. Comments (3) ... written by Jackrabbit Jenkins , August 21, 2007 Agreed. While the idealistic programming of our childhood was pretty damn cheezy (TGIF), television has become infatuated with only showing that gritty side of life. Isn't it interesting how since the grittier side is shown more, there are less African American shows on TV? It's like "If we are gonna show blacks on TV, y'all negroes better be rich, happy, and fun-lovin'!" ... written by Jamaar , August 21, 2007 Incredible!! Has ImperiousEnt given it's writers a pay increase in the last week? I'm amazed at the quality of the blogs I've been reading lately!! I use to log onto this site when I couldn't go sleep at night, but lately the discussions have been very stimulating!! Keep up the good work!! ... written by danny tanner , August 21, 2007 i'm proud of you geoff. good stuff. Write comment Name Email Website Comment Copyright 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Last Updated ( Saturday, 07 June 2008 )

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