Does Our Society REALLY Need to Have So Much Censorship?

Words are a funny thing that really peak my interest. That's especially true, considering my entire career is based upon me using words on the air.

It's amazing how we, as a species and culture, create, develop, and assign meaning to a certain sound, and sometimes, that sound can have such a drastic impact, But yet, we MADE IT UP.

In this particular instance, I am referring specifically to what I do as a broadcaster, which is playing music and talking. Obviously, there are words I am forbidden to broadcast over our airwaves, but the hypocrisy of that is something that keeps me up at night. I know that if you're reading this, YOU probably say those forbidden words — and if you're like me, you say them A LOT. Especially in traffic.

But why do people freak out about curse words? What's the big deal? It's a noise. And if you're defense to that is, "Well, the kids...", news flash — kids have already heard and said way worse. I've been in this debate before with a, "But the kids..." person, and that person also bought their child an Xbox, Call of Duty, and access to Xbox Live, online gaming with other players. I called them out on the contradiction of doing so, because if you have ever played a game online, you have heard and been called every last word in the book.

Today, though, the thing that sparked this whole rant, was listening to Zac Brown's "Toes". We all know the lyrics and in fact, when you sit in your car and sing along, you sing, "I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand."

That is how the artist wrote it, and yet, we as a culture, have at one point thought that was too rough for the general public to handle, so we changed the words so it's "safe" for the masses. I find it sad and pathetic. Language is just random sounds with made up meanings. It can't hurt you unless you let it, and honestly, why would anyone be bothered by that? It just strikes me as a silly way of living where we create a word and give it a meaning, say it ourselves on a very regular and casual basis, but hell hath met no fury like that with which some people will lay if that same word pumps out of a car speaker.

I don't know, maybe I am just ranting for no reason, and maybe I am a minority in this way of thinking, but I hate the idea of censoring any word or speech. I would much rather see social justice take it into its own hands.

Speech is only free when you accept that speech will garnish a wide variety of responses, and not all will be positive, but for one to say "I don't like, so you can't" is silly. Honestly, in my opinion, it's a very dangerous slope that can have drastic, and frankly, stupid consequences if and when we let it spiral out of control.

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