Censorship is wrong. Censorship is coercive and suppresses freewill which is not compatible with human nature. In fact, coercion may build resentment and generate the exact behavior intended to prevent. Therefore, not only is censorship wrong because it suppresses freewill, but it may be counter productive toward achieving the desired objective.
Censorship also falls under the category of authoritarian and fascist forms of government. Like elitism, it assumes that people cannot think for themselves or behave appropriately and need to be controlled by others and coerced into behaving properly. However, it needs to be acknowledged that society only benefits from the freedom and privilege of unconstrained speech if people are responsible to their selves, relationships, families, communities, and country.
Another reason why censorship is wrong is that although some forms of speech are clearly abusive and destructive, there may be a time in one's life when one needs to exercise and breech the censors standard to receive or transmit information without government/editorial restraint. However, society only benefits from this if people exercise this discretion wisely, and abusive and destructive speech is the rare exception, rather than the norm.
An additional problem with censorship is that it places the responsibility for change in the hands of politicians, lawyers, and judges, which has proven consistently throughout time to accomplish very little. The root cause of negative lyrics is a reflection of what is in "our hearts and our souls." The current situation can only change with increased knowledge, enlightenment, and a renewed desire to do the right thing for ourselves, our families and children, our fellow man, and our future.
In addition, censorship may allow for human error, bias, and abuse because all material is subjective in interpretation. Then there is the issue who decides and regulates. Resentment may build up by those who disagree with interpretations and implementation.
Finally, by censoring material it allows those who generate it to divert attention and discussion away from the real problems created. By playing off of the divided political beliefs of the public, it gives the generators a diversion and shield to hide behind. Take away their strategy, and what one is left with is the truth, which is that some of these individuals are not contributing toward building a better world for others, may not care to either, and are only looking out after their own interests.
However, although censorship is wrong, there is clearly a difference between censoring material for adults verses censoring material for children. It is absolutely necessary to keep certain types of inappropriate material away from children since they do not have the faculties to render good judgment. Indulging in our own selfish personal recreations (i.e., getting one’s jollies) at the expense of exposing inappropriate material to children is fundamentally wrong.
What can children learn about "love" from the media? Are these good lessons for them to learn? Why or why not?