Are they Obscene, if so, so what?

Are the public performances by LeAnn Rimes, Mindy McCready, Shania Twain obscene? Not to any rational mind. Even if they are obscene would they have the negative impact some claim they do?

There's always been people, who feel the public must be protected, from threats. Since 1900' this movement has grown. Today Americans must obey 30 times as many laws as they did in 1900's.(1)

The first American president, George Washington said about government, "Government is not reason its not eloquence-it's force".(2)

Others also question the growth of government powers, and laws, "Insofar as the coercive powers of government are used to insure that particular people get particular things, it requires a kind of discrimination between, and unequal treatment of, different people which is irreconcilable with a free society" Friedrich Hayek (1960).(3)

In Stanley v Georgia "If the First Amendment means anything at all, it means that a state has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his own house, what books he may read or what films he may watch... Whatever maybe the justification for other statutes regulating obscenity, we do not think they reach into the privacy of ones own home....Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control mens minds."(4)

The "protectors" claim, that they must protect us and out children from "Dangerous" images, thoughts and or ideas that might warp our perception of reality. They also worry about, who shapes a child's self image. A recent study said " This study supports the view that young girls are drawn to weight control to improve their self-worth, and that mothers are influential in this regard."(5)

Other research said "Significant others in the teenagers' lives may help improve in moral-ethical, family and social area with special concerted efforts."(6)

So the obvious is confirmed, family and friends can and do have an impact on the social development of children.

Should we blame music and other media for someone's low self worth? What of cruel and callous remarks made by our peers? Such things have been around forever, so has low self esteem. What can be these remarks impact? "The findings suggest that being teased about weight/size while growing up may represent a risk factor for the development of negative body image..."(7)

As a result of the obscenity hoopla in 1985, US Attorney General, Ed Meese started a federal commission to examine pornography and its social effects.(8)

One effect of Meese commission was over 8,000 convince stores stopped selling "penthouse" and "playboy" because of a broaden definition of pornography.(9) Also inspired by the commissions recommendations, Meese created the National Obscenity Enforcement Unit, and the number of federal obscenity cases jumped over 800% (10)

The commission found a link between violence and pornography. What about these findings? A recent study compared a group of child molesters to a "control group" they found, "Frequency of adult use of sexually explicit material does not differ significantly among groups."(11)

Another study said "This study found the frequency of use of pornography, age of exposure to pornography, age of first masturbation experience, and use of pornography during first masturbation experience, for sex offenders, paraphiliacs, sexual dysfunction patients, and controls were not significantly different."(12)

Perceived threats of music and other entertainment come and go. During the 1980's parents where up in arms over possible backwards messages on records. The threat of "back masking" was as real as the alleged backwards messages. In other words it did not exist.

Maybe one day soon we as a society will address the real obscenity in this world, and not go poking our noses into place it doesn't belong

To my cites

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