Why can't you say--or show--that on TV?

• Author: Saltzman, Joe
• Position: Words Images

EACH ELECTION YEAR, whenever the economy and the deficit become major issues, Americans are dying on foreign soil, and there is a health-care crisis that overwhelms the social fabric, it is guaranteed that Congress will hold hearings concerning sex and/or violence on television.

Forget the highest deficit in the country's history, the millions of Americans who cannot get adequate health care, and the men and women dying in Iraq. Let's worry about the new buzzword--indecency. Focus instead on an 18-frame glimpse of Janet Jackson's breast or fret about a common F-word being used (in a nonsexual way) during an awards ceremony, or cringe because our neighbors may be seeing something on television that is offensive to other decent human beings.

It may come as a surprise to some representatives that the notorious F-word and all of its variations probably is the most common form of expression throughout the country after "the," "a," and "is." Go into any barbershop, beauty salon, tire or police station, construction site, junior high school, college dormitory, bar and grill, drugstore, supermarket--any place people gather, including freeways and public events--and that word constantly will be floating through the air. There even are American subcultures whose jargon is arranged around colorful variations of it. It is as much a part of their verbal repertoire and thought process as any adjective, verb, or noun.

Yet, Congress is alarmed that it might be heard on the airwaves, offending every innocent in the audience, especially children. Never forget the children. An adult sounds silly when bemoaning partial nudity or an expletive. Yet, when that same person couples the complaint with a plea for the children, it becomes fashionable. Censorship may be a word that alarms many Americans, but not when used in conjunction with kids. We must protect our impressionable youth from the language and images that are upsetting to a small percentage of the adult populace. Why rude expressions and pictures involving the human body are taboo is an issue that probably never will be resolved. Those who consider the television controversy absurd drama realize that, to many citizens, it is the beginning of the end of civilized society.

The uproar during the Super Bowl halftime concert and the subsequent fallout over the viewing of Jackson's breast does not seem to make any sense when you talk about taste and decency. For example, what is tasteful about a commercial...