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Richard Botto, Editor in Chief / CEO of RAZOR Magazine, has created the definitive men's magazine which features the best in men's fashion, travel, sports, autos, celebrities, technology, humor, fiction, fitness and more.
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 WRITINGS:
RICHARD BOTTO
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June 2004
Permission To Speak Freely Please
Permission the Speak
Freely, Please?
Say what you will
about Howard Stern, but it would be hard to argue that his show has
changed all that much over the last two decades. Yet, somehow, the FCC
managed to find one show from all these years that, to them, contained
offensive material and thus fined Clear Channel Communications 495K.
The government… objectifying the subjective… this one time.
Now here's the thing about Stern, you either like his brand of entertainment
or you don't. If you fall into the latter category, you have every right
under the Constitution to tune out. If you deem him obscene you have
made a judgment call for yourself not to listen. But understand, Stern's
show doesn't violate anyone's right to life or liberty. Actually, singling
him out as the poster child for indecency in a country where there are
dozens of examples of double entendres, sex jokes and vulgarities on
radio morning zoos and television every day violates his rights. Unfortunately
the people on the right are sitting behind load bearing stanchions and
can't see that irony play out on the arena floor.
So why now? Why Stern? Why is the government suddenly throwing around
some colorful language and collecting serious green on an Amendment
to the Constitution that is supposed to be black and white? A glance
at the calendar, the political one that is, tells you all you need to
know.
It's amazing to me, this persistent fascination of finessing the First
Amendment to the point of absurdity, when surely the lack of attention
to the true meaning and/or abuses of the Second Amendment is of a much
more dangerous concern. The government is playing an adult game of Sticks
and Stones, while thousands of illegal firearms trade hands each and
every day in this country. I have never known an indecent word to kill
someone, but guns do and people on drugs with guns do as well.
We're a society that is more fearful of language, nudity and sex than
we are of violence. A movie that has the dialogue, "I'm f*****"
gets a PG-13 rating in this country. Change that line to, "I'm
going to f*** you" and you're looking at an R. Call it fear of
the F-word. However, stabbings, shootings and other violent acts are
generously graded by the MPAA and widely accepted as family fare.
Can we really say that a Stern broadcast is any more dangerous, immoral
or unethical than the lies and hate spewed by so-called political pundits
to the left and right on the dial? Is the Lesbian Dating Game any more
offensive or damaging than the images processed during any evening news
telecast?
The point is, what is the use of being policed without the ability to
police ourselves? We point fingers, but never while looking in the mirror.
If you're an adult, you can exercise your freedom of choice. If you
are a parent, guide your children. Are we so irresponsible, so unable
to take care of ourselves that we need the government to do so? Do we
need the same people who quote the Constitution verbatim when it fits
their agenda to smudge the bold type of the First Amendment in an effort
to tell us what we can and cannot listen to on the radio or see on television?
Are we that helpless?
Let me qualify all of this by saying that I do not listen to Stern all
that often. Not because I find him offensive, I just simply have less
time in the mornings than I did in my college days when I tuned in religiously.
I choose to spend my morning commute catching up on the news or what
I missed the previous night in sports. Again, my choice. That's why
radios come with so many presets and an "off" button.
At this point you are either nodding your head in agreement or ready
to tear apart this argument point by point. Have at me. It's one of
your Constitutional rights. Just like it's Stern's right to express
himself each and every morning when he hits the airwaves. We have the
right to challenge the messenger and the message or to ignore it entirely.
I want that option. I want control over what I watch and listen to.
I want to exercise my right to speak my mind, voice my opinion. The
government's job is to give power to voice, not to stifle it.
Enjoy the issue.
Richard
Botto,
Editor in Chief / CEO of RAZOR Magazine - The Definitive Men's Lifestyle Magazine
www.razormagazine.com
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