How to Recognize Obscenity

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decides what we are allowed to see and hear over the public airwaves. In the early days of television, this required married couples to sleep in separate beds, prevented any physical expression of affection and prohibited any language that might be anywhere close to swearing. The standards today are much more relaxed, but are still much more restrictive than what you might see and hear in your everyday life (depending on where you live, how observant you are and how thick your rose-colored glasses are.) I'm not complaining. A constant reminder of a higher standard is a positive influence and could help slow society's downward spiral into detached depravity (sounds like a good name for a band.)

Several years ago, a "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl halftime show, allowed millions of Americans to see a nipple. Amazingly enough, the country didn't burst into flames, no plagues of locusts, no floods, no noticeable ill-effects at all. However, the FCC didn't want to take any chances so they tightened all of their rules to protect us from anything they deemed obscene. Fines up to $250,000 for every radio or t.v. station that broadcast anything the FCC decided was obscene. The catch was, you didn't know if what you were broadcasting was obscene or not until after the broadcast. How would you like to be driving down the highway at the speed you've always driven and suddenly get pulled over to find out that today the speed limit is 5 mph and you were doing 55? Not an ideal situation for broadcasters, so they all erred on the side of caution to avoid the risk.

Let's examine this incident. Other than a few jokes about putting an eye out, I know of no instance where a woman's nipple has caused serious bodily or emotional injury. As the source of the best food supply for newborn babies, I would have to say it is a symbol of life. Very early in every human culture this was recognized and venerated as a symbol to represent fertility. Breasts and nipples serve a very important purpose and are not obscene. That doesn't mean there aren't ways of depicting them that could be considered, if not obscene, certainly inappropriate for prime-time television.

Recently, a heated debate has erupted over healthcare and contraception. Many people feel that health insurance providers should not be required to include the cost of contraceptives, since contraception is not allowed by some religions. In my mind a rather silly argument since the provider is not the one using the contraception. Should hardware stores be prohibited from selling rope since some people hang themselves with it? Apparently so if you believe some of our esteemed Senators and Representatives.

Oral contraceptives, commonly called "birth control pills" or simply "the pill", work by altering a woman's hormone balance. There are some instances where the use of the pill is a medical necessity to prevent the formation of ovarian cysts. Granted, most prescriptions are simply to prevent unwanted pregnancy. The other 2 methods are to suppress your body's natural impulses and only have sexual relations when you are actively attempting to become pregnant (not the healthiest option), or roll the dice and hope. The roll the dice method usually earns you the title "mommy". Choosing to be responsible and taking control of your own reproductive system seems a mature and proper act.

Now, back to the topic, obscenity. Recently Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke spoke before a House of Representative's committee about the the previously mentioned contraception debate. In response, knowing nothing at all about Ms. Fluke, conservative talk radio host (and in my opinion, a blithering idiot), Rush Limbaugh called her a "slut" and stated that she was just wanting to be paid for sex. He went on to say that if he was going to have to pay for her to have sex, she needed to post videos of it to the internet. Where is the FCC when you need it? I can not imagine anything more obscene than the ideas expressed by Rush Limbaugh. Not only are they hurtful, they serve no purpose other than to inflict pain, but they are dangerous. Should we stone to death any woman we see buying a home pregnancy test? What about contraceptive sponges or lingerie? How could anyone hate all women so much to be able to spout out such vitriol? How could anyone, upon hearing the poison and filth spewed forth by Rush Limbaugh (I refrain from using the appellation "Mr." since I consider that a term of respect,) continue to have any respect for anything he has to say?

If you're a Rush Limbaugh fan, I'm sorry. Not for possibly offending you, but for the fact that you've chosen to embrace hatred as a way of life.

In case you haven't noticed, this is extremely disjointed and rambling. It's caused by suppressing a normal and natural urge to reach out and strangle someone.