Can You Hear The Insensivity Because I Can't

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorCollege, Undergraduate November 2001

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Can You Hear the Insensitivity because I Can't? Everyday millions of people listen to raw emotions being blared though the radio at work, in the car, or at home. Many people are able to feel connected to these emotions though their life experiences. On the other hand, many people feel offended by the violent and vulgar words screaming out at them. This is where the controversy is born. The question that is being asked is whether a song is really insensitive because something may seem crude to one while having a deep meaning to another. If a group of people feel a song is insensitive, they should not be able to have a song banded from being played on all radio stations because of freedom of speech, the fact that insensitivity is in the eye of the beholder, and music is a form of art that expresses emotions.

There are thousands of radio stations in the United States today and these radio stations play all different types of music varying from jazz to heavy metal.

Most people tend to have their radios tuned to there favorite stations on their way to work, at work, or at home. Some will play their music loud, some will play it soft, but they are all playing their music to try and relax. People can play music and be reminded of past memories they had with friends or of special moments you share with someone special.

With all the different types of music and the variety of emotions expressed in the song how are you to determine whether or not a song is considered insensitive. For a person that really only listen to classical music and then tunes his or her radio to a hard rock station playing "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC they could very well be offended by this song in some way or another. Or maybe if an older person who only listens to the gospels said over the radio, then when they listen to Marylyn Manson they would probably be very offended. On the other hand for a person that listens to Rob Zombie and goes too many heavy mental concerts probably would not be offended if they heard "Highway to Hell" being played on the radio; in fact they might even crank their radios up. Many teenagers love to hear these songs while they work or lift. I personally love to listen to a more hard rock or heavy metal music station when I am at the gym working out or just in my dorm lying around on my couch. It would not really be fair if a song that a large group of people enjoyed listening gets pulled off the air by a smaller group of people who didn't want a song to be played because they felt it was insensitive.

Also, when I am listening to the radio I will flip through the stations a lot, if there is a commercial or a bad song being played. I would think that if a person felt a song was insensitive then he/she could just do what I do and change the station. As stated before in this essay, there are thousands of radio stations that a person can choose from. If a person does not like a song then he/she doesn't have to put up with it all they have to do is push a button and the station is changed. A person doesn't even have to listen to the radio he/she can listen to a cd of their choice or a book on tape. Before any group of people decides to try to get a song pulled off the air because they think it is insensitive; they should remember that insensitivity is in the eye of the beholder.

One thing that has been great about this country that we live in is the fact that we have freedom of speech. This right is given to us in the constitution of the United States of America. If a small collection of people decide that a song is insensitive and got a song pulled off the air, then those people that pulled the song off the air would be taking away the artists' freedom of speech. When an artist writes a song and their song is being played on the radio they are exercising their rights. I think an artist has every right to write a song about whatever they want to write a song about. If a group of people don't like the song, then that group doesn't have to listen to the song. It is as simple as turning the radio off. The song should be able to be listened to by whom ever wants to listen to it. If a large group of people like a certain song, then by all mean the song should be played on the radio as often as the people want to hear the song. I think that if we are given the right in the Constitution then any song no matter how insensitive should be played on the radio. If the song is taken off; then the Constitution needs to be changed from freedom of speech to freedom of speech, as long as what you say is not insensitive.

If a group of people wanted to take away the right to freedom of speech from an artist why are they trying to take away their right now? What I mean by this is that some of the songs that they want to band from being played on the radio are song that were created and have been played on the radio since the 70's, 80's, and early 90's. The songs have been played for so long that millions of people have been listening to these songs for years and if they were really all that insensitive then why wouldn't people try to get them pulled off the air when they first started getting air time on the radio.

Another thing to look at when you look at music is that it truly is an art form. A lot of artists will really put a lot of time, energy, and emotion into the music they write. A good artist will write a song that will create emotions in the listener. I know when I listen to music it can really affect the way I feel. Some songs that I listen to really get me pumped up with energy, while other songs can make me feel really relaxed and sometime even depressed.

A musical artist can also really inspire a small child, a teenager, or even an adult to want to play a musical instrument themselves. Many of the artists you hear today were inspired by someone that they thought was a great musician and wanted to be able to play the guitar, drums, or what ever instrument it happen to be; they wanted to play the instrument just like someone they heard.

Now because of the fact that music is an art form I don't think that an art form should be band from other to indulge themselves in. There are many piece of art, like paintings of women or men in the nude. I would think that most people would be offended by nudity if they were offended by insensitive words but still the paintings are considered masterpieces. I think that you can't just take away music; you would have to take away all art forms considered insensitive. If we did that then a lot of the most beautiful pieces of art in the world would be taken away and most people would consider that a shame.

I think that it has been shown that you really can't just let a small group of people decide whether or not a large group of people gets to listen to a song on the radio. When looking at whether a song is insensitive I would like to reiterate that sensitivity is all in the eye of the beholder.