The Federal Communications Commission has taken a huge step toward relaxing obscenity standards on broadcast television and radio, which would allow “non-sexual” nudity and “isolated” expletives even during prime time. Apparently they think television doesn’t have enough smut.Decency laws covering broadcast television and radio do prohibit nudity and profanity and the Supreme Court has upheld these laws as constitutionally enforceable by the FCC. Broadcasters can be heavily fined for violations.
But, as the smut on television has become more rampant, so have the number of offenses reported to the FCC. So many that leading chairman Julius Genachowski decided the number of case had become unmanageable. He ordered the Enforcement Bureau to focus on “egregious cases” and get rid of the others. According to the FCC’s own memo, since September 2012 the case load has been reduced by 70 percent, with more than a million complaints being dismissed due to expiration of the statute of limitations or for being considered “too stale to pursue.”
Before the FCC relaxes the decency standards they are requesting public input and have a website available for comments. From my perspective, by dismissing 70 percent of the indecency complaints they have demonstrated how much they value public comments.
The FCC may be saying the decision has yet to be made but anyone who compares the level of indecency on television now to even just ten years ago can see where we are headed. I have long believed it to be inevitable that American television and radio would one day lower itself to the levels of indecency found on European television. With morality being subject to the whim of the masses it should be no surprise to anyone that turning on the television may soon bring more filth into your home than you once thought possible.
I am thankful every day that I do not have a television in my house. My Dad used to call them a one-eyed monster and he is right.
That monster is growing larger.