Stiffer Fines for FCC Indecency Violations
Posted by Doug Mon, 28 Feb 2005 15:26:00 GMT
I’ve had this link in my blog pipeline as something I wanted to write about. I’m still not sure exactly what I want to say, but I’m tired of seeing this draft waiting for me. Almost a couple weeks ago, the House voted to increase fines for FCC indecency violatiosn. This was pointed out to me by a younger gentleman on my #photography chat channel who was very upset by this. Likewise, there has been reports of comparing the FCC fines for indecency as greater than the fines for nuclear mishaps. I’m of two minds on this. First, I realize (even as a Christian) that you can’t legislate morality. Furthermore, I seriously question whether we can make this country a “Christian Nation.” I realize that God wants all people to be saved and none should perish. I have that desire too. However, there hasn’t been an entire nation that is pure in heart for a very, very long time. Besides, we’re told to expect persecution. It seems a little pretentious to think we can setup the good ol’ U.S. of A. as a “safe zone”. But, I don’t really want to get into this here. The flip side is that there’s not a lot on TV that I both want to watch and feel comfortable watching while the kids are awake. The young man I mentioned above said he wanted more shows like HBO’s “The Sopranos” and felt like most of the stuff on TV was basically an extension of “Barney”. I, on the other hand, disagree. It makes me angry when I hear the “F-bomb” dropped on network TV. Yes, I hear it other places; but I guess I’m used to hearing it in movies not in prime time. So what TV do I watch? We used to watch “Friends.” It was my wife’s favorite show and I enjoyed it too. Undoubtedly there was material there entirely inappropriate for kids. On a similar vein, I really liked “The Simpsons”. Once we had kids, I pretty much had to quit watching that too. It’s worth noting that I put “The Simpsons” pretty much right on par with “Friends” in terms of the moral message. I still like to watch the original “Law & Order.” Now that I have a PVR and can record them, I’ve pretty much seen them all and don’t watch them nearly as much. Carla and I both enjoy “Joan of Arcadia” and “Judging Amy”. Even though there are some definite mature concepts in those shows we feel OK watching them while the kids play in the room. I’ve started watching “Battlestar Gallactica” and “Stargate Atlantis”. Those are both good shows, but I don’t think I’d watch them with the kids around. That’s about all I watch that’s “grownup TV”. The rest is “Dorah the Explorer”, “Blues Clues”, “Miffy”, “Jimmy Newtron”, and the occasional “Tiny Planets”. Really though, I wish I could just get rid of TV. All of us certainly enjoy it (particularly with a PVR). I don’t like that all the shows we really watch the most (the kids shows in that last sentence) are all on the Noggin channel which Time Warner puts in the digital tier. Without TV though, we’d all have more time to get other things accomplished. Also, I wouldn’t be so tempted to spend money on a new TV and sound system. Back to the FCC fines. Basically, I’m ambivalent. On the one hand, I’ll enjoy not having as much foul language and “wardrobe malfunctions”. On the other, it also means I’m subjected to loud complaining from the morally liberal crowd. It’s just one more issue that makes Christians look like nut cases. Of course, to “the world” we are nut cases.
