Exactly right. That's why they have the 1st Amendment in the US, flag burning is allowed, anti-Bush messages ads are allowed, Michael Moore and Farenheit 911 is allowed, refusing to sing the National Anthem is allowed, begging is allowed, Church of Satan is allowed, etc. That's what freedom of expression means.
It's a question of principles. Do you believe that you are entitled to human rights (one of which is the freedom of expression), just like all other humans? Or do you want the govt to censor what you read, see, hear and think? It's your choice.
It's not specious to say that "Desperate Housewives" does not promote extramarital affairs. It's entertainment, that's all. To promote something is to drive an agenda. This programme has no agenda other than to get TV ratings. If every programme we saw "promoted" something, then CSI would be promoting the idea that forensics can solve every crime, Dilbert would be promoting goofing off at work, ghost movies would be promoting the idea that ghosts are real, Ocean's 11 would promote the idea that you can rip off a casino and get away with it, etc. C'mon-- if it's fiction, it's just a story, enjoy it.
There are programmes to promote causes. Eg. educational programmes to promote healthy lifestyles, etc. Your example of a religious show to denigrate another religion would be another example, as there would be appeals or deliberate misinformation given to rally people to action. But a movie or documentary to show the cause of an actual or fictitious religious riot is different-- even if you think the movie is biased, it is still a story, and not a call to arms.
We need to separate fact from fiction. You may think that seeing too many gangster movies leads to more violence, too much sex in movies leads to teenage pregnancies, but many people in developed countries would not agree with that kind of view.
dkw said:
By that same token, the government should lift all forms of censorship with immediate effect. If religious extremists of a certain persuasion saw it fit to produce a show that denigrated another religion and incited hatred, that MUST be allowed to air, as it should be not be construed as "condoning" any form of action. I.e. the show should not be blamed for the actions of a small minority who may take the message too literally and commit hate crimes, right.......NOT!
Whether you like it or not, there are reasons why there are laws specifically prohibiting certain forms of publications/shows/subject matter, quite simply because they do not fit the moral standard of the day. You may choose to watch Desperate Housewives (as I do), but to argue that TV show do not promote certain values and influence behaviour is specious. If that were so, companies might as well save the many billions of dollars they pour into advertising each year.
