December 12, 1791. My point is that these governing words have governed our lives for over two centuries, which is a long time. The times arent the same as they were when the Constitution and its amendments were established, so we need to reconsider some of the ideas that are not valid in todays society. Our greatest freedom that our founding fathers left us, freedom of speech, needs to be reconsidered. Many times the Constitutional right of freedom of speech is taken too lightly in that people believe that they can say whatever they want to say when they want to say it. This is a false belief. One would think it very wrong to scream fire in the middle of a crowded building. The same goes for the lyrics of many songs these days. "Music lyrics have profound public consequences and, in many ways, the music industry is more influential then anything" (Brownback 454) therefore, there needs to be censorship of harmful lyrics so that listeners will not be influenced by the violence that many songs are about. This does not mean that singers can not sing certain songs, it means that it is not necessary for singers to glorify violent acts or incorporate meaningless four letter words that may be repeated. It is perfectly legal to draw the line with music if it is getting to a harmful state. Today, it seems like our music is in a harmful state. Along with the argument for freedom of speech comes along the argument that people do not listen to the words and so the lyrics of songs are harmless. The simple statement that people do not pay attention to the lyrics of a song is not true. According to Albert Hunt, music puts you in a mood. He writes, "if Frank Senatra songs make people feel romantic and John Phillips Sousa makes people feel patriotic, then the obscene violence of Marilyn Manson or gangsta-rapper Snoop Doggy Dog might encourage impressionable and troubled teenagers to feel perverted or violent," (Hunt, A23). Hunts article entitled "Poli...
