Profanity hasn’t won yet

The battle is over, “Profanity has won,” according to the premier journal of conservative thought, National Review, in a Sept. 24 article by Christian Schneider.

We “traditionalists,” just need to give up on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as the arbiter of what is acceptable on the public airwaves, Schneider says.

Let decency die.

Well, dag-nabbit, no!

While I share Schneider’s deregulatory bent on most matters FCC and also worry the current chair, Brendan Carr, is targeting speech protected by the First Amendment, this social conservative must part ways with the libertarians and laissez-faire-weathered travelers when it comes to decency standards.

Schneider’s inciting incident was a fleeting vulgarity at the end of ABC’s postgame interview with Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss following a huge win over LSU. Chambliss later apologized for repeating the crowd’s colorful chants.

The next Saturday, Texas defensive end Colin Simmons topped Chambliss’ words with actions, “simulating using the restroom” according to the refs, following a sack of Tennessee’s quarterback. That drew a flag, lost yardage, and a brief suspension from his coaches for a few series of plays, but he was back in fairly quickly.

Texas Coach Steve Sarkisian said, “I’m not gonna give the guy the death penalty over an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.” Then he doubled down, “Unfortunately, in our society right now, we live in the ‘look at me’ society.”

OK, Coach. I guess the flag’s on us.

I’m not asking for the “death penalty” either and, like the National Review writer, I wouldn’t fine the broadcasters for something they couldn’t see coming. I’m just not ready to let indecency win over the airwaves after a century of maintaining at least one media space where you’re mostly safe from the muck.

Schneider’s problem is the 1978 Pacifica ruling by the Supreme Court, which refrained from banning “indecent” language and other content outright but channeled it to a “safe harbor,” between 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on broadcast radio and TV stations. Internet streaming, satellite, and cable outlets don’t have these restrictions because they don’t hold FCC licenses or use public airwaves.

Pacifica’s safe harbor protects the eyes and ears of children, but I contend it also draws public lines of acceptability for the rest of us in language, violence, excretory references, nudity, and sexuality.

As a Christian, my language standards are biblically consistent but not legalistically tied to some arbitrary FCC word list. I believe the 3rd Commandment against “taking the Lord’s name in vain,” (Exodus 20) means a whole lot more than its coarsest applications. Further, there are many kinds of “unwholesome talk” (Ephesians 4) that a believer needs to watch out for than just avoiding certain 4-letter words that are actually more vulgar than profane.

Why should we give up on a safe space just because Hollywood writers can’t craft two lines of dialogue without their favorite vulgarity? I cringe when I hear some of our finest actors spew such uncreative garbage just because their writers lack talent.

Vulgarity does violence to the language and to our intellect, and it’s not any more wholesome coming from a TV screen, the White House, or the mouths of fellow citizens celebrating their freedom of speech.

For those who say, “That’s real—that’s how people talk,” I say, “So what?” If you’re really keeping it real, filmmakers, then quit putting makeup on actor’s faces—that’s how they look. Quit using lighting. Quit using microphones. Your shows were never that real, really. It’s all presentational. Every shot, every edit, every line—a choice.

The use of foul language is about the easiest bad habit to kick. If you don’t want to say those words, then don’t say them. Don’t write them. Don’t broadcast them. Choose better.

I will agree with Coach Sarkisian on one point, though. “Society” determines what it will tolerate in the public sphere, and our young people are watching.

National Review may deem FCC standards a prudish relic of days past, but I must ask my fellow conservatives a question. Do we really want to play on a field without boundaries? In that game, there are no rules, no officials, no standards. Each person will speak and do as they see fit—my morality, my truth—all while defining deviancy down.

So much for a shining city on a hill. We may grant ourselves just enough freedom to dirty what’s left of the media square—then never choose to visit there again.