The First Amendment / Censorship

Censorship and freedom of speech are two subjects which go hand in hand. From when John Milton wrote Areopagitica, the question has been when is there too much free speech? Material that is legally obscene is exempt from First Amendment protection. In 1973 ,the Supreme Court decided on three points to determine whether something is legally obscene. First: "it must appeal to the average person's prurient interest in sex. Second "it must depict sexual conduct in a 'patently offensive way' as defined by community standards. Thirdly, "taken as a whole, lack serious literary, artistic , political or scientific value." This still has left obscenity in a gray area. Justice Potter Stewart best defined it saying "I know it when I see it." Music censorship is always a hot issue. Popular music reaches young audiences, and the impact can be stunning. There are questions as to what it can really do, and whether a musicians artistic integrity is at risk with censorship. In 1968, music censorship blew up when Frank Zappa heard his album "We're Only In It for the Money" for the first time, since he turned it in, at an awards ceremony. Zappa "noticed that whole chunks of songs were missing. …