The recent attack on the Oregon Commentator by the Programs
Finance Committee should remind us all that, while we need to ensure that minority groups are protected from the will of the majority, there are times when the reverse is true and the rights of the majority need to be protected from the agenda of a small minority.
A note of caution: The “tyranny of the few” argument is often misused, like when conservatives argue that same-sex marriage is an attack on their rights as heterosexuals. This argument might hold water if gay and lesbian activists were advocating mandatory homosexuality. Until that day, it is nothing more than a lie.
What I am talking about is real tyranny from the few, and nowhere is this more evident than in the
U.S. government’s current war against indecency. When one or two complaints from the overly sensitive public, or the politically motivated activist, can cause a single clueless bureaucrat to threaten our constitutional rights, then something is
terribly wrong with the system. That is exactly what happened to the Commentator, and that is exactly what is happening to broadcast radio and television.
Indecency complaints are up dramatically at the Federal Communications Commission. In 2002, the FCC received 14,000 complaints. In the following year, that number leapt to more than 240,000. FCC Chairman Michael Powell has used this spike to argue for more severe indecency laws; after all, the public is obviously clamoring for them. Right?
No so fast. According to Media Week, somewhere in the neighborhood of 99.8 percent of FCC complaints have come from a single source: the Parents Television Council, a conservative activist group.
PTC was created in 1995 “to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television.” Its Celebrity Advisory Board is filled with people you’ve never heard of and Pat Boone. In addition to other things, the board comes out with a list of the best and worst television shows of the week. In the best category: “Joan of Arcadia,” “A Clay Aiken Christmas” and everything on PAX. In the worst category: “Will and Grace” (obviously), “Friends” and everything on MTV.
PTC members scan the airwaves for anything they deem indecent
and then spam the FCC with complaint letters. For example, the FCC proposed a $1.2 million fine for
the show “Married by America” after it received 159 complaints. The show had a national audience
of more than 5 million. Turns out those complaints came from 23 individuals, and all but four complaints were identically worded. A handful of fundamentalists are dictating what is decent for 5 million satisfied (albeit moronic, but nevertheless satisfied) customers.
The problem extends much further than the boob tube. The extreme Christian right is changing all aspects of this country based on a moral system not shared by the
majority of Americans. Its supreme guidance has led to more government intrusion into our private lives. The freedom to decide ethical matters has been increasingly taken out of our hands. We are now told what is right and true from a religious plurality in Washington. The lack of choice in our personal lives — from what we can say to what relationships we can form to how we can seek pleasure and happiness — is a trend that leaves the majority of Americans disturbed.
For example, over-the-counter sale of the morning-after pill Plan B was blocked by the Federal Drug Administration after conservative and
religious groups argued that easier access to the drug would encourage young girls to have sex, an argument made about all forms of contraception. But a new study by the University of California concluded that
the groups’ fears are completely baseless and that easier access to the morning-after pill could safely reduce unwanted pregnancies. Unfortunately, in this day and age, religious delusions are more powerful than sound science.
Conservatives are a minority group on this campus, and their voices need to be protected. Those offended by the content of the Commentator are also in the minority. Appeasing the latter minority group against the majority, and muzzling the minority conservative voice on campus, is far from a progressive act. The same can be said for the war against indecency. At the end of the day, freedom and choice is best for everyone, and judgment as to what is decent and moral should be left to individuals, not government committees, to decide.

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