The Problem with "Deceny"

If you go to the dictionary and look up the definition of the word decency, this is what you find:

Decency: 1. conformity with moral standards. Behavior or attitude that conforms to the commonly accepted standards of what is right and respectable. 2. Modesty. Modesty or propriety.

Ignoring the second definition, I really want to talk about the first part. You see, more and more in this country, we are hearing cries of "indecency" aimed at television, movies, music, theatre, and basically anything that happens outside of our homes (though there are also arguments about what certain people do in their homes, but that's for another post). However, if you look at the definition of decency, you see my problem: It "conforms to the commonly accepted standards..." Who decides what the typical standards are? For example, I don't think the whole Janet Jackson thing was that bad. I think it got blown out of proportion.
Want a more recent example? No problem. The International Movie Database (or IMDB for short) reported that Disney had to "digitally reduce" Lindsey Lohan's breasts for the upcoming Herbie film. Apparently members of the test audience felt that she was "too raunchy." This is, unfortunately, a true story. Essentially, the test audience is saying that because she is busty, she is inappropriate and indecent. That's insane. What's next? No fat people, because it might make us think of the obesity epidemic? No gay people, we don't want kids getting ideas. Wait, let's digitally make Ben Affleck African-American, so that there's more diversity in this film.
It goes beyond film as well. In Oregon, back in 2002, several high schools re-made their English and History curriculums and dropped any texts that dealt with war or death. Why? Because they felt kids are too inundated with images of war and death in the news, so why should they read about it in the past. That's totally and utterly ridiculous, and, to me, that is indecent. Sorry kids, you can't read the Red Badge of Courage or watch this documentary on the Civil War, because you already see war images in the media. That's unfair and restrictive to learning.
And then there's the PTC, or Parent's Television Council. I applaud the fact that this group wants to make the world, "better for children," but their methods and choices of what is decent is way too (for lack of a better term) Christian. Wow, 7th Heaven's lead is a preacher. Big shock that they like the show. They go after shows, like Nip/Tuck, which is on cable television at night. They attack Penn and Teller, because their show, which is based on their own opinions, says that religion has been transformed into a weapon used on the masses. That's why it's called an opinion. It's what they think. Yes, they might be trying to sway people to think like them, but that's no reason to attack them. And why doesn't the PTC ever go after the local news or the cable news stations? When I was a child, my mother would not let me watch the news. I could read the newspaper and magazines like Time or Newsweek, but I could not watch CNN or Channel 11 news in New York. Why? Because the news was more graphic then what was on television. For example, I was in California last year. My wife and I got to go to Wine Country. Late one night, we got in to the room we were staying in and decided to watch the local news to get the weather. What's the lead story? "Death on the Freeway!" They showed up close images of the car wreck and the bodies. There was the medical team carting away a bloody man and putting him in the ambulance. The next story dealt with a guy who took hostages, and they showed the SWAT team going into the house. Hell, look at our cable news now. How many times a day do we see images of people hurt by bombings or images of war? Yet we won't show Saving Private Ryan which is the same thing? That's hypocritical, and that's the problem with saying we should let popular opinion decide what is decent.
Do I have the solution? No. I wish I could make it easier for everyone to agree. I understand that an eight year old kid should not be watching Cinemax late night (also known as Skinemax). However, teenagers (and some kids) need to learn how life really is. When we don't let them learn about war, or sex, or whatever, we are cheating those kids in the name of ideals. It's not fair to them that they might have to learn about these things the hard way. And what does it say to your kids, parents, that you think that by watching a film where a teenager drinks your kids will start drinking. That's absurd. If you talk to them about what they saw, that might help put it in perspective. Think about it this way: what happens when you tell a kid, "no." Do they ALWAYS listen, or do they try to rebel by ignoring? That's why you should talk to them about what they are seeing.
More and more I hear about the moral decay in this country and how deceny needs to be restored. I don't agree. I think that instead of creating oppressive rules and doing silly actions to films (I mean come on, digitally changing cup sizes? That's so stupid), parents should talk to their children about the images they will or have seen. Keep your kids educated instead of ignorant, and I promise you, the results will be much, MUCH better. The world is better when it's open, not forbidden.