Of Breasts And Bombs

Since Sunday evening, there has been much pandemonium over Janet Jackson’s right breast. I have seen moreslow-motion replays of the entertainer’s bosom baring moment than footage from the game itself. In a letterto the FCC chairman, Michael Powell, the Family Research Council expressed the "conservative" organization’s"grave concern about the halftime show on CBS during the Super Bowl in which a performer bared her breastand other performers grabbed their private parts and some seemed to be performing sado-masochistic acts."

The young Powell, who happens to be the son of the Secretary of State, has vowed to investigate this "indecent"act which brought shock and awe to decent god-fearing families across America . Apparently, Powell himself waswatching the game with his two young children, who of course have never been exposed to such filth. Maybe Mr.Powell’s children were blind-folded while being breast-fed by their mother so the unclean image of themammary glands would not plant some kind of evil sexual seed in their feeble innocent juvenile minds.  

It is of course ironic that Americans should find "indecency" in a bare breast while watching one ofthe most violent athletic events in the world. I wonder if Mr. Powell is aware that each year, on the day ofthis event, the number of domestic violence cases skyrocket across the country. Super Bowl is known in Americaas a holiday for "men." Combine the violent nature of the game with machismo and a couple of cases of beerand it becomes clear why so many women across the land do not look forward to this celebration of masculinity. 

The word "indecent," like many other words, has taken on a new meaning under American Newspeak.VIOLENCE is not "indecent." On the first day of Spring in 2002, people around the globe sat in front oftheir television sets and watched the "shock and awe" bombing campaign on Baghdad live on CNN. There wereno complaints about "indecency" and "immorality," for what people were witnessing was not an act of violence,but a moral "pre-emptive" strike upon an enemy state designed to liberate its people and bring freedomand liberty to the oppressed.  

Lies are not "indecent." Politicians pollute the television airwaves with fabricated storiesabout WMDs and other fictional nonsense designed to justify their own avarice and lust for power. But ofcourse, they are not lying to us, they’ve just been given bad intelligence data. Ken Lays of the world stealbillions and send their agents on television to concoct outlandish stories to bamboozle old couples who’velost their retirement and security. But Ken Lay and his like don’t steal. They’re just victims ofunethical "accounting practices" by consulting firms.

Mr. Powell himself recently tried to get rid of a few remaining restraints on media consolidation whichhave been in place for more than five decades. Talk about "indecent."  Turn on the TV or check out afew box office hits and you’ll see that the most common feature in the moving image today is violence. Putsome guns in a movie and perhaps a few explosions combined with a tough guy or two and you have a suremoneymaker. The U.S. army created and distributed, free of charge, a computer game known as "Army Ops,"known for being extremely violent and realistic. Apparently, this so called "game" was designed as amarketing tool to encourage young men and women to join the military in its fight against "terrorism." Noone cried "indecency," for government sanctioned violence is patriotic, never indecent nor immoral. 

Lies and violence are often painted over in the colors of the flag and made more digestible for the averageperson who doesn’t have the time nor the interest to ask questions. This is not only done in the U.S. ,although I may add that the skill has been crafted to perfection here. In my native country Iran , forexample, everything beautiful, such as music, laughter, color or the exposed hair of a woman is certified tobe "indecent," while public hangings, flogging, torture and solitary confinement are measures taken toprotect "national security" and decency.  

I did not watch the Super Bowl this year. But I must admit that as soon as I heard about the "flashing,"I quickly turned on the television in the hope of catching a glimpse of it on some news program. I was notable to find an uncensored version on TV, so I turned to the Internet and was finally able to see whathappened. I can’t see what was so "indecent" about the whole thing. As a matter of fact, I found it tobe quite decent. There are many "indecent" things on television. An image of a bare breast or many barebreasts is not one of them.

Courtesy, Znet