For Those Who Would Like To Know

If you have ever wondered how much editing goes into a newspaper column, then read my post "Too Young To Be A Conservative, Too Old To Be A Liberal" and then read the following. The first post was my submission into the editorial folder and this is what was published after Sandy cleaned it up. Any grammatical errors were fixed before it went to print, just to let you know.

I’ve decided I’m at a peculiar age in my life. While things used to be so clear and set in stone with no discernable gray area, now things sometimes contradict what I used to think. It seems now, that every so often, my ideals run together.
Not to stereotype, but youthful minds usually lean towards the liberal left resulting in comments like, “If it’s too loud, you’re too old,” and “Just one puff won’t hurt.”
This is what I used to be like, but now if find I complain about the youth of America being too broadminded and not respecting their elders – an archaic term that, sadly, I now seem to personify.
I find I am torn about the most perculiar things these days.
Take cable television for instance.
I am a huge fan of “The Shield,” the gritty, genuine cop show on FX starring Michael Chiklis. Some older viewers may know Chiklis better as “The Commish.” “The Shield” sometimes shows images and situations that even I, a 24-year-old male, am uncomfortable to watch.
When a compromising situation with what the show refers to as “a gang-banger” and another male are shown, or a half-naked woman presenting a silhouetted outline that clearly displays her breast, I think to myself, “Can this be shown on television?”
Cable has developed an acceptable status and become what NBC, ABC and CBS were referred to 10 years ago - normal television. If someone says cable television today, most people probably think of HBO, Cinemax and Showtime.
What is appropriate now for cable television? To answer this question, I find I become two different people.
The conservative Matthew Brandon Cook, reporter for the Ennis Daily News, says children and young adults should not be subjected to the filth and violence often shown on these channels. Then the abrasive, liberal Matt Cook, community extremist, responds with facts like it is cable television and shows like that are shown at 9 p.m. and if they want to see violence they can watch the nightly news or get on the Internet and download videos of people doing insanely stupid acts of violence.
So which viewpoint is right? Should cable television be regulated like network television has been or should parents monitor their kids closely enough to ensure they don’t watch smut like “The Shield” or “South Park”?
I would like to say the answer is simple, but it’s not. We cannot shield people from what is going on in this world by channel blocking, but we also shouldn’t allow kids to do whatever they want or watch whatever they want.
Shows like “The Shield” are created for entertainment value only. They are not trying to get the general public to do anything more than watch the show and produce ratings.
Cable was introduced so what people watch on their television could be edgy and new. It is an appropriate place for shows like “The Shield” to be run. While there some brief nudity, it isn’t overt and not much worse than NYPD Blue’s world famous shot of Dennis Franz’s rear - and that show is on network television.
As with everything, moderation may be the key. I think my final resting place on this issue will be somewhere near the peaceful compromise of open-mindedness – something I might not have done a few years ago.
Let shows like “The Shield” and “Nip/Tuck” maintain their edgy premise. Thankfully, I am old enough now to know that if I don’t like it, all I have to do is change the channel.