Hip-hop on Capital Hill. Free Speech vs. Corporate Responsibility for Kids

As someone who enjoys conciousness hip-hop, but is deeply troubled by the other end of the spectrum characterized by more extreme lyrics by 50 Cent, I find this debate very relevant to the culture we pass along to our children.

I find it very troubling the way in which the record executive in the video flat out says “my role as a citizen and my role as a CEO are separate and distinct,” as if his ethical compass changes when he walks through the doors of his label.  So he stops being an ethical citizen when he walks though.  If anything, the obligation is additive.  And how can a responsibility to a company before humans?  His language portrays a deeply disturbing numbness to his actions and how that affects kids minds, our inner cities, and our culture.  It suggests an inevitable ideological tradgedy of the commons as each label seizes the lowest common denominator in their audience and culture, which perpetuates a tragic downward spiral.

In response, the Congressman from New York is the same standards applied to a Johnny Cash which include lyrics like “shot a man in Reno” is troubling and equally correct to point out that context is key so a word list won’t work.  However, that doesn’t mean we can throw our hands up in apathy and inaction.  All laws are tough to write, thats the reason we pay congress and thats the reason their on the Hill in the first place.  This is a tough issue, but I think the current policy of sweeping the deeply toxic influence of trashy lyrics on kids under the rug is a dead end. Some principles have to have a priority over the bottom line. To me this stands in as a metaphor for the larger issues of corporations and the media ignoring the externalities that corporations impose on society, when they should be taking a higher level of responsibility which is consonant with the fiduciary obligation we as consumers place on them.  Corporations as organizations don’t and shouldn’t get exemption clauses for respecting human dignity.  Its interesting we can hold Southwest up for its supposed double standard, but can’t do the say for record labels and the media.

Thoughts? Should corporations be held to any ethical standards? Should adverstisements have to tell the truth or can they assert anything? Should we hold corporations and media to a higher standard when they are attempting to influence the growing minds of our nation’s youth? Or are they 100% left to their own consciences, left to advertise by any means necessary?