There was a huge concert last night on the Mall in Washington
DC celebrating veterans. Hundreds of thousands of people were there and the
event was live-streamed by HBO. Lots of famous singers and entertainers donated
their time and talents. There was no charge for the concert. What’s not to
like?
Unfortunately the only thing I see about the “Concert
for Valor” this morning in my news feed involves the F-bomb laced performance by rapper Eminem, who opened
his set with this classy gem, “Happy Mother-F***ing Veterans Day!”
A few observations…
This rapper has first amendment rights to free speech,
rights that Veterans know a thing or two about defending. Veterans themselves
are quite famous for their liberal use of profanity, the F-bomb in particular
being a staple of boot camp and the battle field. I am no Puritan when it comes
to colorful language, although I do think that excessive use of the profane in
literature or music lyrics is mostly a linguistic crutch for the inarticulate.
However, having said all of this, I feel a bit silly having to point out the
fact that just because you have a first amendment right to use foul language
doesn’t mean that you should. There’s a little thing called decorum, and well-mannered
people for millennia have had enough of it to know the difference between
language appropriate for a poker game, and a public concert to honor Veterans.
Increasingly, public
manners seem to be going the way of the rotary phone. My opinion of rap music
and rappers in general is well known to readers of this space, and this Eminem
business does nothing to change my opinion of this wretched, cesspool of racists and misogynists. But it’s not just rappers who have poisoned the public well. Freedom
doesn’t work without discipline. Free speech isn’t a license for brutishness. Thanks Eminem for making that so glaringly obvious.
