Editorial: We can do better

Monday, Oct. 1, 2007 | 7:02 a.m.

Last week members of a House subcommittee grilled rap music artists and entertainment industry executives about their roles in creating products that often glorify violence and sexism.

Members of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Tuesday were trying to determine whether the industry that makes money off of the rap and urban hip-hop culture could - or should - do more to protect youngsters from the often graphic content of music, video games and other products.

Lawmakers discussed possible proposals including bans of expressions or words that could incite violence, perpetuate misogyny or were otherwise derogatory.

According to a story by The New York Times on Wednesday, Rep. Bobby Rush, the Illinois Democrat who convened the hearing, said the gathering was "not anti-hip-hop," but rather was a response to what he described as influences that "have reduced too many of our youngsters to automatons, those who don't recognize life, those who don't value life."

Edgar Bronfman Jr., chairman of the Warner Music Group, told the panel that bans are inappropriate because whether something is considered offensive "is in the eye of the beholder." Bronfman and other industry officials also told the panel that efforts to safeguard youngsters from the most explicit material have been ineffective because the material is readily available online.

The decisions about youngsters' music and video game choices don't belong in Congress. Parents should protect their children from material that they deem objectionable. As one Universal Music artist told the House panel, "Hip-hop is sick because America is sick."

We would hope that the music industry would act more responsibly. Nonetheless, as consumers, until we stop buying the music that promotes violence and misogyny, we will only have ourselves to blame.