There's been a lot of controversy surrounding Tim Tebow's Super Bowl advertisement. It is an anti-abortion ad.
The obvious reaction is "What's the problem?" If an ad costs $3M, then someone with $3M should be able to buy an advertisement saying whatever they want.
The problem is that CBS is a State-owned monopoly. This creates an obligation for them to support official State propaganda. CBS cannot sell ads to whoever they please. Ads must be approved by the State. An ad for a homosexual dating website was rejected. Why should CBS reject an advertisement, just because some people might find it offensive?
There's another less-publicized incident. Some people attempted to buy "Marijuana should be legal!" advertisements. Their ads were rejected, even though the group could afford the ads. That is an explicit example of State censorship.
I haven't seen Tim Tebow's ad. If he's saying "Abortion should be illegal!", that's obviously offensive. The correct answer is "Abortion is none of the government's business." If Tim Tebow says "A woman should think carefully before getting an abortion.", that is fine.
Most mindless zombies can't tell the difference between "What is legal?" and "What is morally acceptable?" Someone says "Abortion is immoral!", but they hear "Abortion should be illegal!"
This is an important aspect of pro-State brainwashing. It serves the interests of State parasites if the slaves think "legal=moral". The Federal Reserve is legal, but immoral. The income tax is legal, but immoral. Trillions of dollars in bailouts is legal, but immoral.
It is very important to know the difference between "What is legal according to insane State law?" and "What is immoral?" In a really free market, you can't stop a woman from getting an abortion, even if you find abortion offensive. However, it is acceptable to say "I think that abortions are offensive."
CBS has a State backed monopoly. It's easier to understand if you think of CBS as a government agency. Due to extensive regulations and subsidies, most/all large corporations are really State bureaucracies. As a State monopoly, CBS has a censorship obligation.
Suppose I had millions of dollars to spend promoting my ideas. Even if I had that much money, a mainstream media campaign would be an incredibly inefficient way to spend that money. Suppose I really could profit by taking out a Super Bowl ad.
Suppose I tried to purchase a Super Bowl ad that said "Taxation is theft! Government is terrorism! The authority of State bureaucrats/thugs is not legitimate! The USA has a corrupt monetary system!" Of course, CBS would refuse to sell me the ad.
Similarly, suppose I made an ad saying "The 'chemical imbalance' theory of mental illness is a mistake/fraud. You should ignore the advice of your psychiatrist/murderer and refuse to take the drugs/poison." Of course, the mainstream media would refuse to carry my ad.
This is a symptom of a non-free market. In a really free market, CBS should carry an ad from anyone willing to pay the fee. (An ad advocating violence against someone probably should not be aired. However, what if someone has a legitimate grievance?)
The fact that CBS censors certain ads indicates that CBS really is a branch of the government. It is more accurate to say "CBS is owned by the State." rather than "CBS is a privately-owned for-profit business." On the other hand, government itself is a privately-owned for-profit business.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Tim Tebow's Anti-Abortion Super Bowl Ad
Posted by FSK at 12:00 PM
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3 comments:
Hey FSK, long time no talk, it's Robert. Though I haven't left a comment in a long while, I do wait for noon eastern time every day so that I can read your new posts. Good to hear you have a new job, I hope, through all of the recent maneuverings in the office, that every thing lands ok for you. Good posts, keep it up, you have helped me free lots of people from the Matrix. Take care buddy. Also, try to put some fun or trivial things in your blog every once in a while, just to have balance. Even though we both know the evils that exist in the state/corporate oligarchy and private central banking, we should still take at least a moment or two each day to try and be positive. Not meaning that we are being naïve, just expressing ourselves as agorists and refusing to let state thugs steal ALL of our joy. Anyway, God bless you and talk to you soon buddy!!!
Robert
MediaCurves.com just conducted a study with 602 viewers of a news clip regarding the Focus on the Family organizations’ Super Bowl ad. Results found that while the majority of viewers (62%) reported that the ad should not be pulled, pro-choice viewers were split on whether it should be aired. The majority of pro-life viewers (75%) indicated that the Super Bowl was an appropriate platform for controversial ads regarding social issues, while the majority of pro-choice viewers (66%) reported that the Super Bowl was not an appropriate platform.
More in-depth results can be seen at:
http://www.mediacurves.com/Advertising/J7730-FocusonFamilySuperbowlAd/Index.cfm
Thanks,
Ben
CBS does have a state backed monopoly. But so does Google/Youtube. Google/Youtube does also censor content, but not nearly to the degree that CBS does. The reasons are both because of regulatory backlash and because of customer base. Google/Youtube has a different business model and different risks. It's better for Youtube to defend it's market share of web content, than it is for CBS to defend it's share of network content. Why? They are both state-backed monopolies, but something else is taking place at CBS.
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