Nine Inch Nails and Free Speech (Transferred from My Forum on WoodysWorld)

An Associated Press article on this issue follows with the details for this issue. In short, MTV (who is a non-stop advocate for Freedom of Speech, Gay Rights, Diversity Advocacy, and frequently waves the partisan banner of liberalism) has butted heads with Nine Inch Nails over their intent to have a backdrop that is apparently critical of President Bush and the war in Iraq. MTV said that it was uncomfortable with such a partisan political statement. Nine Inch Nails has withdrawn from the Awards rather than remove the banner. What are your thoughts on this issue?

************************ASSOCIATED PRESS ARTICLE****************
Nine Inch Nails Clashes With MTV Tuesday, May 31, 2005NEW YORK — Nine Inch Nails dropped out of the MTV Movie Awards after clashing with the network over an image of President Bush the band planned as a performance backdrop. The Bush image was to accompany the song "The Hand That Feeds," which obliquely criticizes the Iraq war. It includes the lyrics: "What if this whole crusade's a charade / And behind it all there's a price to be paid / For the blood on which we dine / Justified in the name of the holy and the divine."MTV said in a statement to its news division that the network was disappointed the industrial rock band would not perform but had been "uncomfortable with their performance being built around a partisan political statement."said in a statement posted on the band's Web site Thursday that the image of the president would have been unaltered and "straightforward.""Apparently, the image of our president is as offensive to MTV as it is to me," he said.  

My Response:
I kind of have to laugh about this topic. MTV has always been about pushing a liberal agenda. MTV is habitually guilty of portraying a eutopian liberal world where diversity, gay men and women and corporate sponsorship live hand in hand. They've been subversively critical of the Bush administration and the war on Iraq. And, they've rallied legions of youth voters in an attempt to forward their eutopian society. So, to say that they do not want partisan politics as part of this event is just plain funny to me. Weren't there scads of anti-war statements in previous award events?

But, by the same token, I'm a HUGE NIN fan, but I can't help but to say, let it go Trent! Damn dude, the election is past. It's not like your banner is going to march Bush out of office. It's ok to have an opinion, really it is. But, we're here for the music--on the rare event that MTV actually plays music. We're in a post-narrative age here. We are in an age where everybody thinks they're right. I don't know one person that has changed their political views following a debate, discussion or even song or backdrop. I really would've thought that both Hollywood and the music industry would have gotten the message that "Hey, you're an artist, not an expert! It's cool to have your opinion and, sure, you can express your opinion. Just don't ram it down my throat. All you're doing is compromising your integrity!"