TV profanity: We make choices on what we see and hear

The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month heard arguments in a case challenging FCC rules regarding what is known as "fleeting profanity," which is the one-time use of certain words -- you know what they are -- usually at live events where they can't be bleeped.

The FCC adopted the more stringent "fleeting profanity" policy in 2004. FCC rules apply only to broadcast networks. Cable and satellite broadcasts are not covered.

While there is more foul language, sexual situations and violence to be found on some cable and satellite channels, broadcast programming is no safe haven for children or viewers who are easily offended. Scripts of prime-time programs, including comedy shows that draw audiences from all age groups, routinely contain highly suggestive situations and offensive language that wouldn't have been tolerated by censors in the days when the only TV shows came from broadcast sources.

At issue for the high court is whether the "fleeting profanity" rule is unconstitutional and simply too vague.

The larger issue for TV viewers, particularly parents of young children, is how to police viewing habits. Regardless of what the justices decide in this case, the TV sets in American homes will continue to be pipelines to raw, hard-to-explain-to-a-7-year-old visual and audio content, both on broadcast stations and other outlets.

This won't change unless viewing habits change, and that's a choice that is made in American living rooms every night. Fleeting profanity has far less impact on viewers than the constant stream of raw content that constantly pushes the envelope of what viewers will accept on their wide-screen, flat-screen, high-definition portals to the world.