Not long ago, an evening TV show caught my and my daughter's attention. It was a nice family comedy that got close to bedtime. I was relaxed while we were having a good time together, and suddenly I felt like I had been punched in the face when a swear word came out of the so- saying 15 year old actor. Playing it cool, I looked at my young daughter who didn't even flinch. I wondered: When were these words allowed to be spoken on television? Worse yet, was my daughter's reaction, or in this case non-reaction, due to desensitization or did she just not hear it? Since then, I have found myself immersed in the censorship conflict. Globally, media censors have significantly loosened their grip, largely with a positive social impact, but have they gone too far? Personally, I long for the "Mayberry" days, when life was simple and no one had to worry about what the kids were watching on TV. In 1973, Thomas Elmendorf, an emergency room physician, gave a speech to the American Medical Association about the increase in violent behavior among young adults and its correlation with television violence. In it he cites that “murder is the fastest growing cause of death in the United States. The annual rate of increase exceeded 100 percent between 1960 and 1974." He also goes on to explain that by the time a child graduates from high school, he or she has spent an incredible 18,000 hours watching television, not to mention other forms of media, compared to 15,000 hours in the classroom. Elmendorf also states that during these 18,000 hours of television, a young adult will have witnessed "18,000 murders and countless highly detailed incidents of robberies, arsons, bombings, shootings ... in the middle of the journal... All aspects of Tibet 45.5 (2010): 4. Academic research completed. Internet. April 14, 2012. Collins, Rebecca L. Elliott, Marc N. Berry, Sandra H. Kanouse, David E. Kunkel, Dale Hunter, Sarah B. Miu, Angela. “Watching Sex on TV Predicts Adolescent Initiation of Sexual Behavior.” Pediatrics 114.3 (2004): e280. MasterFILE finished. Internet. April 19, 2012. Elmendorf, Thomas. “Violence on television.” Vital Discourses of the Day 42.24 (1976): 764. MasterFILE completed. Internet. April 19, 2012. Jérôme, Sara. “Supreme Court case could dirty the airwaves.” CongressDaily AM November 16, 2011: 5. MasterFILE completed. Internet. April 14, 2012. Katz, Paul. “Funny $#@*!.” Entertainment Weekly 802 (2005): 23. Academic research completed. Internet. April 21, 2012.TODD PITMAN - Associated, Press. “Myanmar loosens grip on media, vows to end censors.” AP Top News Package (2012): Newspaper Source Plus. Internet. April 14. 2012.