USA and the censorship thingy - why?

Coming from Sweden and all (yeah, I know what you all think…hehe) I think we are a bit, well, ahead of America when it comes to what is “ok” to show and say on TV/radio/media. The feeling we have over here is that Americans tend to be very, if not overprotecting, when it comes to bad language and nakedness (word?). Blurring out breasts, beeping bad words and all. I mean, the debate that was going about Facebook removing images of breasts…what was that about?

Personally I don’t get it.

1) Breasts are the most natural thing and we have all sucked on them as babies. Why would it hurt anyone to see them now?

2) The f-word is often beeped, but what it does is actually more or less emphasize the fact that there is a bad word there. As a teacher I am talking a lot with my students about language and words, and I am asking them “Can a word actually be bad/ugly?” We all agree on that it depends on how you use it. If you use it with the goal to harm someone, it is a bad word. But a word can never be bad on its own.

I mean, what’s the purpose of beeping a bad word if everyone knows what word it is anyway? Especially when the beep comes just right after the f…like “what the fBEEEEEEEEEP!”.

3) When I was in the militairy ten years ago I used to watch this terrible daytime American TV show. Can’t remember the name, but it was about a pastor and his family. It just made me sick, the way the show tried to “raise” kids by “teaching” the right moral (accorind to Christian tradition?) as if American parents couldn’t do it on their own. Is this/was this necessary in order to maintain some kind of moral standard when growing up?

But I do believe that times is changing. Movies and TV from USA are showing more naked bodies, aren’t beeping as much as they used to 10 years ago. Is this something that you Americans have noticed as well? Do you think it’s good or bad?

Phew, long text. Sorry :)