Frank Zappa Warns How Censorship Will Lead to an Encroaching Fascist Theocracy on ‘Crossfire’ in 1986

On an incredibly prescient 1986 episode of Crossfire, the late, great Frank Zappa sat down with hosts Robert Novack (on the left) and Tom Braden (on the right) to talk about censorship and his testimonial before the United States Senate Commerce, Technology, and Transportation committee in regard to actions taken by the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center).

Seated next to Zappa was paleoconservative commentator John Lofton who came ready for a fight. During a discussion about censoring words, Lofton took a great deal of umbrage with Zappa’s concern that the censorship of music was a sign that the an encroaching fascist theocracy and responded in kind. Zappa, however, was incredibly well spoken and remained as cool as a cucumber.

When you have a government that prefers a certain moral code derived from a certain religion and that moral code turns into legislation to suit one certain religious point of view and if that code happens to be very, very right wing..What I tell and have been telling kids, first register to vote and soon as you’re old enough, run for something.

That advice still holds today.

via Open Culture