no exception to that rule.

But there are times when issues of taste and racist language clash with principles of freedom of speech.

The story in Thursday's newspaper about music stores selling a compact disc entitled "Flesh of my Flesh, Blood of my Blood'', by rapper DMX being investigated by Police is one such example.

The shops in this case are being investigated by Police for selling the disc to under-age patrons. The CD carries a parental advisory warning that its content is explicit.

Without going into detail, the lyrics on at least one of the songs are highly offensive, encourage violence and are extremely racist. As lyrics, they have no redeeming value whatsoever.

It is quite right that these CDs should not be sold to minors for the same reasons that children should not be allowed to watch pornographic movies or read magazines. This is not done out of prudery but because children are not assumed to be able to judge for themselves what is right or wrong.

The more difficult question is whether such an album should be sold at all.

Under the Human Rights Act, it is unlawful to publish any kind of material that could incite "ill will or hostility''. It seems clear that this CD falls under that category.

But governments need to take care when judging what publications, pieces of music and works of art are dangerous for society.

Until the 1960s, D.H. Lawrence's novel Lady Chatterley's Lover was banned from Britain because it was deemed to be obscene. After a lengthy trial, it was allowed to be distributed and now is judged to be a classic.

This is not to suggest that DMX has the same talent as D.H. Lawrence; far from it. But one generation's values can be quite different from another's, and banning books or music rarely works. Instead of being sold openly, they find their way into the harder-to-control bootleg market.

Freedom of speech is the lifeblood of a democracy. Because people are free to speak, decisions are tested, assumptions are corrected and choices -- mainly good -- are made.

Equally, consumers make their own decisions on matters of taste. If they don't like a musician or a writer, they will not buy their work. A Chief Justice of the Supreme Court said he knew pornography when he saw it and there is no question that DMX's CD is pornographic and worse. But adults should be able to make their choices -- and not have their minds made up for them.