Public television stations, which should be anticipating the ratings boost they'll likely receive from the Sept. 23 debut of the new Ken Burns World War II documentary The War, instead are sweating bullets because the 14-hour film contains four strong curse words. Their concern is regrettable.

First, the idea that television stations could be dinged by government regulators for showing what is expected to be an excellent program is troubling. Old soldiers, talking about their memories of one of history's most brutal conflicts, use colorful language. Two of the troubling words occur when veterans explain the origins of the wartime acronyms SNAFU and FUBAR. In that context, it is unreasonable to deem the useage indecent. Second, the predicament that broadcasters face because of vague guidelines and unpredictable enforcement by the Federal Communications Commission seems unfair. As a matter of policy, the agency refuses to tell broadcasters in advance whether specific programs pass muster.

What's a broadcaster to do?

Burns, best-known for his 1990 series, The Civil War, is making it easier for station owners by being flexible.

While many artists would insist on their work being shown in its unedited form or not at all, Burns is allowing PBS to distribute two versions of the film, one intact and one with the four offending words excised. He's gone even further by agreeing to insure stations for any legal costs they might face if called before the FCC because of the film.

Some stations are determined to show the uncut version. Others will play it safe with the edited version, and many are fretting over the decision.

Recent FCC decisions don't offer much in the way of clues.

When ABC aired the Steven Spielberg epic Saving Private Ryan in 2004, the agency ruled that numerous instances of the f-word in that film were acceptable because they weren't used "to titillate or shock."

But when a single viewer of a California public-television station complained about profanity in the Martin Scorsese documentary The Blues: Godfathers and Sons, also a well-regarded work of history, the community-college-based station was fined $15,000.

The FCC traditionally has declined to opine on broadcasting content in advance in order to avoid charges that the agency is engaging in unconstitutional prior restraint.

But leaving artists and broadcasters to guess is hardly a good solution and likely leads to self-censorship.

Since the fine for The Blues, the California station has taken few chances. In an art-history show, producers airbrushed out the nude behind of the Venus de Milo statue.

They bleeped out the cursing of a character in a British TV program, even though the cursing was in German.

As in the California case, government action against art often stems from isolated complaints that don't represent the views of most Americans.

If enough Americans value legitimate artistic and historical expression enough to let the government know that they want to see serious works in their original form, perhaps the FCC will ease up and stop "protecting" Americans from the saltier bits of history.