I find this "liberated age" morally and intellectually void of any redeeming qualities. I must admit that when I was a teenager life styles were, in comparison, almost puritanical and teenagers felt life was too restrictive. Today the restrictions have indeed been relaxed. In fact I see very little sign of any restrictions on content and explicitness and I find this both annoying and insulting to my concept of decency or morality.I search through the movie listings to find a film that will be enjoyable. No assurance, because most films contain offensive scenes and dirty language that are completely unnecessary and rather than improve the film, undermine its enjoyment. Children today have, in my estimation, pitiable role models to try to find. It seems the lower the mentality and the poorer the performance, the higher the admiration is for it.
I don't pretend to know the remedy for this condition. Certainly not censorship; but it seems that more pressure might be put on the entertainment industry to clean up its act and tone down its attempts to see who can deliver the most filth without being sued. A little less PC and more honesty would certainly help.
I think it is very disturbing that in the name of freedom of the press we have allowed ourselves to be inundated 24 hours per day by "entertainment" that is not fit for children, much less for adults. What we see today is democracy and capitalism run amok. America's forefathers surely had no clue that technology (I don't think that word was even invented yet) would advance to the point that our treasured basic freedoms would allow multi-media anarchy to reign. The liberated age is an illusion. Our culture now allows us to be liberated only when supplying trash. It does not allow us to be liberated in ideas.
Of course, certain elements within the "entertainment" industry have promoted the crude humor, overt sexuality, unnecessary violence and crude language because it makes money for them -- money from individuals who have become so depraved they don't know any alternative types of entertainment. They are people who have never been taught the importance of love, honor, self-respect, and the need to give back something good to their community. I feel sorry for people who do not see the splendor in nature, in fine art, in profound literature, in gorgeous music, in lasting friendships and in the purity of love.
The burning question is whether we are grateful to live in this liberated age, surrounded by unsophisticated humor, explicit sexuality and excessive violence. I am more puzzled than grateful. The United States is the most religious of all the industrialized nations. We have the highest percentage of church attendance and of people who say that religion is very important in their lives. According to Sen. Joseph Lieberman, religion is the basis of morality. Yet, this nation also has the highest murder rate and the largest percentage of people in prison, not to mention the most degenerate forms of entertainment. How can we have it both ways? If we are living in a moral cesspool, are we also a Christian nation, under God?
What a change in the entertainment fare of our media! We were laughing at the antics of Lucille Ball, Bill Cosby and Tim Allen. Now we have scenarios of men using the restroom urinal, of couples bedroom-bound on the first date. It is shock and negative plot versus talent and a creative script. The human spirit needs beauty, inspiration and challenge to grow and flourish -- qualities that have existed in America. The media and the sponsors need to hear our protest, loud and clear, that we will boycott them and the products they sell if they don't clean up their act.
Yes, it is wonderful living today, with the exception of the filth being handed out by the so-called, entertainment industry and the media, among others. Everyone talks of free speech. Does this mean that I and those that reject the filth must listen to it? The right to "Freedom of Speech" needs to have an addendum attached covering our equal right to be "Free of Forced Listening," which we are currently made to endure by the large-scale coverage of the filth directed toward us by the hardhearted and selfish use of "free speech."
I suppose the entertainment industry provides what is asked for. I just don't know who asks for the filth. We turned the TV off in June and the only time the radio is turned on is when we are leaving the house. Most religious leaders today say that the United States has forgotten God. I don't think that is true; we as a nation have rejected Him, which is a lot worse.
Does living longer because of better food and medicine while having a society full of lies, deceit, drugs, immoral behavior and the like make our lives richer? When you read the newspapers of the past, do you see the offensive language that you see today? Even some so-called comics and cartoons are downright nasty, stupid, vulgar, mean and don't belong in a newspaper.
The excessive violence on the other hand causes me immense concern. I have never been able to stomach violence -- I missed a lot of great movies because of it: "Clockwork Orange," "Apocalypse Now," etc. But at least that violence was pertinent to the storyline. Now, the violence is the storyline. I still miss a lot of movies because of the violence quotient and am appalled that boys and young men get so much pleasure from playing violent video games. It puts me in mind of the Romans and the violent spectacles of the Coliseum. It seems to me our society is headed in the same direction.
There is so much drivel available because it brings in the money. The only way it will be reduced (never stopped) is to stop supporting it. Parents who complain about it need to find a way to control their children's access to it. And if they feel they can't, then they're just taking the easy way out. It's not easy to be a parent. Just because the challenges seem more difficult today, doesn't mean that they're without a solution. Stop blaming others and get back to providing the guidance your children need (and want). The freedoms we enjoy include freedoms for those who disagree with what others consider appropriate. Trying to restrict others from their expression is censorship. Not supporting the newspapers, magazines and movie houses that present that with which you find offense is the best way to reduce the abundance of distasteful "entertainment" and expression.
We have created generations of people who do not understand that words mean things. The more we dumb-down the language and desensitize ourselves to the crude and vulgar, the further we get from what is truly good. When the very common denominator of humanity, our language, is headed into the gutter, the decline in respect for human life should not surprise us. I fear my future grandchildren will enter a world that makes today look civilized.
I'm grateful to live in this age but do not believe all the terrible language and sexual content and violence should be allowed to be shown on TV, in movies or on records. There is a point where freedom of speech and morals of producers have to be considered in what is being done to our country (and to the world).
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