Why this little blog was created…

It all started a little over a month ago when a certain young entertainer decided to do a nasty performance and suddenly everyone was talking about it.  “What happened? She used to be so sweet?”  “How could her parents let her do that?”  “She was a role model to so many kids.  Why is she acting so disgusting?”  It was all over social media, pop news, even making the regular news headlines, and my friends were discussing it.  I never watched the actual performance, but I saw enough of the aforementioned headlines to know how vulgar it was.  She continues to stay in the news with one disgusting thing after another.  And people keep talking about her.  (I know, I am too.) 

It got me thinking.  I was actually surprised more by the reaction of the public then by the singer.  This is a young woman who grew up in the spotlight.  All she knows is that women are expected to act a certain way in this business or they haven’t “made it” or “grown up” yet.  She doesn’t even have to be in the business to feel this way.  Young women don’t know that they are beautiful even when covered up.  They don’t know that they are more attractive to boys when they allow themselves to be more mysterious.  They don’t understand that how they dress can either make them a piece of meat or a respectable person with a brain.  Young women think that, in order to get attention, they have to act and dress a certain way.  They are taught this by peers, media, and sometimes even their own mothers. 

Our culture has completely lost its censorship.  Morning TV ads now show racy commercials and the talk shows’ talking heads can’t seem to stop talking about sex.  A television show is completely based on adultery.  There are reality shows based on teen pregnancy.  And don’t get me started on MTV.  Isn’t it just porn set to music?  We can’t even watch a funny video on YouTube without some little side bar video of pornography being displayed.  We see women degenerated to objects on billboards as we drive down the street, on building-sized ads while walking through the mall, and magazine covers with explicit captions, standing in line at the grocery store.  We listen to radio stations, where song after song is about fornication.  And it’s not just the media.  I can’t even go to a church campout without seeing young women in the neighboring camp wearing next to nothing.  My friend asks, “Where does it go from here?”  I say, “Naked is all that’s left.”  My husband drives my son to his basketball game and a lady crosses the street in front of them wearing only a bikini.  I walk into the library and on the front display case is a gay novel with a disgusting image.  These images get burned into our brains.  How am I supposed to protect my children’s innocence in this world?

I started pondering.  Then I realized that I was part of the problem.  I had watched PG-13 movies that acted out sacred relations.  I had watched these television shows where one woman would date and kiss and have premarital relations with more than one guy.  I had purchased music by singers who were half-naked on their album covers.  I thought I wasn’t in the wrong because I would change the channel when an awkward scene came on, cover my eyes at the theater, skip the scene on the DVD, or only listen to the good songs.  But I PAID to see that movie, I was part of the ratings on that TV show, I BOUGHT that album.  I was giving my money to people who were using something so sacred and holy and turning it into something vile and ugly.  We all are the problem.  We all are buying into it.  And that needs to change.

I am going to stop buying anything that doesn’t hold up to my beliefs.  I am going to refrain from watching shows that don’t have a high ethical and moral standard.  I am going to really review a movie’s ratings before I rent or buy a ticket.  I will only shop at stores that don’t objectify women to sell their products.  I will only buy clothing that will hold up to my standards of modesty.  I refuse to listen to any music that is suggestive in any way.  I refuse to watch TV networks that show scandalous advertising.  I know that sounds like burying your head in the sand, but it’s not.  We can seek out wholesome, uplifting, and inspirational entertainment.  I watched a conference broadcast from my church last weekend and it really got me thinking that we need to take a stand for what’s right.    

They say we are the “silent majority”.  Well let’s be the silent majority.  If we stick to our beliefs and refuse to let the entertainment industry push us around, by our silence they will feel it in their pocketbooks and they will have to make a change.  They will see that good, enriching entertainment is what we want and they will make it.  Please spread the word.  I alone cannot do this by myself.  Maybe this blog is only read by close friends and family.  Maybe no one decides to change their media habits.  But if I alone am the only one who does, that is the best I can do for me and my children and this blog would be worth it.

Please help protect virtue.  I know I am not alone in my feelings http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/2010/11/protecting-virtue.html