If Kids’ Values Are Damaged, Don’t Blame TV

Leave the networks and their “racy programming” alone! (“Racy Programs Creeping Into Family Hour,” A Section, Oct. 15). When will we finally figure it out? As rightly pointed out, no one has a greater pulse on the viewing desires of the American public than those who program it. They are neither the disciples of the devil’s propaganda nor the immoral godless purveyors of society. They are capitalists.

In their frenetic quest for the almighty dollar, network execs are far too single-minded to be overly concerned with any agenda except that which puts the highest dollar in their pocket. We as a public are getting what we want and they are getting paid big for it. Nothing more.

For those still hung up on the tired “art imitating life or vice versa” debate who continue to ask which came first, corrupt culture or corrupt television, I have exciting news for you: No matter if the television is morally debilitating our culture or it simply reflects what and who we are, it is inconsequential and should have no bearing to the discerning parent/viewer. We have choices!

As both a children’s pastor who oversees a flock of several hundred kids and a father of four young children, I find my alternatives of dealing with children and television two-fold.

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First, on a professional level, I am asked to impart meaningful spiritual and moral values into the lives of children. How do we as a ministry deal with these children who view “racy programming” night after night, year after year? We teach values. We teach right from wrong. We teach kids how to make decisions in the face of competing values.

Television is not my moral nemesis due to its raciness, it is my nemesis because it is creating a generation of watchers instead of doers, followers instead of leaders, reactors instead of actors and sheep instead of shepherds.

My goal as a pastor and a parent is not nearly as much to shelter children from raciness as they will have plenty of opportunity for viewing raciness almost everywhere in our society (ever heard a conversation among two fifth graders in private?), it is rather to build up a child to actively think and make independent decisions. The passivity of watching leads only to emotional and mental stagnation.

As for the myth of programs becoming more daring and racy in the ‘90s, may I suggest a quick moral review of the perceived innocence of the ‘70s “Happy Days” sitcom? Was there ever a program in the history of television more degrading to women? Was there ever a program more careless and irresponsible on the subject of cheap sex and the male single-mindedness of conquering the female?

As an impressionable youth I lacked the sophistication to interpret these whimsical and satirical messages other than at face value. Are ‘90s sitcoms and their overt references to hookers, breasts, etc. any more dangerous or immoral for our youth? What truly damaged my value structure as a child was not the watching of “Happy Days” nearly as much as the lack of a parent or minister instructing me on opposing moral viewpoints.

Secondly, as a parent, the answer is almost too easy when dealing with unsuitable family viewing. However, for a variety of reasons, the majority of parents choose not to hear it and discount it as extremist: Turn off the television and dismiss it altogether from your life. Stop the brain anesthesia!

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Why is it that good people who strive for moral standards and integrity in their family life feel powerless and must surrender to the manipulation of television? Why is “shutting it off” so rarely considered a viable alternative? Why are the masses so indoctrinated as to cling with passion to their “need” for television? Why is it we can choose not to purchase morally objectionable material in other media forms (books, magazines) though when it comes to television, we call for network reform as we just cannot say no to the “on” switch?

As a practicing “television-less” family, I am not naive in thinking my own children do not have access to racy programming through friends and acquaintances. However with strong parental leadership and guidance, this is not my greatest concern.

Certain conservative television reform activists speak of the need to send a message to the network executives. Should those of us trying to raise a family really waste our energy trying to “send a message” to advertisers or network executives? I am in the proactive business of growing a family, not the reactive cycle of message-sending to a medium for which I have no need.

On a recent flight up to the Bay Area, I had the pleasure of sitting next to a successful television producer. After we amicably exchanged viewpoints on the role of television and its effects on the family and society, he finally admitted his true perspective. His words I will never forget:

“Television keeps the masses occupied. What if everyone decided they wanted to make something of their lives? Television keeps the competition down and keeps more criminals off the street. What if everyone decided to go to law school or medical school? It would sure make it tough on the rest of us.”

Leave television alone! Let the baby have its bottle and the devil have its due. For those of us who care, we can rise above the medium.