Indecent

As a general statement I have never really been much into censorship, by governments anyway. "One man's pornography is another man's art" and all that.

I must be getting old or something but last night Karen and I were watching "My wife and kids". A show we usually watch and enjoy, and the boys enjoy. It is on at 8:00 PM, "Prime Time."

In this particular episode, discounting the numerous sexual references for now, and without getting into details, the parents in this show accidentally get high by consuming what is presumed to be marijuana. The subsequent behavior was not only grossly exaggerated but in fact is depicted as extraordinarily enjoyable and rewarding. The show is always on the edge, in my view, as sexually explicit without being graphic but on and some times over the edge non the less. This episode just fell over the edge.

Good adult humor, Sure, It depends on what you like I suppose. My problem is I really do not want my kids watching that kind of... for lack of a better term, social irresponsibility. Karen and I deleted it from our TIVO. As kids get older, particuarly 15-18. It is very difficult to restrict them from watching anything on TV. If it comes into our house, it is available to watch. And honestly for the most part at that age if we have not equipped them with the judgment to watch that kind of material and not draw inappropriate conclusions from it then well we have not done our jobs. We still attempt to prevent Michelle from watching sexually implicit/explicit or violent shows or shows that depict the use or implied use of drugs and the boys if it is, in our judgment over the top. But if she or the boys have their mind set on watching a specific show, say, Southpark, Short of standing over them every time the TV is on. There is little to be done to prevent them from doing so short of removing all the TVs from the house. (perhaps not such a bad idea).

I mentioned Prime Time TV. It use to be it was relatively "safe" to watch TV between 7:00AM and 10:00 PM. Not anymore. Sex, implied or otherwise is common place. Drugs too often become the focus of humor. Violence is dismissed, Homosexuality is featured prominently....

I sound like a prude. I know. And honestly it does not bother me (mostly) to watch these types of shows. If it did, of course I would turn it off. But my mind is as corrupt and polluted as it is gonna be by now. But how can parents reasonably be expected to prevent their kids from watching these types of shows. Not only has this stuff infiltrated daytime and primetime TV but due to technology, VCRs, TIVO and the internet, the shows are viewable anytime, anywhere by anyone.

I won't even touch on computer access and what is not only available but sent directly to the kids via E-mail or pop-ups....

Before anyone goes off. I know what this sounds like. It sounds like I, as a parent, am making TV and society in general responsible for raising my kids. It sounds like I want government censorship of anything not "pure and wholesome." This is not what I am saying. But I will admit I am asking for a little help.

Parents have to lay the ground work at an early age about what is acceptable behavior and what is not. What is morally right and morally wrong based on their beliefs. Before the time the kids are exposed to the realities of the world, whether that reality is scripted and produced or experienced in the school yard. A young child should be sheltered from most of the nonsense that goes on in adult life. They are generally not mentally equipped to comprehend or appropriately react to it.

BUT one can only shelter a child for only so long before it becomes a detriment. Sheltering a child past a certain point in life only prevents that child from knowing how to handle situations as they arise. It prevents them from being able to exercise the behaviors and moral values that hopefully were instilled to them by their parents. It will allow them to question and experience, with the support of parental guidance of course, so as to solidify, what was up till then, only told to them.


Society should provide reasonable boundaries for expected behavior; Not just through laws and regulations. But through a general social conciseness community awareness etc.. By providing good role models, By providing opportunities to be involved in the community in positive ways. By respectfully limiting (not necessarily eliminating) access to deviant or destructive materials... Here is where my problem lie. I do not want the like of Jerry Fallwell or Howard Stern, for example, to tell me what I can and cannot / should and shouldn't do, say, watch or think. They should have the ability to share their opinion certainly but not to unduly affect the governing laws or social fabric of my little universe.

Excluding the extreme, I do not want the FCC or congress legislating what is offensive or pornographic or otherwise appropriate for me or my children and eliminating all access to said content.

What I want are the tools to be able to censor the materials/ideas that flow into my household. V-chip, Parental Internet controls are good starts. But these fail in many ways. They fail either because they are too cumbersome to keep current and affective, to restrictive such that reasonable material is also blocked, or depend on content providers to honestly and consistently rate or classify their product.

For staters, what might make sense is for content providers to as a random sampling of adults (parents in particular), and ask them "would you feel comfortable letting your 10 yr old daughter (or son) watch this?". If the answer is NO then make reasonable effort through existing technology or transmission restrictions to permit parents the ability to make the decisions if it is appropriate for their child to view.

I don't have the answers, Just the concern