There is a device out there that gets little to no use. Its use has far reaching implications for control of societies ills. It is generically made, and very widespread and almost invisible. I would guess there are many in your home right now. It has the ability to control pornography reaching children, violent video games, infomercials, inappropriate music, offensive radio personalities, and even controversial entertainment choices. It is truly revolutionary when used properly. The unfortunate thing it is not.
It is called.....the power button.
Did your 6 year old see a nipple on TV? Turn it off.
Grand Theft Auto a little too gangsta crazy for your 11 year old? Well, you bought it for them, but you can also turn it off.
Howard Stern (while still terrestrial) a little too much for your delicate sensibilities? Turn him off.
I will never understand why people don't use this device. It's use is not too complicated or convoluted....it is as simple as moving your index finger. Why do people feel the need to, instead of turning the offending device off, holding a parade, starting a petition, or just whining and bitching about the offensive material? Are they afraid of what the neighbours think? Are they worried they may start to enjoy it? Perhaps they maybe already do enjoy it, but that is not how proper people behave.
"My parents didn't grow up watching this filth."
"I didn't have to contend with nonsense like this when I was a kid."
Have I got news for you. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Does anyone remember Three's Company? The story of a man living with two beautiful women, posing gay so as not to attract the attention of his landlord. If you have seen the show, and I am sure many of you have, it was full of playful innuendo and sexual humour. And it did draw it's fair share of criticism from sensitive individuals in the 1970's.
"My parents didn't grow up watching filth like this."
We could talk about the need for The Ed Sullivan Show to only show Elvis Presley from only the waist up, for fear that America's teenage daughters would all get fucked that night from his gyrating hips and "black" music.
"I didn't have to contend with nonsense like this when I was a kid."
The echoes of the past coming out of the mouths of today. Let's not forget Deep Throat once being shown at the same theater as Lady and the Tramp, prohibition in the 1930's, or Captain Kirk and Uhura kissing. Everything I have mentioned in here seems laughable now, but in their time, it was all outrageous, and people actually left their homes to picket and carry on, instead of just making the choice to not watch. The peculiar thing is that they continued to watch....in fact they watched more closely, I guess in an attempt to get more outraged.
Do I practice what I preach? Yes I do. Moral values are a funny thing. I find it interesting that breasts are not allowed on television (although 50% of the population has them), but it is completely acceptable to show depictions of violent and gruesome death over and over. Myself, I have made the conscious choice to avoid gladiatorial programming on TV. Survivor, Fear Factor, and even America's Next Top Model are all shows that are the equivalent of blood sport, but because they don't depict anything outright offensive on the screen, they are seen as harmless. Maude has an abortion, Murphy Brown has a child out of wedlock, and the world is going to hell, but the belittling, demoralizing, and degradation of fellow human beings is ok.
That is what I turn off. And I know where the power button is.
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