The Culture War rages on even when you’re not paying attention!
October 24th, 2007 | by admin |You know what’s funny? It’s when you inadvertently witness the culture war going on around you. It happens a lot. I mean, I’m not going to lie to you a lot of the stuff that I find to talk about has already been reported on by a media outlet or a watchdog group and I try to gather and research that information and present it to you.
But, that’s not always how it happens. Take last night for instance. I’m sitting down with my wife watching television, and we had been flipping through the channels and eating dinner when we decided to fire up our DVR for the latest episode of Heroes (which is a fantastic show by the way, I highly recommend it!). So we enjoyed the episode of Heroes and as soon as the show on the recorder was finished it reverted back to the channel we had left it on before. A show neither of us had ever heard of was on, called Degrassi and apparently it’s a teenage drama from Canada that has won a bunch of MTV awards. Well my immediate instinct was to flip the channel but the scene that was on at that moment was a scene taking place in this high school setting where two students approached a teacher or a school principle about the school’s decision to hand out condoms to the students. My immediate thought was, “uh-oh I bet we have some propaganda here” and sure enough I was right.
We watched the next fifteen minutes or so of the show as it portrayed two students who were in favor of abstinence as right wing loonies. These two misguided souls got violent with the school for handing out condoms, and stormed into a “sexual education rally” and got in a fight with students and administrators. They even had one of the two “Right Wing Christians” call one of the other students at the rally a homosexual slur. The teachers, and students in favor of handing out condoms were presented as reasonable, sane people, who just wanted to provide education to students while those in support of the traditional view of abstinence until marriage were presented as violent, crazy, and ignorant. It also took pot shots at Christianity by having one “Right Wing Christian” character accuse another student of going to hell because of their sexual activity.
A common misnomer about Christianity is that one bad thing is worse than another bad thing, and that Christians think they’ve done less bad things and so they’re going to heaven while those who have done more bad things are going to hell. Anyone who’s ever taken the time to research anything about the New Testament knows that all people are bad people, and all are destined for hell. In other words people are imperfect and God is perfect. (Hell is separation from God.) So does that mean everyone goes to hell? No, the difference between true Christians and other “pre-Christians” is that they haven’t yet accepted the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross as a way to make up for their imperfection. Real Christians know that they’re not better than anyone else, they’re just forgiven and one would hope they’d want others to experience the same kind of peace and happiness, but I digress.
This television program was very disturbing. I’m not embellishing my description of any of this either. This is how overt the anti-Christian and anti-values propaganda has gotten in our society. This is the kind of material and the message that kids are digesting daily.
So why does this sort of stuff get me all worked up? I’ll give you two reasons. First it paints my beliefs, and a lot of traditional Americans beliefs, as if we’re a bunch of out of date loony tunes, and that just isn’t fair. This is intolerance of a moral viewpoint by a crowd that daily preaches tolerance. Second, could you please quit brainwashing impressionable young minds with your altered sense of morality! If you’re a consenting adult do what you want in your own bedroom, but please don’t push it on our youth, why don’t you leave it up to their parents to discuss these issues with them?
It is very offensive that we have pop culture icons, politicians, people in our schools, and others telling kids it’s “OK to have sex with as many partners as you want.” This is endorsement of a sexual behavior that many find offensive. Many parents simply don’t want their kids to be inundated with this garbage. The smear tactics are in full force against Americans who believe in God (or any external moral order) and the message is clear: your traditional values are not welcome. On behalf of families and traditionalists everywhere, I’m hear to say: Your secular progressive, anti-family, anti-God, irresponsible recreational sex laden values are not welcome!
Now I can complain all I want about this, but it’s not going to do any good unless we do something about it. I hope that I motivate you to take a more active role in your kids lives if you don’t already! It’s up to parents and traditional folks to turn off the TV, speak with your wallet, and get involved in the lives of our youth. We should be doing this anyways, but hopefully this gives you a little extra motivation. That’s the latest on the Culture War front, stay tuned to the same bat-channel at the same bat-time for more information!
By Anonymous on Oct 25, 2007
Dear Andy,
It IS OK for people to have sex with as many partners as they want, so long as it’s consensual, especially if people use protection — thus this behaviour doesn’t hurt anyone else or affect anyone else.
And it’s also OK for a television show to showcase the debate about providing this protection in schools, and even for a television show to take sides — it’s called free speech. Might even spur parents to talk to their children about all sides of this issue.
Even if this show did depict people who wished to deny students this protection as being wrong, that’s no biggie, I’d say. Especially when, on your beloved Heroes, Mr. Bennet, one of the good guys, kidnaps people, hooks someone on drugs, and MURDERS someone, among, we can imagine, many other “morally gray” (his words) things he’s done.
Oh, it’s fiction you say, so it doesn’t count? Right, but so is a show that tells stories about teenagers in a high school.
However, right in your blog, which unlike TV dramas is non-fiction, you say that people’s opinions that differ from yours “are not welcome.”
I agree that free speech allows you to say this, but who’s really preaching intolerant?
By Andy Barnett on Oct 25, 2007
Dear Anonymous,
While you make a point (that I also make in my blog) that what consenting adults do is their business as long as it doesn’t directly infringe on the rights of others, you’ve apparently missed the entire point of my argument.
The media, pop culture, politicians, celebrities, are all hard at work imposing their relativism and anti-family values on a nation which is comprised of a lot of people who are traditionalists like myself and hold true to the Judeo-Christian values that this country was founded upon.
You’ll note I’m not calling for government to step in and yank these programs off the air, instead I’m calling on parents to be more active and I’m calling for people to boycott these programs and their sponsors.
I do think we need to review decency laws when it comes to broadcast television and basic cable channels. The Parents Television Council does a great job of keeping tabs on some of the filth out there. (ParentsTV.org)
The problem with the TV show I made an example out of is that it is an overt negative stereotype of “Right Wing Christians” as being violent, stupid, ignorant, pretentious people. I find that offensive, and this is just one example of Christian discrimination constantly being spread throughout our culture.
Actually, I could care less if people want to criticize me for being a Christian, and having traditional values, in fact I expect it.
The real problem is the double standard. If a Christian criticizes someone for their beliefs they disagree with: (be it promiscuity, homosexuality, or whatever…) They are painted as bigoted, and intolerant! This is hypocrisy of the highest order.
As for your comparison of the Fantasy/Sci-Fi show Heroes, I’ve yet to see any overt social agenda during the program set out to bash anyone in real life. If I see that, you can be sure I’ll be disappointed. While the show Heroes is not appropriate for children it is also not aimed at kids. This is unlike the show I described which specifically targets youth.
As far as the fiction debate, yes both programs are fiction, but are you going to tell me a show with people who can fly and travel through time is on the same level as a show about the daily lives of high school students?
I’m sorry you don’t like my point of view, but a lot of traditional Americans are getting sick and tired of being force fed this garbage which goes against the traditional values that this country was founded on.
I for one am not going to sit by idly and watch as my beliefs get trashed, and I’m sure as heck not going to let kids get brainwashed in public schools and by pop culture.
By Anonymous on Oct 25, 2007
Dear Andy,
You’re choosing to believe that I’ve missed the point of your argument. I hear what you’re saying: You’re sick and tired of hearing the opinions and ideas of others. Only ideas you agree with should be heard, and you’re not going to rest until your ideas are the only ideas heard on your blog, on television, and in the public schools.
I guess what I’m saying is twofold. My first comment best illustrated my main point - you’re being hypocritical. You cap off an argument against what you see as intolerant media views of Christians, by making very intolerant statements yourself, against anyone whose views oppose yours. Intolerance does not breed tolerance. However, positive discussion might.
And this brings me to my second point about the fiction debate. I’m not familiar with this particular episode of Degrassi, but I do know that on other episodes, they’ve dealt with many issues, like teen pregnancy for instance, and in those cases, all sides of an argument are discussed, and the teenagers often suffer the consequences of their actions, no matter what those actions may be.
On the other hand, while you don’t see a liberal agenda to Heroes, think about it: Nikki/Jessica is a very promiscuous character; Nathan has extramarital affairs and a child out of wedlock; Parkman is divorced; and other characters are murderers and criminals. And these are the HEROES. These are characters on television for kids to look up to idolize (it’s not called “hero worship” for nothing). To say this is not a show aimed at kids, denies the comic book element of the show, not to mention the show’s huge ratings that suggest many young people watch it.
Just think about the messaging for a moment. If you were a 12-year-old boy, would you rather be a 15 year-old high school student who uses drugs, overdoses, and almost dies? Or a prominent politician who cheats on his wife with attractive women, has illegitimate children with superpowers, AND CAN FLY.
Nobody “force-fed” you Degrassi. That’s not how television works. You CHOSE to watch it for 15 minutes. Then you chose to criticize it and call for a boycott because you didn’t like the 15 minutes you saw. But I think you’re focussing your energies in the wrong direction, when Heroes, a show you basically ADVERTISE for on your blog promotes “anti-family” and “irresponsible recreational sex laden values” every week.
It’s just plain old hypocrisy. You have the right to say the things you’re saying, but personally? I think you’re blowing hard in the wrong direction.
By Andy Barnett on Oct 25, 2007
Dear Anonymous, (Do you have an identity, or are you too afraid to use it?)
I’m going to address your concerns one at a time. I’ll give you a detailed reason why Heroes is totally different from Degrassi in just a moment, but first I’m going to address your comments about how you think I think things have to be my way or the highway.
What you don’t get, is that I’m speaking up for a lot of people, who believe it or not, agree with me whole heartedly. There are a lot of traditional Americans out there, and their voices are being silenced by the mainstream media and the pop culture that believes it knows best. These traditional Americans don’t line up with the prevailing progressive thought process. I’m not out to silence anyone, and the mere fact that I allow you to post your anonymous complaints on my blog (and dignify you with a response) is proof of that.
Your first point is that I am the one being hypocritical. You’re saying this because I’m tired of tolerating a viewpoint counter to my own. Actually what I’m tired of tolerating is discrimination against traditional thought. There are plenty of other groups that claim discrimination right? Whether it’s imaginary racism (and yes I’m aware there is real racism, but there is also plenty of imaginary racism), sexual orientation discrimination (code language for: not endorsing a sexual behavior), or whatever the case may be. There are plenty of claims of intolerance, why can’t I claim the same thing as a Christian and why can’t I be upset about it?
Why don’t we get to the root of the problem. The real question we should be after in our discussion is: What is tolerable and what is intolerable? If you think about it, the only logical conclusion you can come to is that there must be some sort of values that we can rely on. I believe that the traditional Judeo-Christian values which this nation was founded upon are what we should look to, rather than forging ahead with a new morality defined by fringe groups that are not in line with the vast majority of traditional Americans. The problem is that the fringe has gotten a hold of pop culture and the media which is affecting societal values and destroying our nation.
Keep in mind that when it comes to our country, I believe there are three principles to keep in mind. Freedom to make personal choices that don’t directly infringe on the rights of others, protection from your rights directly being infringed upon by others, and societal values that must be kept intact. I’ll give you three instances where I think these principles are applied and I’ll use the topic of sexuality as an example.
1. Personal freedom: Your personal sex life, be it straight, gay, adulterous, promiscuous or whatever, is up to you to decide upon.
2. Protection from your rights being trampled on: Punishing rape, sexual abuse, unwanted advances, etc.
3. Keeping traditional societal values intact: Avoiding endorsement of sexually deviant behavior, as determined by the founding Judeo-Christian values, and encouraging values consistent with those that the founding fathers and traditional Americans throughout our history have believed in.
If these principles are applied you will have protection of freedom to do what you want personally, you will have the rights of the innocent protected, and the good of the society (based on Judeo-Christian values) protected.
I believe our founding fathers founded a Christian nation, which allows people the freedom to choose their own set of beliefs. This does not/should affect the principles that the nation was founded upon itself. I know this is a tough concept for a lot secular progressives to wrap their mind around, but if you go back and do some historical research I think you’ll see what I’m talking about.
It is my goal as a commentator to stick up for the good of our society and to promote these traditional values that our nation was founded upon. This is much bigger than “my personal opinion” it’s about the land of the free and the home of the brave. It’s about the United States of America and keeping her secure.
***
Now, your second point. Heroes versus Degrassi. I will admit I haven’t watched much of Degrassi, while I have watched every episode of Heroes to date. Assuming Degrassi is a typical teenage drama like the kind you’ll find all over MTV (according to multiple web sources I used for research this seems to be the case) this show is drastically different from Heroes.
First, Degrassi is aimed at teenagers, and don’t fool yourself for a minute that it isn’t. Second, Heroes, while it may be appealing to audiences of all ages, is not narrow-cast in the same fashion. Fictionally speaking, Heroes is a show that is based in fantasy and science fiction, whereas the basic plot of Degrassi is based on every day life in a high school.
You’re right Heroes does have some despicable characters, and at times good characters that do bad things. I’m not sure all of these characters are considered ‘heroes’ I believe that is up to interpretation by the viewer. (Sylar has abilities, is he a hero?)
I think the main difference is that Heroes doesn’t glorify these bad behaviors, in fact it shows how they can negatively effect a person. When Nathan Petrelli has an affair it shows how distant and cold he’s grown to his own family. Parkman is divorced because his wife cheated on him and had a baby with another man, a very real life situation but it doesn’t glorify this behavior in fact in this last episode of Heroes Parkman was in pain over the loss of his wife. Nikki/Jessica is a character desperately seeking help because of whatever it is that is affecting her life, throughout the first season the good part of her personality wants to be true to her husband, be there for her son, and do the right things.
Heroes actually makes a person think, it really doesn’t seem to have much of an agenda. I’ve talked with friends who think it’s a very pro-evolution show, but it actually talks a lot about faith and God and makes the viewer ask a lot of questions about the origins of life and the meaning of life.
What I saw from Degrassi on the other hand was a slam against another way of thinking (abstinence) and it was a slam on conservative Christians. It didn’t make a person think, it tells you what to think. I’ve rarely seen anything so overtly insulting. It was very typical of the MTV type brainwashing entertainment which clearly has a social agenda.
Now what’s your name, and why don’t you call into my radio show more often? Contrary to what you might think, I actually enjoy a good debate.