I applaud the recent announcement of the Broadcasting Commission to ban from the airwaves lewd and sexually explicit lyrics that celebrate a culture of sexual looseness and irresponsibility. When I was growing up as a child there were certain songs that were banned from the radio because they were deemed not worthy for airplay. The Commission was asleep for a very long time and it would seem that their eyes and ears are still closed to other popular expressions that are just as shameful as daggering.
In this increasingly liberal and laizze a faire atmosphere this ban should send a strong signal to parents and families in general to be more vigilant about what their youngsters imbibe. We must be conscious of the fact that those who produce and promote these songs do not have the interest of our families at heart. The bottom line for them is money, profit. If it ‘sell off’ then - give the people more of what they want. Even if more means damaging the psyche of our youngsters, distorting their views of sex, give the people what they want. The bottom line is greed and the quest for fame and fortune.
The families and schools need to do more. We must remember that even though we may ban much of the filth from our public broastcast airwaves our youngsters have greater access to sexual lewdness than we could ever imagine. It is frightening what we can listen to watch and read with one click of the mouse. With the amazing technology that is available today everything is coming downstream – not only x-rated lyrics but video clips from you tube, movies – its all there and its all free. One may then wonder what is the value behind what the broadcasting commission has done. I suggest that the action is valuable in that:
1. It sends a strong signal to the nation that the leaders have a concern about morality in this country and are willing to make decisions that are politically incorrect in some quarters to protect the values of this country.
2. The action of the commission also sends a signal to us that all of us need to play our part in putting a stop to the downward moral slide of this nation. We cannot allow ourselves to be overwhelmed we must do something. When each family or institution plays its part the collective impact can be significant.
If the nation does not intensify its action against moral irresponsibility in this nation then we are going to reap what we sow. Am I been ludicrous when I say that there are some things we can learn from countries like China and Cuba. There are very deliberate in blocking things from the airwaves that they deem detrimental to their national values and to the health of their people. Will we in this country ever find the courage and the will to put our people first and take decisions like these even though they may be unpopular. Who monitors the cable network in this country? Maybe the church needs to add its voice, where is the JCC, the JEA and other such organizations? Let us come forward because our nation is in moral crisis.
