Parents Must Wake Up And Change This Sick Culture

Growing up poor in Spanish Harlem made me see things that a child should never be exposed to but at least society then had standards and morals. I was able to escape from my hostile environment and read newspapers, watch television and see movies without having perversion rear its ugly head. Today children do not have that option and their lost innocence may be in part because parents have abdicated their responsibility in monitoring how a sick culture can harm their children.

The cable station MTV has been pushing the envelope for decades and has completely abolished its music oriented programming for provocative shows that appeal to teenagers' baser instincts. Finally it's gone over the top with its latest offering - "Skins." This U.S. version of the British series has underage actors indulging in every vice imaginable and it's provoked national interest. The Parents Television Council is calling for a federal investigation to see if child pornography laws are being violated.

But one of the performers, 19-year-old Sofia Black-D'elia, who plays a lesbian teen in "Skins", defends the program with this statement: "It's what teens are doing. It's the way teenagers believe, I think, especially you know in certain situations when you come from home lives where your parents don't really support you or really listen to you. That's what most of these kids are going through. And so, um, the drugs and the sex, they're vices, and that's what teenagers have."

Perhaps in Beverly Hills 90210 or Manhattan but does this show represent the majority of teens and if not how did it get on the air? If the Feds investigate the producers, shouldn't they also inquire if the parents of these minors were aware of how graphic the show would be? When it comes to the greed factor, stage parents seem to waive any sense of morality and dismiss the idea of contributing to the corruption of their minor children. No doubt the parents of the adolescents who were allowed to sleep over in Michael Jackson's bed used the same rationalization as those who signed off on "Skins."

The tyranny of the minority is overwhelming on television. Although homosexuals comprise only about 10% of the population nearly every sitcom or drama has to have at least one homosexual character in the cast. Even a recent "Simpsons" episode had Moe turn his business into a gay bar.

Entertainment Weekly magazine's current cover story is "Gay Teens on TV" and the article asserts that the characters are bold and are changing hearts and minds and Hollywood. Hollywood likes to pretend it's being edgy in portraying sympathetic characters on these shows and are making up for years of on-air silence. What they are actually doing is proselytizing an alternative lifestyle that mirrors their own. By sanitizing the issue they are practicing deceit that borders on malice.

According to Dr. Paul Cameron's "Lifespan of Homosexuals" (2006) the statistics are highly negative but are never addressed in the scripts. Gay men are 116 times more likely to be murdered as straight men; 24 times more likely to commit suicide; 18 times more likely to die in car accidents; 22 times more likely to die of heart-attacks as Whites overall, and 11 times more likely as Blacks. In addition lesbians are 487 times more likely to die of murder, suicide or accident as straight women.

One may disagree with the findings of Dr. Cameron and insist that his data is flawed but it certainly warrants debate and full disclosure. Far too many young adolescents are being drawn to a lifestyle glamorized by Hollywood because it's being presented as "cool." They become fodder for predators who are emboldened by society's acceptance of a formerly taboo existence. Amazon.com even sold "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct" by Philip R. Greaves until public outrage forced its removal.

We need more public outrage about the depravity insinuating into our environment. It's not enough for concerned parents to just turn the channel. It's time for a more vigilant plan of action. Parents need to block MTV and other channels that present a corrupting influence on our young. We need to write letters to newspapers, contact the sponsors of these programs and most of all be aware of what our children and grandchildren are viewing.

I'm all for new technology but I recognize that many parents are unwilling to learn how to navigate it and thus leave their children vulnerable to all kinds of unhealthy stimuli. Are they aware that X-Boxes can access the Internet and games allow chats with strangers? If adolescents have computers in their bedrooms, than parents need to monitor which sites they are accessing. I can hear the uproar from parents who mistakenly believe this to be a violation of their child's privacy. First of all, parents need to recognize that they are the adults in charge. They pay for the Internet connection and should have all passwords until their children leave home.

My children are all adults now but I had no problem explaining the hazards of surfing when they were young. They also knew that I knew how to check the history of all the websites they were visiting. More importantly they understood that I had their best interests at heart.

I sent all my kids to parochial school through high school and while it bankrupted us it was the best investment we ever made. The rules implemented there like no cell phones in the classrooms are ignored in public schools which then have to deal with cyber bullying and distracted pupils. There are times when I believe that permissive and ignorant parents are the ones responsible for most of the problems involving teenagers.

Cleon Skousen was a former FBI agent who wrote the best seller - "The Naked Communist" - which listed the 45 goals of the Communist manifesto. Excerpts from this book were read into the Congressional Record in 1963. The most relative of these are:

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

I have ten young grandchildren who'll have to survive in this creeping sewage culture. I'll risk being called a paranoid, a nut job, a Glenn Beck wannabee and whatever the leftwing critics have in their arsenal if it alerts parents to act.

That's the real change this country needs.

Alicia Colon resides in New York City and can be reached at aliciav.colon@gmail.com and at www.aliciacolon.com