On The Moral Sense:
“There is a moral sense and there is an immoral sense. History shows that the moral sense enables us to see morality and how to avoid it, and that the immoral sense enables us to perceive immorality and how to enjoy it.”

“Whenever I look at the other animals and realize that whatever they do is blameless and they can’t do wrong, I envy them the dignity of their estate, its purity and its loftiness, and recognise that the Moral Sense is a thoroughly disastrous thing.”

On Reform:
“That desire which is in us all to better other people’s condition by having them think as we think.”

“You can straighten a worm, but the crook is in him and only waiting.”

On Ideals:
“It is at our mother’s knee that we acquire our noblest and truest and highest ideals, but there is seldom any money in them.”

On Children:
“The proverb says that Providence protects children and idiots. This is really true. I know because I have tested it.”

On Affection:
“Praise is well, compliment is well, but affection–that is the last and final and most precious reward that any man can win, whether by character or achievement.”

I’m not sure if my selections cleared anything up particularly, but I would say this: I beleive that as long as there are affectionate parents, their children will turn out fine, no matter what the larger society imposes along the way. Very good article, Brad – thought provoking.

It focused on the issue that is really on my mind with this…the ubiquity of this stuff. I can filter out a lot of stuff, and I use all the tools at my disposal to do that. It’s when you DON’T expect it that is irritating.

I know one voice can’t change society. But is it too much to ask for people to ratchet down a little bit when it comes to forums that are fully open and accessible to all?

Anyway, Xanthippe, those are all good resources. I also am a BIG fan of ClearPlay (DVD filtering), Common Sense Media, and ScreenIt (family-friendly reviews of media).

Use technology to your advantage.

Use Firefox for a browser and block popups on your computer. Not only will you have fewer viruses, but no more popups except those you allow. Low tech solution: don’t use a computer.

Install a TiVo. Use the parental controls. Don’t let the kids watch live TV. Fast forward through commercials. Low tech solution: don’t use a TV.

Parents aren’t without tools to block inappropriate materials. In fact, parents now have more power to censor than they used to.

It’s much more effective to fix the problem you have yourself than to try to change other people’s behavior. The world won’t be childproofed.

I live way,way far away from the red light district and send my kids to expensive Christian schools, but still they are exposed on pretty much a daily basis to filth. It’s a tragedy that so many people find it amusing that children today are steeped in a cultural cess pool.

(“RE”, you have a good point about connecting with consequences and I wish I had seen that before Jack asked “what can we do?”)

–Brad

The best one can hope to do for immediate effect is expose their kids to the consequences of these lifestyles. Let them see the ruined lives. Take them on ‘field trip’ to rehab clinic, a prison, halfway house, AIDS clinic, food-shelter, or a visit with any ex-’whatever’ so they can see with their own eyes where the porn, hip-hop, and ‘rebel’ culture leads. Merely blocking or forbidding it isn’t good enough. It has to be linked with consequences.

Kids are at risk now. Waiting for the culture to change will not help the current generation.

Those who say otherwise seem to all be parents of young children trying desperately to keep them from ever growing up. I have news for you: Trying to keep your children from ever seeing porn is like King Canute trying to turn back the tides. Stop worrying about how to censor adult media outlets and spend time giving your children a healthy attitude toward sex so when they do encounter pornographic java enabled applet they will simply wrinkle their noses and say “eeew, gross”.