As I've been listening to the radio, watching TV and surfing the internet lately, the same nagging question keeps popping into my head: What has happened to our values in this country?
It use to be that our society celebrated faith, family, and values like honor, integrity, honesty, duty, loyalty. Now, if you look at our pop culture, we celebrate stupidity, mediocrity, lying, cheating, and pretty much all of the "seven deadly sins." This new standard is evident in all of our culture, but probably most glaring in TV. Gone are the days of "Leave it to Beaver," "My Three Sons" or even newer shows like "St. Elsewhere" or "Boy Meets World." Now we have "Jersey Shore" which appears to be a show celebrating the utter stupidity of a group of 20-something slackers who only drink, party and have sex. Or "Honey Boo-Boo" (or whatever that show is called) which appears to be about an absolutely spoiled rotten white-trash child whose parents are trying to cash in on her over the top obnoxious behavior. I could go on with shows such as "Dance Moms" or "Pretty Little Liars," but I think I've made my point.
I am by no means suggesting we go back to shows that now seem incredibly corny and show small towns, pure innocence in our children or "old fashioned" families. But is it so difficult to create shows that are modern and yet still celebrate faith, family and virtues? There are a few out there that still try to fit the bill. "Modern Family" on ABC makes a valiant attempt at showing stable family life while mixing in the diversity of our modern culture. Other sitcoms will occasionally throw in a values based message, but they are few and far between.
It is up to the average viewer to send a message to advertisers and networks. Stop watching the shows that celebrate our degradation and start watching those that lift up all that is great in our country and our world. Or are we too far gone down into the moral abyss to find those things appealing any longer?
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