Have They No Decency? (Ingraham)

www.LauraIngraham.com E-blast ^ | February 13, 2004 | Laura Ingraham

[Choose Ye This Day]

February 13, 2004

Have They No Decency?

The entertainment elites are angry. The little people (a.k.a. the rest of America) are interfering again. Those little people want to be heard. They want an end to gratuitous sex and violence on television. They want us to clean up our act. How dare they.

"It's a hysterical overreaction," said an irritated Steven Bochco, creator of NYPD Blue, after ABC had discussed removing a sexually explicit scene from the drama in markets where it aired before the 10 pm time-slot. The network proposed the change in light of the public outcry over the Super Bowl half-time show.

Half-time performer P. Diddy sniffed that the complaints were ridiculous.

Pat O’Brien anchor of the groundbreaking show Access Hollywood was “shocked at the level of attention [the Super Bowl half-time] is getting” and expressed dismay that “the bar has been raised so high.”

Yes, he said “so high.”

The elites simply do not get it.

Years ago, revolutionaries used to ask "Which side are you on?" The controversy over the Super Bowl is one of those events that illustrates that there really are two sides to the culture war, and that it really makes a difference which side you are on.

Viacom chief Mel Karmazin was among the big-wig media types who were hauled before Congress this week to explain themselves. If there were subliminal subtitles on C-Span, one could imagine Karmazin thinking to himself: “These bozos think they can intimidate me?! Hah! I’ll humor them for the day then in a few months it will be business as usual.”

“It is not clear what is meant by ‘indecency,’” Karmazin told the House subcommittee, whose members had been slammed by calls and emails from infuriated constituents. Not clear? (Earth to Mel: Get out of Los Angeles and New York and spend some time in ‘fly-over’ America (no, Aspen doesn’t count). Sit down and talk to parents trying to raise children in a sex saturated culture.)

The definition of ‘indecency’ is clear to most parents—heck, most teenagers get it. Rule 1: No crotch grabbing. Rule 2: No tearing at each others’ clothes. Rule 3: No wearing of S & M clothes that result in ‘wardrobe failures.’ Rule 4: No lyrics that promise getting naked ‘at the end of this song.’ Got it?

Behind all the talking points that their lobbyists have prepared for them, behind all the smoke and mirrors about "the First Amendment" and "free speech" is simply a vast indifference to the effect of what popular culture does to our society. Insulated by their money, their private schools, and their nannies from the realities of raising children in this society, they look on with indifference at the struggles of those who don't have their resources.

But poor and middle class parents, who are suffering under a flood of filth, immediately saw the Super Bowl show as just another example of how corporate America is undermining their effort to pass along their values to their kids.

It's easy to say that the government has no responsibility, because each parent should be responsible for passing along their values. But by that logic, we should have no welfare programs, because each parent should be responsible for feeding and clothing their own children. Fortunately, we have a welfare system because we realize that not everyone has the resources to make it in our highly competitive society. For the same reason, the government should be engaged in cultural welfare to help those parents and kids who don't have access to the resources and schools that the rich enjoy.

Make no mistake. This is a big deal. If poor and middle class Americans can't even pass along their values, then this country isn't working for them. Most Americans will never be rich. Most will never be famous. The only legacy most will ever leave is the values and ideals that they pass along to their children. It is obscene for the elites to trample on the efforts of the “regular people” for no reason other than sheer greed. And it is doubly obscene if the people's representatives hide behind legal niceties to avoid standing up for their constituents.

In the modern world, poor and middle class Americans need to be able to let their kids watch over-the-air programming without fear. These airwaves belong to the people, not to any company. We need to make sure that Congress -- and Big Media -- understand this fact before it’s too late.

[Choose Ye This Day]

Time to pull the plug.

[Choose Ye This Day]

Laura Ingraham PING!

[Paul Atreides]

And, yet, what is the biggest scandal in Follywood? The fact that Mel Gibson is making a reverent film about Jesus Christ.

[Choose Ye This Day]

Good point.

A film about Christ that's faithful to the Gospels? The horror!

[Choose Ye This Day]

BTW--

If you'd like to be on the Laura Ingraham PING list (it's pretty low-volume), please let me know.

[Reactionary]

I don't have a television. I don't want one.

Most of what's on is stupid, anyway. The rest is sex-drenched garbage.

[Pharmboy]

Thanks for the ping. Brilliant column.

[Burkeman1]

I didn't see it myself. I was out with the boy's shooting cold hoop, drinking beer, and chomping on a Cigar, having a smoke, or a chaw. The mother of the house we were at was the only one to see it and I didn't really believe her until the next morning.

[SAMWolf]

Laura Bump

[jwalburg]

I think I'd like this ping list. thanks

[marron]

Time to pull the plug.

Its not hard to do. I occasionally am startled to realize that there are waves of sitcoms and sitcom actors who I don't know at all. Years worth. I don't know their names, I don't recognize their faces if they sit down beside me. I don't know what people are talking about if their names are brought up, and not knowing, I don't care to know.

My TV goes from news show to news show if they are talking about something that interests me, and basically goes to the music channel when they start talking about some trial or other that I don't care about. And there it sits playing music while I do other things. My serious news I get from the net, so I usually know more about what is happening than the news guys do, at least of the things I care about.

Its hard to read at my house, so I take my book down to the coffee place and read for an hour in the evenings sometimes. I listen to the stereo. The grandkids watch DVDs that have been selected for them, non-stop, they mostly aren't allowed to watch raw TV either. Or they play guitar. Or go outside and chase each other up and down the street.

Its not that hard to disconnect from the CultureMachine if you want to. Or make it work for you.

[ozzysmom]

please add me to this ping list...thank you, Brenda

[Think free or die]

" Its not that hard to disconnect from the CultureMachine if you want to"

We are comparatively disconnected as well. Our kids are permitted very few of the current TV offerings. They have a range of videotapes and DVD's, as well as computer games to play with. We tape stuff off the Discovery, History or TLC channels for them quite a bit. Sometimes I feel bad for them when they aren't familiar with the stuff their friends discuss at school. They're pretty squeaky clean kids in this crazy world. I worry sometimes about how they'll cope with middle school when the crass popular culture becomes harder for us to filter out. We'll take it one day at a time. . .

[longtermmemmory]

This is why hollywood is just plain stupid.

Cheeleaders cavorting and gyrating with big "17"'s plaster on the front of their uniforms as they tear off clothing, and then shock nudity costume failure. This is not what is reasonable expected during a family program. If she flashed on another show at a later time when the nation was not if "g" rated mode perhaps, but that was not the case.

Protests that they (suits) did not know or expected are boldfaced lies. They picked MTV to give it edge. This is not 80's mtv this is SEXmTV. Mtv needs to go off the rotation. Parents would not pay extra for Mtv.


Has anyone noticed that Will and Grace is shown first run after 9 but in syndication it is in the early evening hours. It is a mature show and should not be in the early evening.

Perhaps the women 24 to 40 will soon be joining the men in not watching.

[marron]

Its a funny thing, I didn't consciously or purposely "disconnect", but with the explosion of cable, there is suddenly so much else on TV to watch that is not Hollywood driven, as you say, Discovery, History, TLC channels. I was always a news junkie and having 24 hour news channels, not one but several, and then add the music channels, and without intending to I haven't watched a sitcom in years.

But the thing that really killed it for me was the internet. There is little on the tube that is more interesting than what is out there on the net.

Since a lot of us here are news and internet junkies, I suspect the same thing is happening in a tidal wave going right across the country. The stuff on the tube gets raunchier, I wonder, maybe because they have people tuning out left and right and they are trying to compete the only way they know... ?

But I wonder if, as Hollywood goes further over the deep end maybe they are also losing the chokehold on the culture that they once had. We can't be the only ones tuning out...

[Choose Ye This Day]

We don't have TV connection at all--broadcast or cable, so we just choose not to participate in the Gutter Culture. To me, paying $50/month for cable or Dish is like paying $50/month to have a pipeline of raw sewage coming into your home.

Yes, there are SOME good things on TV--like you mention, Discovery, History, etc. But all the other channels of guano, not to mention the rampant, crass commercialism...all the mind-numbing advertisements for products nobody needs. Forget it. I'm not buying what the TV is selling.

Like you, I wonder what my kids will do when they're older, but I'm not too worried. They'll still be well rounded. And, thank heaven, they'll know how to read.

[Choose Ye This Day]

You're now on the Laura PING list. Thanks.

[AmericanVictory]

Take note. The audience for mainstream network television has shrunk steadily for many years because those who program thought that they had a captive audience down whose throats they could shove their perversions and immorality. Now, for the past several years we have seen more and more people turn away from mainstream sports such as football and basketball and turn to extreme sports, other sports, motor sports and even participating themselves in sports and workouts. The Superbowl halftime show was so unappealing that we turned it off well before the incident that has drawn the attention occurred. The show was simply an attempt by the media elite to shove what they think is cool down our throats.

[Choose Ye This Day]

Well said. Hopefully, more and more Americans will pull the plug, and take their minds and their time elsewhere. Like, for example, to their families, to their religion, to their communities, to books, to their children's schools, etc.

[Choose Ye This Day]

Tammy Bruce had a great column about this, similar to Laura's:

Exposing Viacom's Indecency

Tammy Bruce

Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2004 [Newsmax.com]

I will admit that I don't normally watch football, but I sure did on Sunday. As fate would have it, I arrived at a Super Bowl party at halftime. As they say, timing is everything.

Those of you who read my book "The Death of Right and Wrong" were not entirely surprised by what you saw Sunday night masquerading as the halftime show – a variety of so-called singers and dancers providing nothing less than a peep show for your family.

All day long I've been fascinated with the focus being on the baring of Janet Jackson's breast during the family hour on the West Coast (considering Ms. Jackson's family problem, perhaps we shouldn't be so surprised that she didn't consider the combination of sex and children problematic). In fact, the entire production was insulting and offensive.

Come on, now, I immediately knew America was in for an assault when rap singer Nelly got on stage and was unable to keep his hand off his crotch. It was astounding – here was a man on broadcast television, with millions of children watching raptly, holding onto his penis as though it were a weapon throughout his performance.

And CBS stayed with it!

Then, of course, we get to the supposed "wardrobe malfunction," as singer (and I use that adjective with reservations) Justin Timberlake described it. Let's be honest – either these people are complete idiots or they think we are. During a song with the main refrain of "I'll have you naked by the end of this song" Timberlake managed it quite aptly, and exposed Jackson's breast – a breast, mind you, that looked like it had been adorned for a very special coming-out party.

Personally, and as a cultural critic, I am concerned about those who do not think this a big deal. Let me assure you, it is. Why? Because it's reflective of Incrementalism – a slow, gradual effort at cultural change, a change that is decidedly downward.

The goal of Incrementalism is to present the depraved or offensive slowly, progressively and then more regularly over a period of time so it becomes apparently normal. That's what's happening here. Keep in mind, it's only the horrible that needs to sneak up on us. Americans always let the wonderful in the front door.

If you're wondering how Incrementalism works, let's, however painful it might be, look at Howard Dean. Dean, the one-time top Democratic presidential challenger, said the uproar over the exposure of Jackson's breast is "silly."

And then in a comment that really sums up why this man is better suited to be managing a shift at Taco Bell instead of running this great country (Yeeeaaarhhgh!) said: "I find that to be a bit of a flap about nothing. I'm probably affected in some ways by the fact that I'm a doctor, so it's not exactly an unusual phenomenon for me."

Wow! So, doctors see strangers having their clothes ripped off in sexual situations in front of the children of the nation on a regular basis!? Of course, he's reduced this to the sight of a breast. Just as finding Saddam was the equivalent of catching some weird homeless guy. Depth seems to escape Dr. Dean.

But he didn't stop there. Dean, who does not have cable television at his home in Vermont, exemplified the moral relativism that has a stranglehold on the American left: "I don't find it terribly shocking relative to some of the things you can find on standard cable television. ..."

Slowly but surely, because awful things are out there, we are expected to lower our bar of standards, quality and decency. The this-is-OK-because-of-that-thing-over-there syndrome. This is the heart of Howard Dean's reasoning.

By the way, AOL/Time Warner was the sponsor for the halftime show. Why is that worth noting? And why does Howard Dean feel the need to be the new apologist for what happened during the halftime show? Guess who is Howard Dean's (who will not – will not – be a shill for Special Interests) second largest campaign contributor? You have one more second ... that's right! Time Warner. [http://www.opensecrets.org/presidential/contrib.asp?id=N00025663&cycle=All]

And don't be surprised if you suddenly hear John Kerry, the now-leading Democratic candidate, chime in with a roar of indignation about our displeasure with the pathetic indecent display sponsored by AOL. Guess who is John Kerry's second all-time contributor? Time Warner, just under Kerry #1 contributor (a law firm) and just above the Kerry #3 contributor (a law firm). [http://www.opensecrets.org/presidential/contrib.asp?id=N00000245&cycle=All]

Lawyers and media companies. Yep, the Democrats are gonna sock it right to those Special Interests – like the American people, decency, and the right of our children not to be sexualized by the time they are 5 years old.

Now, let me make something clear here – I have not been possessed by the ghost of a nun who is shocked at the sight of flesh. But there is a time and place for everything. I happen to think, as I hope most of you do, that a woman's body is a beautiful thing. As adults, if we want to see a woman's breast bared on television, we have that option – late at night, when we've chosen the program, we're aware of what we're getting, and the children are tucked away.

And accepting that option is not meant as a complete abdication of what (and when) we feel certain material is appropriate. We can draw lines for the public airwaves, and we do.

I personally like films and television that challenge our notions of who we are, including our sexuality. But that's my interest as an adult, and it very well may be an interest very different from yours. The choices we make about sexuality and its imagery are and should be private choices. Viacom and its two mutant children – MTV and CBS – took that choice from us, and decided their view of sexuality would not only be put upon us, but on our children as well, contemptibly wrapped up as 'family entertainment.'

Despite what the nihilistic heads at Viacom may think, Americans are not asleep at the cultural wheel. First, for a list of what Viacom owns, go to Who Owns What at http://www.cjr.org/tools/owners and scroll down to Viacom. Complain to the FCC at www.fcc.gov severe consequences for their actions. The Parents Television Council at www.parentstv.org is also leading the way on many issues, including the halftime debacle.

It's worth remembering that radio network Infinity was fined for a St. Patrick's "Sex in the Cathedral" radio stunt. Viacom, which also owns Infinity (surprise!), was told by the FCC that future violations by the company could prompt a license revocation proceeding.

Now, isn't that a novel idea! Broadcast licenses are not granted for eternity. Licenses can be revoked or not renewed. Would it be unusual? Yes, but it's time for the unusual, including the need to take back our culture. Tearing down certain institutions that continually betray us, and reminding the cultural gatekeepers about who is really in charge, is our responsibility. That time is now.


Tammy Bruce is a former president of the Los Angeles chapter of NOW and a contributing editor to FrontPageMagazine.com. She is the author of "The New Thought Police" and "The Death of Right and Wrong."