Wednesday, September 3, 2008

April 2007 - When Right is Wrong

(Just a warning to all - keep your toes back on this one cause I'm very likely to step on a few!)

I recently heard a radio host say that his grandmother had once warned him that there would come a day when "all that was wrong would be right and all that was right would be wrong". Is it just me - in my ultra-conservative mindset - or is that day pretty much here? Have we ultimately reached a point in our society's timeline where the area of gray is so vast that we can no longer see the difference between what is good and what is bad?

Not long ago, I had an instance with my family where I had to put my foot down and insist that my children not be around when the t.v. is spewing every 4-letter word known to man. I had to stand up and insist that - why is it o.k. for today's children when we, as children, were not allowed to view shows more traumatic than Scooby Doo? Now, it's not even just the movies. Every night, on regular programming, our children are subject to a large range of 4-letter words and we don't even hear them anymore. We don't even think to change the channel. We laugh through the viagra commercials vs. turning them off in front of our 6 year old.

My biggest beef at the moment is with ABC. Why is it that every program must have their token gay couple with the gay kiss and the persecution of the stray family member who may object to that lifestyle? Why is it that Rosie O'Donnell is allowed to preach against our President, Christians, and anyone else she deems have "sinned" in this politically correct world - yet my own child is not allowed to stand up in his own school and preach the virtues of his Maker without the risk of being expelled. Why is it o.k. for Madonna or Tom Cruise to preach the virtues of their man-made religions yet no one in Hollywood would dare stand up for Christianity for fear of being black-listed? Even on reality shows, the Christians are often first to go home as they are seen as strange or hate-filled.

In the search for right and wrong, based on what I can find in our media and television - I can now make a list for my poor children that it is now O.K. to: burn flags, be homosexual, have extramarital affairs (hey, the president can do it and not be condemned), have premarital sex, kill unborn babies (but not o.k. to show their mothers ultrasounds showing them sucking their thumbs before killing them), cuss in public, solicite prostitution, trash our country and our God.

However, it is not O.K. to: tell anyone else that what they are doing is morally wrong, drive an SUV, use the wrong kind of lightbulb, kill an animal for clothing, go to a church that tells anyone that anything is wrong (for that matter, going to any church is probably not o.k. for most), or stand up for any value or moral that may have been acceptable 50 years ago.

At one point when growing up, we knew the difference between what was right and what was wrong. And yes, we often chose to step over that line and experiment a bit (or a lot) in being bad once in a while. But at least we had that line. Any one of you that has known me for a long time knows that I have been arguing religion and morals for a long time. But it doesn't work to argue anymore. I am becoming a part of the minority. With all that is around us now, the only thing I can do is to try to show others that while I may not approve of their lifestyle or accept what society is trying to tell me is right - I can still show love, and show compassion - knowing that at some point in the future... and what seems like the very near future - there will come a day when all that is right will be restored. And all I can say to that is "Any day now Jesus, cause I don't like to be told I am wrong."

No comments: