By Peter Hallett
Published February 27, 2001
"It becomes clearer and clearer to me that if families just let the culture happen to them, they end up fat, addicted, broke, with a house full of junk and no time." Mary Pipher made this observation about the modern family’s encounter with popular culture.
We could add a few other probabilities: "If we let culture just happen to us we’ll end up with broken relationships, no basis for moral judgements, superstitious, intellectually broke and living life through "real life" television.
If these comments are true, and I’m sure they are - our contemporary western culture has much to answer for.
Take food for example. The truth is that food, generally speaking, is far more processed, sweetened and packaged than ever before and the food most aggressively promoted is the worst for you. If you "swallow" the cultural line on food, watch for impending signs of obesity and heart disease.
Or what about consumerism. If you had to place all your worldly possessions on the front lawn, would you notice a preponderance of items that looked great on television, in the catalogue or on the internet, but don’t seem to serve any useful purpose.
What about debt? Been waving that credit card around (on aforementioned useless junk). Hoping for a spot on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? just to clear the monthly repayments? Whose choice is debt?
And let’s not start on so called shorter working hours and timesaving computers which allow you to do the work of 10 people (and it feels like it!).
The television, dished up into our homes unfiltered nightly, is probably the most obvious place we need to make serious choices about our "culture" - but how easily do we allow programs stay on (with the kids watching) that once would have made us feel uncomfortable. Are you really going to get hooked by Temptation Island and pass it off as harmless fun or good television…
Perhaps there was as time when we could be reasonably sure that those people responsible for sourcing our cultural products did have high moral standards, regard for common decency and genuine concern for your well-being.
But we definitely can’t assume that today. We must make choices, hard choices, against the tide choices, for ourselves, our children and our communities.
Too often I finish explaining to my 10 year-old why he will not be watching an M-rated movie, only to be told by him that most of the children in his class have already seen it. Come on parents, really. Let’s give each other and our kids a break and observe some of these guidelines. And if the kids moan about not being able to have take away, watch that movie, go to that friends place or own the latest useless item, good! That presents you with the perfect opportunity to sit down with them and educate them about the challenges of life and how to make sensible, long-term life-giving choices!
So don’t let your young teenagers go and see Hannibal even though the sensors have left the door open. They don’t need that.
And don’t allow real life television to dominate your viewing every night (the neighbours are just as interesting, get to know them!) - teach your kids to live out their own dreams and visions.
And... don’t be too extreme - a little common sense moderation is all that is really required.
Remember, the choice is yours. Don’t wait until it is too late to make it.
Wisdom’s Way: God offers to every mind its choice between truth and repose. Take which you please; you can never have both. (Ralph Waldo Emerson).