Parental Discretion Is Advised

I recently read an article written by a friend upset that elementary aged children knew more about the primetime drama, #Empire than she did. It's frank, direct, passionate and worth the read.

"...parental discretion is advised." Remember hearing that audible message as a child? If you're over 40 you probably do, if under 40 you may not. That audible message was an alert for parents. (I think my Mother could hear it from the other side of the house because I would immediately have to change the channel or turn the TV off.)  Unfortunately, I believe it was in the 90s that the FCC made TV Parental Guidelines voluntary and no longer mandatory. The audible voice has now been replaced with an icon that is shown 15 seconds before the show starts, but it's one of those things that we don't really "see" anymore OR parents don't even know what it means.

I am not a parent, but I believe parents are savvy enough with social media to not only be aware, but engage the appropriate safety measures to ensure their children do not have access to what they should not watch without parental consent or guidance. If you have cable or satellite television, you can engage the parental safety lock. Yes, it may take time to research how to do it for your system, but aren't your children worth it? Don't allow your children to be taught by "reality" TV,  the "Housewives of blah, blah, blah" franchise or primetime dramas regarding what is socially acceptable or not. As a parent, it is up to you to be the bigger, better influence regarding morals and social graces.

I was talking to a friend a few days ago and I asked her a couple of questions. "When did morality become a relative term?" The words moral and morality have taken on a life of its own. In the 15th century when the word was first used, moral in Latin (moralis) meant "proper behavior of a person in society," literally "pertaining to manners. Today morals have been mostly reduced to what an individual deems as right or wrong in their own mind and from their own experience. All too often I run into individuals with attitudes that say, "It's right as long as you don't get caught."

CLEARLY we are now living in a world that Paul describes in 1 Timothy 4:1-2. "Now the Spirit manifestly saith, that in the last times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to spirits of error, and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, and having their conscience seared,..." Most of what is currently on television is definitely fulfilled by this scripture. The Eastern Standard Version of the Bible says, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,..." I find it hard to believe any parent or caregiver would want a child to intentionally be misled, lied to or have no conscience regarding morality. Don't allow those errors and lapse in proper judgement to become reality to your child/children.