BY Jack Criss
Executive Editor
This column started in my mind as a full blown analysis. Rap and gangsta
icon, Snoop Doggy Dogg, got his face on the front page of that bastion of
capitalism, The Wall Street Journal. Curious, I read the accompanying article
and was literally disgusted.
The WSJ treated its subject matter, a dope smoking, moronic pornographer,
as a respectable and admirable businessman. With every line of the piece,
I found something to dissect: a point to be made, an assertion to be challenged.
As one example, I was amazed at the undiluted and nonjudgmental praising of
the rap star’s new X-rated video line distributed by Mr. Free Speech
himself, Larry Flynt of Hustler magazine.
However, I stopped the analysis. I literally gave up. What’s the use,
I thought. I’ve been decrying the state of our culture and media for
16 years now—in public forums, no less—and nothing has changed.
Not that I really expected that it would, but you have to hope. Now I don’t
even know if I have much more of that left.
It’s bad enough when teeny magazines, or even a respectable newszine
like Time, does a piece on Snoop Doggy Dogg or Ozzy Osbourne or Smashing Vomit,
or who or whatever; but for the sophisticated and highly influential Wall
Street Journal to do so—and do it with no caveats or misgivings—is
just another nail in our society’s coffin as far as I’m concerned.
I’m a first amendment absolutist. Porno and bad music and crass performances
should certainly be legal. What is troublesome now—-actually horrifying
when you think about it—-is how such lowbrow filth has become the norm.
In everything from cereal commercials on television to supposedly “family”
entertainment like Disney films, profanity, disrespect, mindless sex, violence
and anti-intellectualism is the standard. Such is acceptable now, whereas
in the past it was kept—-by moral consensus, not censorship—in
the shadows where it belonged. That consensus has gone the way of “Leave
It To Beaver”, I’m sad to say.
To those who cry this filth cannot be escaped, I say that’s true—to
a certain extent. As parents now, we are on the offensive, fighting our own
culture. We have to be vigilant in doing so, and rest assured, it is indeed
a battle. While you cannot lock your child in a closet, you can prepare them
for what they will face and show them that class, respect, taste, decency
and standards of excellence still do exist today. Even if they’re not
“cool”.
To those who say I’m a prude, I can respond that you obviously don’t
know me very well. Being a Victorian is one thing, having taste is another.
Certain things are meant for adults, not children. Yet the modern mores make
no distinction between the two.
Our children are losing their innocence. They are exposed daily to lesbian
lovefests on MTV, car commercials that blare neurotic cacophonies, sitcoms
that rely on toilet humor to desperately muster a laugh—-the list goes
on and on. That’s why we as parents have to fight back.
I’m a firm believer in economic boycotts, as one method of response.
The only thing Hollywood understands is a hit in the pocketbook. Sadly, though,
millions and millions of people are still spending money on the crap these
people are putting out, so some parents aren’t doing their job or worse:
many people really like this garbage being passed off as culture and entertainment.
That’s what really is disturbing: there are millions of people in this
country, some who are neighbors and some who obviously go to your church,
who love Hannibal Lechter, Kid Rock, “Survivor”, Howard Stern
and, yes, Snoop Doggy Dogg. The numbers prove it. If we’ve sunk that
low, my friends, we can’t defend our country’s values against
some two-bit pimp rapper let alone Middle Eastern terrorists.
So it all boils down to this: the garbage is everywhere, even the front page
of The Wall Street Journal. Nothing shocks us anymore in spite of Hollywood
doing its best to try. Our children are growing up exposed—if not at
your house then at someone else’s—to depravity and mindlessness
as the norm and the acceptable. What are you going to do about it?
If you have any comments about this column, or anything else on your mind,
please feel free to email me at jack@coopwood.net.
I look forward to hearing from you soon. DBJ