The Whole Censorship Thing

Well, The Graduate and I wound up focusing our discussion more on the Texas Rangers than anything else yesterday, and the censorship discussion didn't come up again. However, I received a thoughtful response from Jason that helped me find my way a little better.

I suppose, in the end, I really don't condone censorship. I found myself thinking that, if someone demanded that Blogger yank my privileges for something I said, I would be pretty upset. Everyone is entitled to their point of view and, whether I agree with it or not, if they are able to gain a platform to publicly shout it out, then I guess more power to them.

However......

I find myself more and more saddened by the fact that the only way to get such a broad platform is to say and do things that shock and, quite often, come at the expense of others. I still think (and NOBODY will move me off this) that there is an element of society that listen to the commentary of extremists and take it literally. This leads them to think that mistreating others for their benefit is acceptable behaviour. This is the type of "bullying" parents don't want their children to do on the playground, yet we shrug our shoulders when it is displayed in the public forum. Where do parents think kids pick it up? We have, in the last 20 years, allowed black and white to become gray. The lines are so blurred now it is almost impossible for parents to convey a consistent message throughout their child's upbringing. Heck, the PARENTS often don't consistently draw the lines.

I suppose my earlier post was more my way of mourning society's ever-increasing lack of moral boundaries and willingness to more frequently seek out the easiest targets just to get someone to listen to us or to laugh. It's so much easier just to pick on someone weaker in order to get attention than it is to work at building relationships, helping others and showing love and respect for our fellow man (funny, that last bit seems to be a model for Jesus' ministry).

I know for sure that I'll be paying a lot of attention to my kids' behaviour, as well as my own. I hope anyone who reads this, if they aren't already doing the same, will join in.

God bless

Brian