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Worshipping
at the Alter of Rock N' Roll
Sandra Hartle
10/05/2002
When
I was a teen Elvis was King. He ruled in the media and he ruled in the
song business. Oh yes we had all the upcoming stars like Barbara
Streisand, and we still had those who were and are considered the
classical greats like Clark Gable, Cary Grant and the list goes on.
The other night I was watching a commercial for a Rolling Stones CD,
and as I watched I thought about all the ranting young people, the
screaming mob, and the sheer numbers that these people influence with
their music and their lifestyles.
There was a time when presidents were held above others, for their
standards, and when even those who entertained us set an example for
us to follow. Unfortunately, that is still the case for our young
people but one has to wonder just what the example being set today
really is, and if we shouldn't be concerned that these people are
setting standards for the young?
The modern day examples set by stars include shoplifting, drug
addiction, and let us not forget the display of total lack of respect
put on for a Democratic fund raiser by a woman called "Babs".
Are these people real and should we for one minute take any of them
seriously? I think not, after all they spend their entire life
pretending to be someone they are not. Most of them have unstable
family lives, are heavy users of substances and in general lead a
lifestyle that we would not want our children to lead if we spent one
minute thinking about the subject.
My grandson loves his cartoon version movies. He gets right into the
action, wielding his plastic golf club like a sword when Hercules is
fighting the dragons. But again, here we have an entire industry that
is out after the minds of our young people. Are they presenting facts
for them to learn? Life lessons? No they make movies using cartoon
figures that are about mythology, monsters, and witchcraft. Are any of
these values in the long list of things you wanted for your child the
first time you held him/her in your arms?
Harmless? Really, have you looked at the way kids are
expressing themselves these days. If they are not completely covered
with body tattoos (something you can buy for a 1 year old, transfers
that stick to their skin), piercings (even babies are pierced by their
parents now), weird hairdos, black clothing (Goth) and the list goes
on.
Respect for those in office seems to be a thing of the past, I believe
it went to the same place that respect for parents, teachers and in
general any authority figure went years ago. In fact this one factor
seems to be lacking even in young children these days. I can't
remember my son's mouthing at me when they were three the way my
grandson mouths at both me and his father. We suffer from the outside
influence of his mother and older brother, but the youngster has a
temper and he uses it well. I am all for isolation, if it works and I
even give a few points to time outs, if they work. But when a child of
three thinks he is in control, and will yell at those in authority
around him, he is learning this somewhere and I have to wonder if it
isn't from these harmless little cartoons we let them watch.
So what is to be done in a society where nothing matters anymore,
where nothing is off limits, and for sure there is no right and no
wrong? I want you to understand that I watched all this come about.
Had someone told me when I was 12 that by the time I was my age, kids
would no longer respect or be required to respect their parents,
teachers or employers I would have told you that it could not happen.
But it did. And if it continues in this manner I cannot see much hope
for my 3 year old grandson, or for that matter my 16 year old
granddaughter either.
This is not what I dreamed about when I was dreaming about first being
a mother, and then a grandmother. I dreamed of strong family ties,
values and a good strong foundation for my family, and family
traditions. I didn't count on the power of outside influences when I
was having that dream. Everything seemed so safe for me, in my family
where my parents wanted to know everything I did, would not let me do
things or view materials that were not good for me. Everything was so
much safer in a much quieter time. God help us if we don't find a way
to make the family strong again. I sit here wondering now, if maybe
our parents weren't right when they considered our worshipping at the
altar of rock 'n roll the beginning of our downfall.
Sandra
Hartle
Email: sandrahartle@juntosociety.com
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sjh2warr
10/05/2002
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