Our Polluted Moral Environment

I am an environmentalist. I am not talking about global warming, oil spills, disappearing Amazon forests, melting glaciers, ozone holes, endangered species, spoiled wetlands, or adulterated food and water. Nope. We have other threats greater than those to deal with.

By any standard, the biggest pollutant and threat to human life is tobacco that is inhaled into sensitive lungs. Tobacco use accounts for more deaths than homicide, suicide, fires, car accidents, alcohol, heroine, cocaine, meth, and AIDS combined. Even second hand smoke adds to the grisly total.

Practically no new smokers are recruited as adults. A reduction of tobacco use by teens has happened because effective media campaigns and public education has changed perceptions of tobacco as being "cool". Unfortunately Hollywood doesn’t cooperate and still has its heroes and heroines puffing away.

Sexual promiscuity and premarital relationships. Tobacco may not be the biggest environmental threat to human life and happiness. There is another form of pollution that deadens the soul, a tidal wave of pornography. This pollutant flows right into our homes and communities through the Internet and most of our communication and entertainment industries.

This innundation of visual sexual stimulation is coupled with a parallel cultural message that divorces sex from values of bonding, trust and commitment that belong to marital relationships. Notions about premarital sex being wrong, immoral and misguided have been overwhelmed by attitudes suggesting that no harm is being done. It is easy to pretend that our children are not affected.

But there is harm! The depiction of promiscuous and extra-marital sexuality takes a huge toll. Teen willingness to engage in premarital sexual behavior comes at a time before they are emotionally mature and able to assume responsibility for their sexual behavior. AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancies and weakened bonds of commitment after marriage are the results.

The challenges to health and well-being of America’s youth are not primarily rooted in illness or economics but in life inhibiting and life threatening risks. The problem is self-destructive behavior - drinking, drugs, violence, promiscuity. This is a crisis of behavior and beliefs - a crisis of character.

Our society does send out messages against AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases. However, at the same time, our youth are bombarded with thousands and thousands of images, depictions, innuendos, and messages of gratuitous sex.

Visions of sex. Movies, TV, videos, magazines, the Internet, music lyrics and advertisements are increasingly explicit in portraying graphic sexual activity. Sex sells. Advertisers and producers of media products continually push the limits of decency. There are practically no limits. You see things in PG and PG-13 movies that would surely have carried an R rating just a few years back. Go back a few more years and they wouldn’t have been shown at all.

These scenes are meant to have an impact. Advertisers wouldn’t pay good money if they didn’t get results. It appears so glamorous, so adult, and it sells tickets. The sexuality portrayed is seen as "normal" entertainment. What is shown to be commonplace becomes commonplace.

How much exposure to sexual images is sufficient before valid and meaningful expression of sexuality becomes distorted? In the absence of strong moral values and teachings, what chance do teens have for learning restraint in sexual behavior? Is there any wonder why teens are becoming more and more sexually precocious?

Someday we’ll wake up and discover we put a whole generation through a form of electronic sexual abuse. Innocent children are becoming sexualized by an uncaring and value-free culture.

Impact on relationships. Sexual relations is a "private" act in the context of a marital relationship. Healthy sexuality doesn't need voyeuristic depictions of lovemaking to be satisfyingly expressed.

The sexual preoccupation and obsession of our society doesn’t contribute to better relationships. In fact, the use of pornography creates fantasies that do not measure up to reality and leads to dissatisfaction.

Showing graphic sexual scenes between unmarried couples devoid of commitment and love debases and trivializes the act that can mean much to marital happiness. The explosion of unmarried couples living together sets a poor foundation for marriage - if their relationships make it that far.

Taking action. An ecological perspective suggests that we need a holistic, long range understanding between actions and events so we can avoid the unforeseen and unintended consequences to life by short-sighted specialized interests. We need to apply this perspective to our moral environment before it becomes so polluted that it is unsafe for our children and their normal development.

It is pollution! It is pollution of sexuality! It is pollution of values! It is pollution of society! In the long run it affects the quality of courtships, stability of marriage, healthy family life and contributes to a negative peer environment for teens and young adults.

Legislation doesn’t provide much relief. Education and consumer boycotting can get results. If you see an objectionable ad, complain. It is time to take advertisers and producers of media products to task for the gratuitous use of sex scenes that abuse children and young people. Vote with your pocket book and viewing habits.

Protect your family by teaching strong values about appropriate media use. Use technology to block the cess pool of pornography from flooding into your home.