The media are a major influence on shaping our cultural values, and America knows it. Almost two-thirds of the people surveyed (64 percent) agree the media are an important factor in the culture. It sometimes seems almost impossibly pervasive and immune to complaints as they cross every new frontier of excess.
But they're reasonable in knowing that the media is ultimately not the most important factor. Good parents can be a much more direct moral influence than the TV, multiplex or radio. Of those who were asked who is most responsible for moral decline among young people, 57 percent blamed parents and families first, and only 21 percent blamed the media first. Parents need to be a gatekeeper to children's entertainment, to guide them through its treacherous passages and not merely let them hitchhike along the road alone.
Parents also need to go beyond teaching morality to living morally. Sadly, this cultural survey shows that while Americans have a great consensus on the importance of classic virtues like truthfulness, thrift, industry and charity, they often fail to follow through. America is becoming more situational in its everyday ethics. One-fourth or one-third of survey recipients admitted they would cheat on restaurant checks, tax returns and would break laws they considered outdated or if no one got hurt.
America needs a people who do not merely talk about public virtues, but embrace them with passion and humility. Reversing America's moral decline isn't just about the media. It's a daily fight in millions of homes and in billions of daily ethical situations. How much progress could we make by just trying harder to live the virtues so many of us profess to hold dear?
Brent Bozell
Founder and President of the
Media Research Center, Brent Bozell runs the largest media watchdog organization in America.
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