SEPTEMBER 1998 Volume 27, Number 9

IMPRIMISBecause Ideas Have Consequences 26th year Saving Childhood Michael Medved Film Critic, Radio Host 790,000 subscribers

ongtime co-host of Sneak LPreviews on PBS and chief film critic for the , Who is making war on our children? We are, Michael Medved now hosts a daily according to cultural commentator Michael three-hour radio talk show syndi- cated in more than 70 cities Medved. Specifically, he charges Americans with throughout the United States. condoning a popular culture and an education- Regular topics include the media, al system that destroy the innocence of childhood. politics, culture, American history, Mr. Medved’s remarks were delivered at childrearing, and religion. Mr. the February 1998 Shavano Institute for Medved, whose columns have National Leadership seminar, “Heroes for a appeared frequently New Generation and a New Century,” in in the Wall Street Scottsdale, Arizona. Journal and the Sunday Times of London, is a member To Frighten and of the board of contri- butors of USA Today. Corrupt Our Young An honors gradu- ate of Yale and a n every corner of contemporary culture child- Hillsdale College Life hood innocence is under assault. The very idea Associate, he is also of parental protectiveness has been overwhelmed the author of eight nonfiction books, in- by relentless pressure from a society that seems perverselyI determined to frighten and corrupt its own cluding the best- sellers What Really young in a misguided effort to “prepare” them for a Happened to the Class harsh, dangerous future. of ’65?, The Shadow Presidents, From the bleakest ghettos to the most privileged Hospital, and Hollywood vs. suburbs, families face the same fears. We worry not America. His latest book, Saving only about what might happen to our kids on the way Childhood: Protecting Our Children to school but about what values they will learn once from the National Assault on they get there. We are concerned not only with the Innocence, was written with his wife threat of physical assault but with the emotional and (a clinical psychologist and a best- selling author in her own right), Dr. moral battering that our children endure from peers Diane Medved. Saving Childhood and the media. In short, we feel powerless to counter- has just been published by Harper- act the implacable social forces that push our own Collins, and Mr. Medved’s remarks flesh and blood to grow up too soon–and too cynical. were adapted from its contents. We may shower youngsters with every sort of material blessing and glitzy diversion, but we can’t seem to give

A Monthly Publication of Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan 49242 IMPRIMIS Because Ideas Have Consequences them the greatest gift of all–a secure, optimistic, and “They’re Trying to reasonably sheltered childhood. Nihilistic messages now come at our kids from so Kidnap My Kids” many directions at once that childhood innocence doesn’t stand a chance. Consider: he most visible assault on that innocence involves the omnipresent messages of the •In , a four-year-old keeps squirming mass media. As one anguished mother away when embraced by a favorite uncle who has commented to me years ago: “My resent- mentT toward Hollywood [filmakers] is entirely per- come for his weekly visit. When asked by her puzzled relative what is wrong, she tells him that her nursery sonal–because I can’t escape the feeling that they’re school teacher warned her against any adults trying to kidnap my kids.” The big entertainment who “touch her too hard.” If he persists in squeez- conglomerates continue to churn out jaded and cyn- ing her, she tearfully informs him, she will have to ical diversions that seem to go out of their way to call the police. undermine the most important values parents want to impart to their own offspring. Aging boomers •In Dallas, a three-year-old returns from a play look back nostalgically to the innocent TV offerings group to regale his disbelieving parents with an of their youth, from I Love Lucy to Leave It to earnest, straight-faced singing and dancing rendi- Beaver, and lament the fact that the “Beaver” has tion of “Mama’s Got a Great Big Butt.” transmogrified into “Beavis.” Meanwhile, the wildly popular cable cartoon show South Park is so crude •In Salt Lake City, a first-grader begins compulsively and offensive (and, yes, inventive) that its characters throwing away her previously cherished dolls, much make even Beavis and Butthead look, by compari- to the horror of her parents. It takes several hours to son, like Will and Henry James. In this new show, a get an explanation: Her teacher showed the class group of Colorado third-graders exemplify the cur- that the world was so bad–and so crowded–that rent vision of childhood, demonstrating every imag- nobody should have children. The sensitive and inable anti-social and self-destructive attitude, while solemn girl didn’t even want to pretend to raise cheering violent wrestling matches between Santa babies of her own. and Jesus, or interacting with fanciful characters such as a talking pile of feces known as “Mr. Hanky, •And in our own home, in the winter of ’94, our the Christmas Poo.” daughter, Shayna, joins her excited kindergarten South Park highlights the fact that in today’s classmates for an after-school field trip to the botan- media culture, even material about children–or aimed ical gardens. As these neatly uni- specifically at a youthful audience–attempts to formed parochial school kids develop an “edge” by exploring risky or dis- squeal and giggle in the turbing content. The rating “PG” now seems back seat of a van, the to signify “Profanity Guaranteed.” adults listen to the hourly Even gorgeously animated fea- news on the radio, which ture films pitched at five-year- includes a graphic descrip- olds, such as Disney’s Mulan tion of Lorena Bobbitt cut- or Pocahontas, feature dark ting off her husband’s penis and politically correct and throwing it out the window preaching about perse- of her car. Hearing this, our daugh- cution of Native Amer- ter covers her ears in horror and begins sobbing, soon icans or the liberating joined by two of her frightened classmates. impact of cross-dressing. Admittedly, such anecdotes represent relatively These messages matter because, for most minor upsets in a world scarred by youth violence, American kids, media images represent their chief widespread substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and source of information about the larger world beyond adolescent suicide. Nevertheless, such small exam- the home. TV alone occupies today’s youngsters for ples illustrate the depth–and breadth–of the prob- some 25 hours a week–not even counting the addi- lem. Today, even the most conscientious and protec- tional time lavished on films, videos, pop music, and tive parents feel helpless when it comes to shielding video games. In a typical year, the average American the innocence of their children. child will invest more hours digesting the products of the entertainment industry than he will spend in a For additional copies of this classroom–because kids don’t take summer vaca- Imprimis issue, please call our toll- free number: 800/437-2268 tions, Christmas breaks, or weekends off when it comes to their media consumption. This immersion (prices on page 7) in artificiality erodes childhood innocence through 2 its inevitable emphasis on the bitter and the bizarre, The new preparation model may seem to make emphasizing dysfunction and danger that is inher- logical sense, but the sad fact is that it doesn’t work. ently dramatic. Rather than reducing the levels of teenage drug addiction, sexually transmitted diseases, gang vio- lence, depression, and suicide, all efforts to confront Counselors, Condoms, kids with life’s bleak realities at ever earlier ages and “Enlightened” appear to have made the situation worse. The first step in saving childhood involves a clear Attitudes rejection of the failed and bankrupt notion that terri- fying and pressuring kids somehow helps them cope nfortunately, the time children spend in with the world’s challenges. Feeling helpless and school seldom serves to counteract this hopeless promotes neither success nor happiness. malign media influence; far more often it Instead of abandoning our young to today’s trendy reinforces it. Contemporary curricula warn cynicism, American families should exalt childhood Ukids about global warming and overpopulation in innocence, not just as an absence of information or the name of environmental awareness and impose an enforced ignorance but as a positive value in guilt concerning slavery or Japanese internment or its own right, featuring three indispensable elements: Native American genocide or oppression of security, optimism, and a sense of wonder. women–all in the interests of sensitivity and multi- culturalism. Anti-drug, anti-smoking, and “safe sex” instruction (targeted at children as early as Security and the kindergarten) serve to advance the idea that it is not World’s Best the home but the school–with its counselors, con- doms, and “enlightened” attitudes–that represents a Instinctive safe haven in a child’s life. Conservatives Parents themselves too frequently collaborate in prematurely terminating childhood innocence. In order to provide some elusive edge in the pursuit of ll kids crave security and predictability. If academic glory, even pre-school kids are hurried into you doubt that proposition for a moment, competitive, high pressure situations and find them- just pause to consider their culinary prefer- selves rushed from one demanding (but theoretically ences. As a child, I wanted to eat hot dogs at Aevery single meal; my own daughters and my own “enriching”) activity to another. Through it all, mother and father prefer the role of pal to that of son express an unswerving preference for macaroni protector, striving to become good friends rather and cheese. When it comes to the contents of the than guides. With self-absorbed parents trapped in daily lunch box, children hardly crave surprises or perpetual adolescence and refusing to accept adult- exotic choices. Even in the most sophisticated hood, children can’t enjoy the sheltered, solid, and households, they seem to prefer the old reliables like predictable atmosphere traditionally associated peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches to adventure- with childhood. some fare like Cajun shrimp or sushi. And you can forget about trying new restaurants. Children want to eat at the same neighborhood joints over Preparation Replaces and over again. Rearrange the furniture in your daughter’s room Protection lately? That’s the sort of minor change that’s likely to produce a major revolt. Our girls not only insist that he assault on innocence from the media, the dresser, desk, and bed remain in precisely the schools, and parents themselves comes same position but that their Barbies are arranged in cloaked in the best of intentions and with an their familiar rows. Even a pleasant family milestone aura of utter inevitability. As Marie Winn such as buying a new car to replace some beloved old observedT in her wise 1981 book, Children Without clunker may provoke tearful protest from youngsters Childhood, society has abandoned its old emphasis who instinctively resist all change. on “protection” of kids and embraced a new priority My wife and co-author, Diane Medved, a clinical of “preparation.” According to this thinking, chil- psychologist, believes it is easy to understand these dren can’t afford the luxury of sweetness and sim- profoundly conservative instincts among nearly all plicity in some sort of golden age of innocence but kids. Young people go through such intense and dra- rather must equip themselves to confront a bitter, matic change in their bodies and their emotional dangerous world–and the sooner the better.

3 IMPRIMIS Because Ideas Have Consequences makeup that they inevitably want as little alteration Hard-Wired for as possible in their surroundings. If I go off on a busi- ness trip and return three days later, I look at the kids Optimism and know they are different–noticeably grown and transformed in just that brief time away. No wonder early all kids seem to be hard-wired for these constantly changing children yearn to be optimism–an attitude that represents the enveloped by predictable patterns! second key element of childhood inno- That is why family ritual can play such an cence. It is possible that pseudo-sophisti- important and constructive role in children’s lives. Ncation, media assaults, trendy cynicism, and a These traditions may include Sunday outings, misguided educational system can eventually shatter Monday night parents-and-kids basketball games, or this natural hopefulness, but, in so doing, these just the simple but crucial habit of tucking in the forces must overcome a child’s healthy instincts. youngsters and saying prayers at bedtime. Each fam- Have you noticed, for instance, that children ily develops its own unique and sometimes quirky inevitably prefer stories with happy endings? My ways of observing birthdays, meals, and other occa- daughters have been studying Shakespeare in the sions. Older rituals, rooted in religious faith, involve home school cooperative Diane has organized, and more timeless, universal elements, providing chil- so far they have covered Twelfth Night (their dren with a solid sense of their place in the family favorite), Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer and in the world. Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Taming of the Shrew, We saw religious ritual perform its protective and The Tempest. Over dinner, I recently asked them function with our kids when they faced the greatest why they hadn’t tried to tackle Hamlet or Julius challenge of their young lives–moving, for the first Caesar, and the girls looked at me as if I were an time, to a new home. After 20 years in the same imbecile. They declared in unison, “Why would we house in , we made a decisive–and for want to? Those stories are so sad!” our children, devastating–break and relocated in I am sure there will come a time when they con- . During the first six days in the Northwest we front the tragedies of Shakespeare and the tragedies rattled around a strange and empty house, waiting of life, but I am gratified that they feel no inclination for the moving van to arrive with our possessions. to do so when they are nine and eleven, respectively. Living in sleeping bags, the three children com- It hardly helps children to depress them in the name plained almost constantly; they missed their friends of preparation and to convince them at an early age and wondered why we had to disrupt their lives to that life is random, chaotic, or doomed. Unless kids come to this different and disorienting place. look forward to the future with anticipation and joy, Then on Friday evening we welcomed the Jewish the process of growing up will seem merely pointless Sabbath. As the sun went down over Lake and painful. Washington, Diane and I set out paper plates and Educators spend a great deal of time and energy food that we had bought at a nearby market. We lit today trying to build “self-esteem.” But far more the candles and said the traditional blessings over the important than implanting the notion that “I’m a wine and bread. Then we blessed each of the chil- great kid” is establishing the conviction that “It’s a dren and sang some of the songs that they had heard great world.” If a feeling of amazement and joy at every week from the time they were infants. Finally, this vast and dazzling universe escapes our offspring our older daughter, Sarah, then nine years old, came in childhood, it will likely be denied to them for over to hug her mother and said: “You know what? a lifetime. Maybe it won’t be so bad here after all.” What is the best way to counteract the whining Children appreciate the power of ritual. That is self-pity that plays such a prominent role in politi- one of many reasons that seemingly small gestures, cally correct thinking and pop culture? The true such as reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in the morn- antidote to pessimism isn’t some forced Pollyanna ing or thanking God before a meal, can provide sig- optimism–it is gratitude, expressed fervently and fre- nificant benefits. Children deserve to know what to quently. Anyone fortunate enough to be born in the expect from life, and they also deserve to know what United States, this blessed island of sanity and decen- is expected of them. In other words, they need to feel cy in the midst of the dark, bloody, turbulent ocean of a sense of predictability when it comes to the conse- historic human misery, should make every day quences of their actions. Even if those consequences Thanksgiving Day and the Fourth of July. involve punishment or other unpleasantness, We need to acknowledge our appreciation for our consistency and reliability contribute to a belief in country, for its founders and heroes, and for our own an ordered world that makes sense–helping to parents and grandparents. Above all, however, we rescue childhood. owe a debt of gratitude to the Almighty, who has

4 showered us with gifts and opportunities of an alto- In this spinning place we all inhabit, we can best gether unprecedented nature. The refusal to recog- protect a sense of wonder in our kids by nurturing a nize that debt sours our present and threatens our sense of wonder in ourselves. Pausing to rejoice in future. We all know what happens in our own lives if everyday delights–especially in the company of those a parent, a spouse, or a business associate deserves we love most–can promulgate the important aware- our appreciation but some spirit of stubbornness or ness that life is always precious, always new. pride prevents us from expressing it. The resulting And it is, without question, much too precious to sense of ingratitude can become an acid that cor- waste so much of it on TV. When it comes to defend- rodes our very soul. At the moment, public and pri- ing childhood innocence, we have inexplicably invit- vate ingratitude in America has become an acid that ed the principal enemy and potential destroyer into is corroding the soul of our society. our own living rooms. By the age of six, the average American child has spent more hours watching the tube than he will spend speaking to his father in his Recapturing a Sense lifetime. This is madness and, in a very real sense, of Wonder child abuse. And the old parental excuse, “My kids only watch the quality programs,” does not carry any he vast majority of American parents have weight at all. The underlying problem with televi- consciously misled their children and felt sion and kids isn’t quality. It is quantity. no guilt whatever about the deception. If you are unconvinced, try the following thought Even the most hip, educated, and fashion- experiment. Imagine that William Bennett, former ableT families tend to tell kids at one point in their drug czar, becomes our new TV czar, and he is grant- lives about Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy. Why do ed special authority so that every television show we go to such great lengths to persuade them to must pass a “Bill Bennett virtue test” before it is accept these far-fetched fantasies? We do so because broadcast. In this fantasy world, the tube would we instinctively, and most often unconsciously, become considerably less destructive, but it would understand the importance of the third fundamental hardly be transformed into a benign factor in our aspect of childhood innocence: a sense of wonder. lives. As long as our kids watched 25 hours a week, Any parent who has watched a child’s wide, excit- television would still harm family relationships, ed eyes glimpsing the miraculous presents that physical health, moral development, attention span, appear on Christmas morning under the tree, or reading ability, and communal life. reading the note left under the pillow by the fast- Regardless of programming content, our hur- moving and elusive Tooth Fairy, comprehends the ried, over-scheduled kids still need to get up off the priceless nature of this sense of wonder. A belief in couch, join softball games with neighbors, read magic, in goodness, in angelic protection, in well- books for fun, joke with friends, interact with family, deserved miracles–these are the very essence of child- or just play by themselves in the yard to stretch their hood. Such attitudes encourage the imagination imagination. Every family can benefit by turning off, and foster an appreciation of the world. They are or turning down, the TV set, and eliminating, or at precious precisely because they are so fleeting. If a least reducing, the impact of this dominating influ- four-year-old passionately believes in Santa Claus, ence. If you worry that a decision to get rid of the boob then he and his family can revel in the messages of tube would make your child stand out from some of supernatural generosity and kindness involved in his his peers, please remember: One of the greatest gifts belief. If he still believes in Santa Claus at age 24, that parents can give their offspring is the courage to then his parents will feel less proud: They have either be different. raised a young adult who is deeply disturbed–or a Our chance to influence, for better or for worse, die-hard liberal. the children that God has entrusted to our care is The point is that childhood should remain fun- always too brief. Last year, on my daughter Shayna’s damentally different from adulthood, with kids revel- eighth birthday, we celebrated with a Sabbath meal. ing in the freshness and fun of their experience. In Our guests all helped serenade her with the tradi- his great poem about vanished childhood, “Fern tional “Happy Birthday” over the cake–without can- Hill,” Dylan Thomas writes, dles, since we refrain from creating fire on the Sabbath. Our daughter enjoyed every minute of the . . . it was all occasion, but toward the end of the day as the Shining, it was Adam and maiden, Sabbath was ending and the sun was going down, The sky gathered again she came over to me to cuddle. “Well, I want to say And the sun grew round that very day. good-bye,” she said sweetly. So it must have been after the birth of the simple light This alarmed me, and I asked her why she felt In the first, spinning place . . . .

5 IMPRIMIS Because Ideas Have Consequences the need to say good-bye. Garden of Verses, Robert Louis Stevenson declares, “Because,” she explained, “after today, you’re never going to see a seven-year-old daughter again.” The world is so full of a number of things, She was right, of course. After today, the precious gift I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings. of your child–at this unique moment in his life–is gone forever. In that spirit, may all our children linger in In his incomparable book of poems, A Child’s the garden.

If America Dies J. C. Watts, Jr. U. S. House of Representatives (R-OK)

.C. Watts, Jr. is best known as the ccording to recent news reports about the econ- Jformer University of Oklahoma omy, America appears to be doing better than journalism major and quarterback ever before. The stock market is up, the deficit who led the “Sooners” to numerous is down–prosperity seems to be everywhere. championships and two Orange AMorally and culturally, however, it is not an exaggera- Bowl victories. From 1981-1986, he tion to say that we are on the verge of bankruptcy. The started for Ottawa and fact is that over the last quarter century we have squan- Toronto in the Canadi- dered our spiritual capital. an Football League. He When I was a small child, I learned the bedtime was first elected to the prayer, “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my House of Representa- tives in November soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the 1994. Garnering 58 Lord my soul to take.” These days, that prayer comes to percent of the vote in mind again, only it is America that I fear will die before his 1996 re-election, I wake. I know, I know–America is a great nation. But he has a solid reputa- she is not great enough to survive the growing rot with- tion in Oklahoma as an in. Call it secularism, decadence, or irresponsibility–it articulate and passion- is as deadly as any cancer, and it has invaded the body ate spokesman for bal- politic. ancing the budget, improving education, maintaining a strong defense, and Rebuilding Character promoting family values. A tireless supporter of dozens of heartland groups like the Fellowship homas Jefferson once confessed, “Indeed, I of Christian Athletes, the Orphan tremble for my country when I reflect that God Foundation of America, and the is just.” He was concerned about the character March of Dimes, he also travels of the citizens in the early republic–how much across the country as a guest preach- Tmore concerned he would be today! I shudder to think er at many churches. of what Jefferson would say about Americans in the 1990s. Many of us appear to believe that we can have a strong nation without worrying about our character or the character of our leaders. This is like saying we can You may think you have heard it all swim in the ocean without worrying about getting wet. before–America is suffering from a moral Character–that is, doing what is right when nobody is breakdown and we need to restore traditional looking–is essential. values. But as J. C. Watts reminds us, this is not I sit on the National Security Committee in the just sound public policy, it is the only way we U. S. House of Representatives, and I hear a lot of debate are going to save our nation from impending about what makes for a strong nation. How many disaster. Representative Watts presented this tanks, bombers, and missiles should we buy? How address during Hillsdale College’s May 1998 should we react to regional conflicts around the globe Commencement. that may affect our national interest? Who are our ene-

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