Maybe
you are in that age group as am I, where you can remember back into the 1950s
and 60s, when television was beginning to expand its youthful growth
period. A couple of specific programs
that come to my mind from that period are “I Love Lucy” and “The Dick Van Dyke
Show”. These programs were family sitcoms
that were so funny. Just your basic
humor that even when you watch them replayed today on Nick at Nite (or some
other network) they will still make you laugh.
As a matter of fact, you can hear a few words of the program and can then
repeat the entire show almost word for word.
However, it is still
funny! It just doesn’t matter how many
times you watch these programs they are just funny. Now let’s consider something about these
programs that maybe you hadn’t considered.
In BOTH of these programs they covered day-to-day life situations of two
married couples, the Ricardos and the Petries.
You may also find it interesting that during the original broadcasting
period these “married” couples were not allowed to sleep in the same beds when
any bedroom scenes were included in the broadcast.
How
times have changed! The media would
claim that their programming had to change because of a changing society and
what had become “acceptable” to the viewing audience. Some would claim that television broadcasting
has made subtle changes during the years that have slowly “changed” the
expectations of their viewing audience.
Whichever view you may take as to the cause of the broadcasting
changes, you will have to admit that, regarding current network broadcasts,
they have indeed changed! From even
married couples having to refrain from being in the same bed in scenes to
individuals not married in sexual scenes (not limited to bedroom scenes) to
individuals not even the same sex.
But the
influence is not limited to sitcom programs on television during those
eras. Also being compared can be those
of the “old westerns” and also “action” programs and movies. Consider this example. From the earlier programs the end of the
program moral was that the “good guys wore the white hats” and ALWAYS had to win in the
end. During the program the “good guys”
may face many difficulties, but they NEVER
dropped the high moral standard “of the code” that was expected to be displayed
by the ones who had the “truth” on their side and could always show that “justice”
would prevail in the end. This was the same
in the movies. You always knew who the
heroes were and that regardless of what may happen during the course of the
program, they were going to win by the end of the movie.
However,
somewhere during the passing years it was determined that on many occasions the
“good guys” had to be as BAD
as the “bad guys”, sometimes even worse!
And with the changes made, at times, during the program or movie, you
may not exactly be able to distinguish the “good guys” from the “bad guys”. Or maybe they would go back and forth and
even at the end you’re not quite sure because the “bad guy” gets away and is never
really punished for his actions. Again
some people would argue that television is only reflecting the moral decline in
human society. Others would contend that
programming in television and movies has lead or perhaps even aided in creating
the current moral decline in society.
And perhaps it’s a little bit of both!
But you can’t argue that the current acceptable moral situation around the world is extremely
deplorable.
So,
is it acceptable or not? This would
depend on who you asked and what “touch stone” they were using as a moral guide. Consider, if you lived within a tribe of
cannibals would it be acceptable to eat human flesh? Of course it would, based on the standard of that
community! But would that make it the right
thing to do? Most people would agree
that it would not. Many would say that
during war time many atrocities could be committed “in the name of war!” But would that make it acceptable? Most people would say NO! Just look at
history and the Nuremberg trials concerning war crimes during World War
II. But what if the discussion involved
a situation, a condition, or an action that YOU personally thought was okay? Would your opinion alone make it
acceptable? We can readily see that it’s
not really possible to use the standards of humans as the “touch stone” of what
should be acceptable or not. What is “in
fashion”, what is the “style”; even what is the human “law of the land” today
may easily be changed by public opinion tomorrow. What is really needed is a time tested
standard for human morals that is as relevant today as it has been thousands of
years ago and will remain so for thousands of years in the future. This can only be the guidelines, the
principles, which our Creator has given us in his written word, the Bible. Nowhere else can we find a set of standards
that will never change and can be used for all eternity for our everlasting
benefit. If you had a new “gadget” and
wanted to fully understand how it should be used for the greatest benefit you
would contact the manufacturer and get all
the details on how to use it properly and also what NOT to do to damage the device or make its intended use less reliable. We should do no less for ourselves and get
connected to our Creator and let him guide us in our lives as to what is acceptable
and what is not according to HIS
standards. It sounds easy, but we are
imperfect, we make mistakes. We’re only
human!
QUOTE TO CONSIDER
THOUGHTFUL GEM
"When that 'little voice' tells you NOT to do something:
LISTEN!"
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