Thursday, May 22, 2008

Many people share our concerns, Laws in Place, What are we missing?

What an opportunity and experience we had to spend Mon. May 19 in Washington D.C. We especially appreciate the work and efforts of the event organizers: Brad Curl, President of Athletes & Business for Kids and Robert Peters, President of Morality in Media. The USA is an amazing place where we can gather and express our opinions, openly protest the actions of a government agency, and meet with (and vote for) the leaders of this nation who make the laws and appropriate government revenues.

I was reminded of a few important things at this conference.



We are not alone


  • ------Far from it! There were more than 15 presenters who spoke at the conference. Each is long dedicated to this cause and represented organizations that include many, many people across the nation. (See list of links to many of those organizations on this page)
  • Additionally, ". . .widespread availability of obscene materials is not proof of community acceptance. According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive in April 2008, 75% of adult Americans said they would support the next President were he or she to 'do all in his or her constitutional power to ensure that federal obscenity laws are enforced vigorously against commercial distributors of hardcore pornography.'"- Morality in Media
  • There is a demand and a monetary reward for decent media. "In 2008, 45% of the movies released in theaters were aimed at families. Those family films grossed an average 200% better than movies aimed at the adult marketplace. In 2005, only two of the top 20 grossing movies was R-rated." MovieGuide.org- Ted Baehr, President, Christian Film & TV Commission

The Laws are in place



  • Obscenity and pornography are not upheld by the first ammendment of our constitution. The Supreme Court has repeatedly confirmed this. Just last Monday, May 19, in the Supreme Court Case, US vs Williams, Justice Scalia explained in his majority opinion, "We have long held that obscene speech—sexually explicit material that violates fundamental notions of decency—is not protected by the First Amendment."

What is missing?

  • The few groups that control the media seem to have their own agenda, despite "popular" disapproval. “He who controls the media controls the culture.”- Dr. Ted Baehr

Educate yourself, your friends, associates, fellow church-members on the urgent, addictive, and devastating effects of obscenity in culture.

  • Make your voice known. Let your dollars speak. Don't support things that do not uphold your standards of decency and let the company know why you won't pay for that product or service.
  • Contact your county and state attorney general and ask them to enforce decency laws and to appeal to the federal government to do the same.
  • Get involved, make the time and effort to protect your children, their friends, your school, and community from harmful obscenity in the media and activites they participate in.
  • Pray for our community and our nation


2 comments:

JenJ said...

And many lawmakers already have on their agendas and legal dockets ways to educate and help communities regarding decency. I have come across people in three different states already sponsoring community Internet safety forums and holding conversations about protecting kids online. Awareness is growing.

Autumn said...

I just am so thrilled about this organization and am proud to say I support you 100 percent! You are what good strong families are about. What an example. I, along with the rest of my friends and family, are so grateful for your long hours, days, weeks and months you are putting into get the rest of the nation aware and on board! Always glad to see the updates. Thank you.