Well, I have to say that my own beliefs on this subject are contradicting.....
I believe that every person has the ability to control themselves. I believe that when someone falls off of the deep end, that they meant to do exactly that. I have used in some instances excuses of, I" I couldn't help it, all I saw was red" or " What did she expect after pushing me like that? " I have to admit however that my exact thought at the moment of violence were thought out and well calculated. Meaning I knew what I was doing and even more so I knew it was wrong.
Do I agree with music that contains vulgar or violent lyrics? No I do not, however that just does not give me the right to judge people that do.
I have raised my children correctly with great moral instinct. I know they know the difference between right and wrong.
If my son were to go out tomorrow and murder someone I could not stand by him and agree that because he listens to Tech Nine, Ice Cube, 2-PAC, Easy E and other artists that have explicit lyrics, he murdered.
When we are talking about children we have to remember that they are impressionable, this is where I contradict. When they are listening to music with violence for lyrics then they are lead to believe that this behavior is not only acceptable but also rewarding. They are drawn into this fantasy that living as a gangsta is the thing to do.
I believe that this all comes down to moral value. If you are a person woman, man or child with morals you will not lead your life in that fashion.
I like that you know how contradicting your blog is and you state that right away! Ha! I understand feeling torn about this issue. One of my favorite bands growing up was Pink Floyd. Although their message isnt too bad, my mom was always afraid that one day I would fall under the depressed, rebellious, stoner stereotype that most of their followers had. She let me have my freedom as far as listening to their music but made it very clear that life is beautiful and I had no need to become a doped out stoner. I think she did a pretty good job of raising me but if my kids were listening to music that teaches sex, drugs and alcoholism, I would be concerned about their exposure to that music. My younger cousin is starting to become aware of music in pop culture and at first it was pretty harmless like Hannah Montanna but now shes growing a liking to Lady Gaga. For an adult this is pretty harmless music but for an eight year old I worry about her figuring out what terms like "my muffin" means or catching those hidden lyrics like "I want your vertical stick, want you in my rear window. Baby you're sick." She probably has no idea what any of that is but I believe it could still have an impact on her. It's not really a black and white issue...there is a gray area there. Regardless, that was a good blog! I enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDelete