I’m in the midst of spending a day in Atlanta with a wonderful group of people at a conference put on by the Governor’s Office for Children and Families. I’m quickly learning that this a group of amazing people who really are for children and families. This morning I spoke about Understanding Today’s Youth Culture. This afternoon, I’m speaking on teaching kids to think critically about music and media. I’ll be training participants in how to use our non-sectarian 3-D guide, Minding Your Media. In between, I’ve had dozens of conversations with some amazing people.
What struck me as I was up front speaking is the great contrast we see between Word and world. . . you know, that old familiar imperative that we trumpet at CPYU about starting your day with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. My morning venture into today’s USA Today left me with a clear understanding of the battle we face, a battle that became much clearer as I spoke to a room full of folks who are working hard to equip kids to make good choices, to avoid temptation, to stay off drugs, to wait to enjoy the gift of their sexuality within the context of marriage, etc.
Specifically, the morning paper reported ran Liz Szabo’s piece, “Parents decry marketers who push sexuality on little girls.” You need to read Szabo’s article. You also need to watch the little video clip embedded in the article that I’ve included a link to below. Pay special attention to the cavalier attitude of the marketers in the clip. Perhaps the easiest to pass one-question quiz you could take today would be the one that asks this question: “Do these people ever think about any of the fallout from their actions other than the financial bottom-line?!?”
Click here to watch the video.
We reap what we sow, don’t we? It’s not at all difficult to guess what the harvest is going to look like in just a couple of years, is it?