European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 02, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse J j tuesday. November 2.1993 commentary the stars and stripes Page is regulating what kids watch begins with parents Austin was and Jessica was 2, and by the Lime by the time Austin had finished with the lighter he took from atop their Mother s Dresser Jessica was trapped in Side a burning Beavis and butt head were in big big trouble. Since the morning Early last month when Austin Messier set the fire that killed his Little sister his actions apparently inspired by cartoon characters several things have happened. The fire chief in the Ohio town where Austin lives has gone on a tear against Beavis and butt head the two moronic mtg animated adolescents who say Cool heh heh heh when anything bursts into has agreed to air the show later at night with fire Ann Quindlen reference s expunged. And Jessica s Dereath has become a powerful anecdotal exhibit in a renewed Effort to make entertainment Industry leaders clean up their act or As attorney general Janet Reno threatened during a Senate hear ing a Vlf government do it for wondered How that would work whether it would amount to government censorship. Experts wondered about the link Between television violence and real life violence. Manufacturers wondered How Many people would Spring for televisions with the a Chip which could be used to screen out violent programs. No one much wondered Why a a year old child was watching mtg. Kids and violent to violent to and violence Vio Lence and Only people missing from this discussion Are the parents. Where Are we gone. the Industry has. Given up on standards in what it produces Many of us have done the same in what we permit. It s As though we All said Well there s a lot of Poi son in those cleansers under the sink so government better regulate it before the baby drinks it s As though we talked about smoking and left the tobacco Industry and the feds to fight it out ignoring the fact that individuals can give up cigarettes. We read that children Between the Ages of 2 and 12watch an average of 25 hours of to a week. We read that by the time he reaches 18 the average american kid will have seen thousands of televised kill we act As if those numbers Are inevitable when in fact we help create them. control is not the Only part of this Issue or even the most important it s the Only part being ignored in the discussions of to violence and kids. I Don t propose that parents act alone. It is Clear that discretion to producers Are going to have to police themselves or government officials Are going to Start doing it for them. They can t be let off the neither can i. I know my kids not Jack Valenti or Janet Reno. Ages 10, 8 and almost 5, they Are too Voung to watch mtg if for no other reason than that i Don t have the time to counteract All the Piggy messages about women they la get from music videos. They Are too Young to watch the terminator or the rambo movies. They need m6re time for read ing drawing fighting with one another and torturing Gerbner of the Annenberg school for communication at the University of Pennsylvania who has studied the Issue of television violence for years said at a conference earlier this year the notion of parental control is an upper Middle class that makes individual action on television sound impossible futile even silly. But the truth is that neither alternative govern ment control Industry control can completely take the place of parental control. Neither big daddy will make All the choices we should make for our individual kids if we arc willing to do the hard work of making choices for them. I know that s difficult. I know from experience that it s tempting to use television As a baby Sitter. I know supervision is harder with Latchkey kids and adolescents. But a a year old who has the run of the program Ming come on. Making the distinction Between what they want to do and what is Good for them that s a Parent s Job de it extends to the Remote control. I m All for wiping out the growth Market in remark ably realistic fake blood. But sanity can begin at Home. Congress will hold hearings entertainment types will cry censorship. In the meantime there s the do it yourself approach. C the Wyo 1 times Virginia candidate stirs liberals to irate attack i ordinarily a Campaign for lieutenant governor is a no hum affair barely attracting local notice much less anywhere else. Not this year in Virginia where constitutional attorney Michael Farris has been the subject of bigoted attacks Sim ply because he is open about his Faith and seeks to apply it in a constitutionally defensible Way to his personal life his career and should he win in today s election his Job. That has put the fear of something other than god into his opponents including incumbent it. Gov. Donald s. Beyerjr. Beyer has found a single Issue and he is hammering at it with All the considerable resources he has been Able to Muster. He thinks it terrible that farm once worked for religious broadcaster Pat Robertson and the Rev. Jerry fal Well for whom i also once toiled. Far Ris sin according to Beyer is that he represented families in a Tennessee Case who wanted the state to acknowledge the rights of parents to have some control Over what their children read. Bever has twisted the facts and claims in television ads that Farris tried to Bathe wizard of of and Rumpelstiltskin from the school. Farris has countered by saying this was a matter of individual rights not Book Banning. His own children whom he and his wife educate at Home another unforgivable sin Accord ing to Beye have read these and other fairy tales. Farris has Strong position son numerous is sues he wants to make criminals pay restitution to their victims and tighten parole regulations. He favors school Choice so that All parents not just the wealthy like Beyer who sends his child to private school but opposes Choice for others can afford the Best education they can find. He wants to Cut taxes especially on Small businesses and raise the state per Cal Thomas Sonal exemption from $800 to the Federal level of $2,300. And he wants to Shore up the crumbling societal foundation that has been worsened by drug abuse High Levels of teen pregnancies and crime. But it is nearly impossible to debate these issues because Beyer has spent most of his television and Money ridiculing Farris Faith calling him a censor and linking him with Robertson and Falwell saying he would be their representative in Richmond. When anyone makes a slur or perceived slander of any group or individual on the politically Correct list of protected species the Are roundly denounced in editorials and by spokespersons for the offended class until they Are forced to res ent in Public. Remember the Jackson and his Hymi town com ment but there seems to be one class of Citi Zens upon whom it is always open season. You can say anything you like about evangelical christians and never fear the Wrath of the Media or the political establishment. Farris should have gone on the attack sooner. He should have asked Are the cultural problems we have the result of too much or too Little of god being imposed on people Are we better off now with the ten commandments banned from Public schools and condoms promoted or when the reverse was once True it is because Farris principles Are no longer taught that we Are knee deep in immorality while the big fools of secularism and liberalism say Tush Beyer and others who have made Simi Lar attacks on evangelical christians run Ning for office should be required to de fend the values that have brought crack cocaine to the schoolyard and guerrilla warfare to our streets. A famous virginian once said can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed by eliminating religious instructions their Only firm base a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties Are. The gift of god that they Are not to be Vio lated but with his Wrath in today s Virginia Thomas Jefferson would be branded religiously intolerant and have trouble getting elected Lieuten ant governor much less president. C a a Vrej i Tim
