The moguls also quickly found that the easiest way to convince teens to throw their money away was to sell them rebellion...a rebellion against the mores and values of their parents and elders. Thus started the "race to the bottom" which began with Elivs swinging his hips and went on a smooth downward slope to gangsta rap.
One of the unfortunate things about merchandising rebellion is that it is like cocaine: you have to get a bigger hit each time to get the same response. No one would bat an eye at a modern singer who swings his hips like Elvis....been there, done that. In order to profit from notoriety, you have to continually push the envelope.
That is the real reason why our culture is a sewer. And that is the reason why we have epidemics of teen violence, pregnancy, etc etc. Teens are exposed to this toxin daily, and absorb its values into their own worldview.
My chosen strategy, as a parent, is twofold:
1) I've zapped the more heinous toxins from my household using the programming control/password system on my new TV. As long as God grants me life, there will be no MTV in this house.
2) We have only one TV in the house...so whatever is on, we all have to watch together. And I make it a point to run a continuous conservative commentary on everything that is happening on the TV (my wife hates listening to me rant, but she's learning to live with it). NOTHING happens on the TV that violates my cultural, moral, or political beliefs without my offering pointed commentary about it in realtime. It irritates the kids, but it disempowers the media moguls, who need to smuggle their points across without oppositional analysis. It really works. My kids can almost tell me what I'm going to say about a show even before I say it.
Be sure to watch this show tonight, I am sure you will enjoy it,