Uh oh, randy's back on his soap box...

Hello everyone;

Maybe I should post this in Rants...Randy's Rants....nah.

Looking at Milkboy's today I saw an interesting post. They are in my "Sites I like" so go read about "Murder is ok, incest...".

Now, I don't watch a lot of tv. Part of that has to do with my work schedule, as most of the "good" shows are on in the evening when normal people watch tv. Best I can get is morning reruns of shows from the 1970's and 1980's or "news" - I put that in quotes...we all know why. But, having the parents here for a bit, who live and die by the next chapter in Mom's soap or their favorite cop shows and csi shows, I got a little taste of what is still the top draw for prime-time audiences: over-the-top drama and murder. Both of which I commented to them as being very depressing. I was told to hush, their show was on.

Recently books were taken down from a certain web site book seller, who I won't mention by name...see the Milkboy's article...and the downward spiral has begun. The interesting development was almost scripted and forecasted by everyone who has denounced book burning and banning for ages....it's a slippery slope.

Of course, it won't get to the extremes, right? We won't have another dark age where "the church" confiscates and burns anything that isn't the approved message....or remember the recent movie "The Book of Eli"? It won't get to that point, I'm sure. I keep telling myself that because anything else is quite paranoid and I reserve that for the people who keep following me. And yet, look at the "mainstreaming" that goes on now. Has anyone ever wondered, in this age of videos and "Pop-Idol", if Joe Cocker would have ever gotten a contract? He's got a beautiful heart and soul, but probably doesn't quite meet the "Pop-Idol" model. He's not alone...I've yet to get my call to the red carpet...and so those who know more about this can tell you that the music industry has become so mainstreamed as to stifle creativity. "Video killed the radio star...". Now, in the best interests of all readers, we must mainstream our literal offerings so as not to offend any little soul. We must protect the reader at all costs.....and so goes the new ideas, the creativity, the pushing of the envelope.

There are many things written that I would not care to have enter into my pure little mind, as jaded as it is. There are certain envelopes that I've found I'd rather not push too far. And yet, as an adult, it is truly my responsibility to screen that for myself. I don't like images of violence and murder....and can we tone it back on the csi shows! Well, don't watch them some would say. Ah, a brilliant idea!

Can you imagine? Can you believe that as an adult I could choose to not watch something, not read something, or at least not believe something?

Must I have someone safeguard my poor little mind from the things that go boo! in the bookstore?

I know bs when I see it. I follow c-span now and again and I see the political ads. Is it so far fetched that I can decide what is and what is not acceptable for myself?

Why is murder wonderful and sex dirty? Who decided that lying, cheating, hurting, dying, fighting, getting hit in the nads and "political correctness" competing with "political morality" can all come through, but if some lady at a football game shows a boobie the world comes to a screaching halt?

Well, the good news; the history books are still available so we can script the future.