Good day. I recently had a conversation with a few parents. We were talking about how the morals have declined since they were kids. We can see that most kids today often tend to imitate what they hear(music) and see(movies/videos). Many people say that rap music for example should be banned from the airways. I told the parents that even though they may do that, a lot of what the children practice from a moral stand-point is what they learn from home. So what are your thoughts, should the government/groups step in and allow a ban on rap music (which degrading, illicit, voilent) and could decency ever return to the way it was decades ago?

No. While I personally find rap 'music' to be degrading and morally repugnant, allowing the government (in the form of any government agency) to step in and ban it would give the wrong message, especially should the ban be successful. Were this the case, a massive blow would have been given to true free speech, and the politicoes behind the ban would have an extra precedent should they choose to attempt a ban of some other form of speech...say, political dialog that shows them in a negative light.

ban rap music ? No, just clean it up, and it should be the music industry, not the government, that does it. Afterall TV stations wouldn't show Elvis below the waste either because of his lewd shaking of the legs In 20 or so years from now today's rap music might be seen in the same light as we now view Elvis's behavior -- complete laughter.

Rap is just one genre of the music; some rap songs are very meaningful and very educated.

Banning all rap music isn't at all a solution. It's also not fair to ban just rap music. Let's not pretend that rap music is the only genre with something wrong with it.

And by supporting such a ban, you are advocating that all rap songs are bad, when this is simply not the case. There are some rap/hip hop artists out there who really do not go down this road.

And let's be real, blaming music or T.V. or other types of mainstream media for a break down of morals in society is lazy. I'm not saying that they may not have anything to do with it, but when has it stopped being parents' responsibility to teach the kids right from wrong? When did it become the media's responsibility?

In my opinion, if a parent neglects the opportunity to instill in their kids' minds the way they want them to live, they have no right to complain when somebody else puts their own morals in there.

Exactly my words. scru, you are just stealing my thoughts . If parents want to bring up their children in a better way, they can, even now.

Every generation thinks the up and coming generation is declining in morals.

I like rap because it is poetry that rhymes and rhythm - it ain't Shakespeare but it ain't Rod McKuen either.

>> Every generation thinks the up and coming generation is declining in morals.
Precisely.
And I don't think that it's really a moral issue. This current generation probably has more exposure to everything than any other previous generation -- with the internet, tv, etc. Sure not all of these things are morally uplifting nor do they set a good example but it's an exposure that previous generatia have not experienced. There's no doubt that the more death, violence, killing, etc that you see on TV or the net the more passive you become to it.
And in relation to progressing generations - each new generation experiences something that others haven't experienced. You can't really do justice to a comparison between two (or any number), without factoring in or out the exposures the kids of that generation have faced.
And yes, this does bring it back to the parents. Kids are really susceptible to ideas, thoughts. They are suggestive and will replicate what others do. This is one method in which they learn - does a parent have to show a kid that you turn a steering wheel to turn a car? By the same token they will replicate what they see on TV, somewhat. I'm not saying that we're going to have to wear Kevlar now, but... I guess it does no harm to be conscious of it.

I think, it all falls down to their parents and their parents education.

So they leave it as granted and let somebody else tell their kid that they have to stomp the clutch.

Brilliant.

It's a parent's job to sit with their kids and tell them what they see on T.V. is wrong (whenever they see their child watching something that is indeed wrong). If a parent does this with his/her child, that child will not replicate what he sees on T.V. (provided that the child was raised to listen to his/her parents).