The Quagmire of the Arts vs Society debate

Whenever a new debate begins about the lack of morality in teenagers, the inevitable argument is, "Its all the fault of the media." Whatever the media is at the time, its their fault. Now, the problem with this is the incredibly short sighted nature of this argument. It forgets to take into account that this argument has probably been around as long as Socrates and maybe even longer - and has yet to be proven true.

Let's backtrack... In my mind, I am of the opinion that the lyrics I hear on the radio today are extremely suggestive. Clearly, any teenager or kid wearing suggestive clothes or doing adult things must be influenced by the media into doing them. (The argument being that without the media influence, they would, of course, be perfect angels ;)

However, when I was a teen myself I know darn well that there were suggestive lyrics, clothing, television, and movies all around me. To what extent did they get me into trouble? Umm... if I blame them now can I undo some of the punishments I received? No? Well, then, the truth is that I wasn't influenced by the media at all. Nor does it influence me to do bad things now. Oh, sure, occasionally I might hear a great song on the radio and not realize that I've accelerated a few extra miles per hour over the speed limit, but for the most part, no influence whatsoever.

So Bart Simpson didn't make me do bad things. Video Games didn't turn the generation after mine into gang members. And rap lyrics are not responsible for the end of Western Civilization as we know it. Going back... the Beatles didn't end American greatness nor bring about everlasting happiness neither. Comic Books didn't create an entire generation of criminal thugs. TV didn't rot our brains. Jazz didn't corrupt our souls, nor did that Rock and Roll stuff you hear so much about. And, for that matter, classical music, that we know of, has only caused one riot in Paris.

The reason this debate becomes such a huge quagmire is that so many people engage in it without any proof on either side. They see their rebellious teens and they list their teenage passions and they automatically equate the passions with the rebelliousness. And how much easier is it when the rebelliousness and the passion go hand in hand. Admit it, if you liked Pat Boone and your kid, no matter how rotten, also liked Pat Boone, you would never think that Pat Boone was the cause of your child's rotten streak. No. It would have to be something else, something anathema to the way you think and relate to the world, that is causing your child to behave differently than you.

Art is created to reflect life. Adult art is going to reflect adult life. Teen art is going to reflect teen life. And since teen life and adult life are so often at odds with one another, adults are naturally going to be suspicious of the art of teenagers because it likely reflects attitudes that are different from their own.

That being said, Rap still sucks. U2 is still the greatest band ever. Star Wars still rocks. And Rock and Roll still rules the world. And any teen that disagrees with me ought to spend four years in a military boot camp! ;)