A Rant - Banned Books vs TV

I have a bit of a rant to share today.  My poor hubby heard it all last night and gently suggested that I might share it in a post with other book lovers.  I think he was actually just telling me to be quiet so he could finish watching TV in peace...

I hadn't planned on doing a post about Banned Book Week as I've had way too much going on personally and am behind on my regular scheduled reviews.  I have been reading many of the outstanding posts written by my fellow book bloggers and have been making a list of some banned books that I am going to read.  I am going to read them mostly because some idiot has told me that I can't, shouldn't or won't be able to. (I have a problem with being told what not to do..) 

Before going any further, I need to admit right now that hubby and I are "Gleeks".  We both really enjoy the show Glee even though we're middle-agedish.  The singing and dancing is usually quite good and the plot tends to be a lot of fun, usually.  Unfortunately, last night's show went overboard in the "sex sells" category and spawned this blog post.

The episode last night had a scene with one of the "teen" girls (Brittany) re-creating a Britney Spears video.  The very pretty young girl was dressed in very little clothes, writhing around with a large snake, and bumping and grinding against John Stamos, other dancers, the floor, furniture, etc.  She was then in another "fantasy" scene with one of the other girls that had very obvious sexual and lesbian tones to it.  While this was fine for those of us who are mostly adult, not so much for the little kids who also adore this show.. 

Here is my rant:  The SAME parents and people who are banning books and literary works of art are letting their grammar school and middle school kids watch episodes like this as well as the music videos depicting the same imitations and suggestions of sex.  If these concerned citizens who are so up in arms about books would pay attention to what the kids are soaking up on TV and the Internet, they might realize that the books aren't the problem - their INATTENTION TO THEIR OWN CHILDREN is. 

Instead of banning or attempting to ban books from libraries and bookstores, these people should spend their time policing what their own kids are doing.  What are your kids listening to on the radio, watching on TV, surfing on the net?  When was the last time you sat down with your kid and really talked about what is going on?  I would bet that most of them wouldn't be able to honestly answer those questions.  

Freedom of Speech is a CONSTITUTIONAL right.  Just because these same citizens can't take the time away from their lattes and other diversions to monitor what their own offspring are up to, they do not have the right to censor and stifle an author and their words.  Why can't we make our own choices to read or not read a certain book or to allow our child to read it?  I can see it now:  next we'll have banned TV, banned radio, and banned Internet.

Now before I get all the hate mail, we love the show Glee and I have nothing against Britney Spears - wouldn't let MY kid emulate her, but that's just me.  I am also not a prude, not homophobic, and I do think John Stamos is quite cute.  BUT, I would not have let a young kid watch last night as the fantasy scenes were all about sex and not music or plot. I guarantee my mom would have never let me watch that when I was 10 or 11.  We would have been told to go read a book - an age-appropriate book...

Thanks for reading my rant and hey, it is JUST MY OPINION FOLKS... 

 

~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.