Art Or A Public Health Crisis?

I was flipping through the news channels today and heard someone say that they think that the infusion of pornography into mainstream culture has reached “epidemic” proportions. I have to admit that I was staring at the TV thinking they “think” it is an epidemic?!?!

Well I think it should be classified as a public health crisis. How did I come to this conclusion? Let’s see, when it comes to smoking and alcohol (drunk driving), everyone knows that its harmful not only to the one doing it but also to those around, second hand smoke and other drivers on the roads. But when it comes to pornography it’s as if we have on blinders as to the effect it has on not only the men but also the women and on the family and society.

Many argue that pornography is just another expression of art. Its not and anyone arguing on that platform does not have a clear understanding as to what art is. We can define art as the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others. With that said, why is it that the man or woman indulge in watching it alone, in the dark, hiding? If its art and something to be shared why watch it alone, in the dark, out in the open, why not share the ‘experience’?

We need to call pornography what it is, its lewd, crude, objectifying, self indulgent and it’s a distortion not art! The distortion is the objectifying of men and women for their self indulgent desires, it’s sexualizing our kids, destroying marriages, families and the society as a whole. The pornography industry won’t tell us that more than 50% of divorce cases are as a result of one party’s obsessive interest in pornography via the TV or internet.

Pornography, especially internet porn, wreaks havoc on society because it is easily accessible, anonymous, and addictive. Not only do pornographic pop-ups infiltrate cable channels and internet sites, but its the ability to view the material in the privacy of your own home removes any shame associated with the act. Tragically, most viewers buy into the illusion that this pornographic fantasy world is merely entertainment. They have little understanding that this addiction is detrimental to their own physical, spiritual and emotional well-being.

I remember this time I had a little cousin over and I trying to get to the Disney website to check something. I made a typo with the url and I was shocked and horrified that there was a porn site with a url so close to Disney! And I’m sure that there are countless others, that’s how easy it is to stumble across these sites.

Pornography separates the sexual act from the intimacy of spouses and places it on display for pleasure and profit. It perverts and strips the conjugal act of its meaning. In addition, those involved in the act exploit themselves and those who view the material. Respect for the gift of sexuality diminishes along with the reverence owed to the dignity of the human person.

Simply put, pornography exploits for pleasure and profit. And, this pornographic mentality is infiltrating our daily print, radio, and televised media in ways we don’t even recognize. For instance, when flipping through fashion magazines, almost every advertisement exploits a certain feature of a woman. We all know the ads for Victoria’s Secret over-sexualize women and use obvious pornographic poses to sell their products. Similarly, an increasing number of network television programs like Desperate Housewives or Sex in the City are known for their provocative portrayal of sex and sexuality.

This messaging is very dangerous, especially for women today. It not only objectifies the women in the ads or programs, but subconsciously convinces us that we must exploit or objectify ourselves. As a woman, I have to be aware of these advertising ploys and guard my heart and mind from objectification. The same should go for a man. In addition, we need to educate and safeguard our families against the addictive accessibility of pornography, which seeks to undermine the inherent dignity of the human person.

So is it art or a real public health crisis? You decide. You know what gets my vote.

The McCann family-Justice or Persecution?

I have been deeply troubled over the media onslaught with the disappearance of little Madeleine McCann for some time.

It seemed odd to me that the crime scene didnt seem to be sealed off by the police. People were coming and going at all hours. Others were giving their opinions to the media of what they thought had happened to the poor child.

This isnt a soap opera where we can all play 'pick the killer'. This is real life. It is also the stuff of nightmares where the parents are now accused of killing their own daughter.

I have seen many of the interviews given by the parents of Madeleine and I have to admit that I also wondered how the parents could remain so calm with no show of tears.

We need to understand that people have their own ways of coping with grief and horror. We should not judge the parents simply because they are not shedding copious tears or pulling their hair out in public.

At times when something so horrific and there is nothing more horrific than the disappearance of your child one's emotions can become numb. You spend the day going through the motions, ironing clothes, tidying the home etc. You keep yourself busy to stop yourself from going insane.

Who is anyone to judge the parents of Madeleine McCann?

It is also troubling that the Police Officer, Goncalo Amaral who is in charge of the McCann case, has been charged with torture against another woman (under interrogation) whose daughter also disappeared. Officer Amaral and his collegues have also been charged with falsifying documents and omitting evidence in the case against Leonor Cipriano.

There is one cautionary note for all parents because of what happened to Gerry and Kate McCann. Do not leave your children unsupervised. The world is too dangerous.

Let us hope in the case of Madeleine McCann that justice will prevail and the guilty imprisoned.

What are your thoughts about how the media are treating Gerry and Kate McCann?

Selling Sex- The Renewable Resource

Human Trafficking, the modern day slave trade, is the fastest growing form of international crime with 600,000 – 800,000 people trafficked across international borders each year. That’s not a headline we’ve seen! Slavery is supposed to have ended more than a century ago, but still it thrives today. The trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation is a high-profit, low-risk trade for those who organize it, but it is detrimental to the millions of women and children exploited in slavery-like conditions in the global sex industry.

Trafficking persons is a heinous crime and human rights abuse. The most vulnerable members of the global community, those who have limited access to social services and protections, are targeted by traffickers for exploitation. Human trafficking is strongly connected to the complex economic processes of globalization. In many developing countries globalization has brought masses of wealth to the elite at the expense of the poor. Consequently, many women of the poorer classes leave their homelands to find opportunities for employment. These women are disproportionately affected by poverty, lack of access to education, discrimination, racism, and lack of economic opportunities.

International migration is an important aspect of sex trafficking. Economies throughout the world have become globally interdependent. While migration has always been a part of human existence, it now exists as a more profitable network. We are living in a networked society in which globalization encourages the free movement of capital, the opening of borders for trade, and deregulation to facilitate increased trade. This makes it easier to transport goods, including human beings.




Technological transformations have decreased the cost of travel and communication, increasing the number of networks and the ease of information flows. Trafficking humans is so profitable because unlike drugs, one person can be sold over and over. This is why human trafficking is the fastest growing and third largest criminal industry in the world following only drug and arms trafficking.

An estimated 10 billion is generated in annual revenue from all trafficking activities, with at least $4 billion attributed to the worldwide brothel industry. Globalization impacts trafficking with both “push” and “pull” factors. Impoverishment in the supply countries is a push factor that forces people to seek ways to improve their economic situation.The spread of “global culture” serves as a pull factor, raising expectations of a better life elsewhere.

When demand is not analyzed, or is mentioned rarely, it becomes easy to forget that people are trafficked into the sex industry to satisfy not the demand of the traffickers, but that of the purchasers, who are mostly men. The insatiable demand for women and children in massage parlors, strip shows, escort services, brothels, pornography and street prostitution is what makes the trafficking trade so lucrative. Agencies involved in sex tourism advertise these women and children as dependent, erotic and sex-crazed—an alternative to the stereotype of the cold, Western, independent woman.

While for some men involvement in prostitution may be motivated by sexual desire, for others it is an expression of misogyny and/or racism. To see women and girls lined up in a brothel, numbered and available to any man who picks them is to see them dominated and humiliated, stripped of their power to ‘withhold’ the sexual access that such men imagine is so central to their own well-being.

What can we do to address issues of global trafficking in the twenty-first century? The first task is to become better informed ourselves and to inform others. Trafficking should be a more visible topic of discussion in our media and in our professional preparation of administrators. Globalization has become an issue of considerable prominence, but the illegal human rights atrocities associated with it have not.

Human trafficking undermines any pretension that a country is democratic. If people are treated as if they are subhuman and can be enslaved, the government is not fully living up to its democratic principles. As it is, too often trafficking simply does not make it to C-SPAN or the talk shows. Some of the ethical issues involved in human trafficking are obvious. Slavery is as odious today as at any time, though perhaps the term “trafficking” obscures what is really happening, the lives at the center of the issue—the millions of women and children preyed upon, abused, and prostituted for selfish lust and desire.

Memos from your child

Don't spoil me. I know quite well I shouldn't have all I ask for. I'm only testing you.

Don't be afraid to be firm with me. I prefer it. It makes me secure.

Don't let me form bad habits. I have to rely on you to detect them in the early stages.

Don't make me feel smaller than I really am. It only makes me behave stupidly.

Don't correct me in front of people if you can help it. I'll take much more notice if you talk to me in private.

Don't protect me from consequences. I need to learn the painful way sometimes.

Don't make me feel my mistakes are sins. It upsets my sense of values.

Don't be upset when I say "I hate you". It is not you I hate, but your power to thwart me.

Don't take too much notice of my small ailments. Sometimes they get the attention I need.

Don't nag - if you do, I'll have to protect myself by appearing deaf.

Don't make rash promises. I feel badly let down when these promises are broken.

Don't forget I can't explain myself as well as I would like to. This is why I am not always very accurate.

Don't tax my honesty too much. I'm easily frightened into telling lies.

Don't be inconsistent. It completely confuses me and makes me lose my faith in you.

Don't put me off when I ask questions. If you do, you'll find I stop asking and seek information elsewhere.

Don't tell me my fears are silly. They are terribly real to me.

Don't ever suggest that you are perfect or infallible. It gives me to great a shock when I find out your are neither.

Don't ever think it's beneath your dignity to apologize to me. An honest apology makes me surprisingly warm towards you.

Don't forget how quickly I am growing up. It must be hard to keep pace with me, but please try.

"Train up a child in the way he is to go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it"

....Proverbs 22:6

A PRAYER FOR THE CHILDREN

We pray for the Children

who sneak Popsicle's before supper,

who erase holes in math workbooks,

who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those

who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,

who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,

who never "counted potatoes,"

who are born in places where we wouldn't be caught dead,

who never go to the circus,

who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children

who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,

who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.

And we pray for those

who never get dessert,

who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,

who watch their parents watch them die,

who can't find any bread to steal,

who don't have any rooms to clean up,

whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,

whose monsters are real.

We pray for children

who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,

who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,

who like ghost stories,

who shove dirty clothes under the bed,

who never rinse out the tub,

who get visits from the tooth fairy,

who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool,

who squirm in church and scream in the phone,

whose tears we sometimes laugh at and

whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those

whose nightmares come in the daytime,

who will eat anything,

who have never seen a dentist,

who aren't spoiled by anybody,

who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,

who live and move, but have no being.

We pray for children

who want to be carried and for those who must,

who we never give up on

and for those who don't get a second chance.

For those we smother and . . .

for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.

Amen

Remembering Yesteryear- Classic Sesame Street

I don’t know if anyone is as big a fan of vintage Sesame Street and the Muppets as I am. I loved it as a kid growing up and I proud to say that I know all the songs and dances. The new Sesame Street is so lacking in comparison to those of yesteryear. No show can touch the fun, humor, creativity and sheer ingenuity brought to us by Jim Henson. I have been gathering these videos and looking for DVD’s for my Goddaughter. I mean come on you can’t grow up without these classics. Hope you enjoy em.



And this one is especially for sis

Apparitions and the Catholic Church

I thought I would let our readers know that this is not the first blog where I have expressed my views on various topics. I have written about Approved Apparitions for quite some time and I wholly believe in the vision of Fatima as it is.

Upon my confirmation into the Catholic Church I took Saint Faustina as my Patron Saint as I hold the Divine Mercy devotion very close to my own heart.

For those interested in Apparitions of our Lord and Lady please read the pieces I had written on Faith of the Fathers blog. I hope you will enjoy reading them as much as I did in writing them. Please CLICK HERE.

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I would also like to recommend Ginny's blog which is aligned with Faith of the Fathers blog. Ginny has done an exceptional job of representing our faith to our younger readers. I know Ginny would never promote herself, her humility would never allow it. So I will do so because her blog IS very good indeed. Please feel free to peruse her site which is obedient with the Teachings of the Catholic Church. I am sure your children or grandchildren will find much joy in reading her beautifully presented childrens blog. Please CLICK HERE.

Peace and blessings to all our readers.

Marie

Show Me Some Love Daddy!! Spend The Money !!!

Teen celebrations have gotten expensive. Does showing the love always mean spending the cash?

Have you seen this show on MTV, 'My Super Sweet 16'? It's a reality series where insane parents spend piles of money throwing parties for offspring who can barely drive. According to the show--and maybe, ironically, because of it--children's coming-of-age celebrations, like weddings before them, are getting out of control. Its across the board, everyone is doing it, every race, parties and the quinceañeras (to celebrate a 15-year-old Latina's transition to womanhood) have come to rival the Grammy’s in terms of over-the-top cost and glitz. Sweet 16’s may be the worst of the bunch--it's not unheard-of to see chocolate fountains, designer dresses, wedding like cakes, live entertainment, gift bags and the child of honor's name lit up in neon, all with a price tag of from as ‘little’ as $50,000 to way way more. And the location costs more than the average person’s salary for a couple years!

I'm certain that we don't want a teenzilla living in the upstairs bedroom. But escaping the phenomenon isn't easy. We all want to mark these milestones in a way that lets our children know we're proud of their accomplishments. If you don't throw a humdinger of a fiesta, do you risk sending the message to your child that you don't love him as much as his friends' parents love their kids? And the parents who go over the top only make it harder for everyone else. "Daddy, they had Beyoncé and Kayne West at the party I went to last weekend. Can we have them/her at mine?"

There's an extreme spending level. These celebrations look so much like weddings that there's very little to indicate that it's a teen party going on. Bridezillas have been replaced by childzillas and teenzillas! The demands they place on their parents not only for the party but for the birthday present, it’s out of this world! I mean a sixteen year old wanting a $97,000 car for her birthday and saying if she does not get it she is NOT going to be happy and neither will her parents!?!? And the parents find this cute??? Flashing a smile, crying the ‘fake tears’ and the good ole temper tantrum is how you get your way today cause I mean we don’t want Jane and Bobby to be unhappy or angry! And boy oh boy if mummy and daddy are divorced, play one parent on the other! And if the folks like to outdo others, everything must be more glamorous than the neighbors, well your kids are gonna work that number on you!





Spoiled brats are what we have created! When children are given just about anything they want and as much of anything they want and when parents feel in order for their children to think they love them they need to buy them things. It also happens when they are told they are better than everyone else and should be treated better than everyone else. They grow up treating any and everyone with no respect and expect everyone to bend to their every request. Many times this originates from a parent who doesn’t spend as much time as they want with their child. Buying them things isn’t going to solve the problem. Instead make time to spend with and enjoy your children. Remember that if you can’t spend time with your child, it doesn’t improve the situation by buying them things that they really don’t need.

Others just want to avoid the hassle of a conflict with their children. It’s easier for them to let the rules slide than to deal with the fuss. For other parents, it is hard to refuse their children anything, because they don’t want them to be unhappy. Who said that “unhappy children” equals “bad parents.”???? Still others are afraid their angry children will not love them. The fact is that children want to know that their parents are in charge, they need structure and limits.

So how do you honor your child without spending the equivalent of the GDP of Togo? Talk to your kids and let them know this is how much you can afford and work from there. What is the point of incurring enormous debts for a fleeting moment under the sun? You want to give your children nice experiences, but you don't want to flush them with too much stuff. It's kind of what happens when you take drugs. Your neurons get flooded with artificial material that is beyond what you can produce naturally. You crave that experience and become dissatisfied with the rest of your life. You always have to have more to achieve a ‘high’.

What then is the price tag for love? A new car? An over the top party? Jewellery? Money? News flash: Love cannot be bought! And if you believe you can buy your children’s love and affection and peace in the home, well you better have an unlimited bank account because you are going to have to outdo the last present and last party to keep raising the numbers on the “love scale”. But for the rest of us please save and spare us from your Childzilla!