A Call to Action, Demand Better.

We have so many sub-cultures that were born out of neglect, pain, hardship and abandonment.  These sub-cultures used to exist on the fringes of our society, not really getting much attention except to say that something needs to be done to change things.  Well, guess what.  Something was done.  That something was to take the most negative and corrupt parts of our society, father absence, unwed teen pregnancy, drug use, violence, sexual crimes, etc. and make them “main stream” and even “cool”!  Can you believe that? 

Just watch television for about 5 minutes at any time on any day.  Go to a public school and observe the children.  Go online and view what’s popular with our youths today.  Check out the clothes that kids wear and how they wear them.  Watch most any comedian or award show, and observe how celebrities dress, act and treat others.  Listen to some of the most popular music artists today.  Have you listened to the lyrics of popular songs these days?  Have you?  They are not positive as a whole.  I encourage you to go online and look up the words to the music that’s popular today.  Then think about the companies that sponsor these “artists”.  What kind of sick, inappropriate weasels make these marketing decisions? 

The artists themselves claim that they are just “being real”, and “singing” about what they know.  So these poor, uneducated, inner-city kids know a lot about poverty, violence, neglect, abuse, sarcasm and disappointment. Well, how in the heck did that become the driving force in corporate advertising???  Are we really so basic and low that pure shock value has the MOST value?  Big marketing firms seem to think so. 

The problem is this, I believe (and statistics will back me up on this) that MOST Americans don’t condone this behavior nor come from those backgrounds.  MOST Americans are good, decent, hard-working people with good values and strong morals.  It’s just when they are bombarded and battered every second of everyday with an endless stream of vile, negative, sexual and destructive images they begin to wear down and even buy-in to this idea that it’s okay.  Heck, the former President even said that oral sex isn’t sex.  What are young people to think?  Anything goes is what they think.  

Where is the morality of my grandfather’s generation?  Where is the golden rule?  Where is common sense?! And major corporations feed that attitude gladly, laughing all the way to the bank.  These so called “rebellious” kids don’t even have a clue that they are doing exactly what corporations want.  They are sheep, acting like and believing they are wolves. 

Kids today are more sexually active and at an earlier age than ever before.  Brand name clothes and music are must-have accessories for kids to feel accepted.  Their very identity depends on these “material” things.  Why?!  Is it because we have more broken homes than ever?  Is it that Mom and Dad are too busy with their careers to raise their children?  Where are people’s priorities???   

When I was growing up, in the 70’s and 80’s we had those pressures too, but not to the extent kids have them today.  How far are we going to fall as a society before we’ve had enough?  Why are we letting the few malcontents destroy the family unit that made our free society work in the first place?  What has to happen to stop this horrible trend? 

I can tell you one thing, involved, strong fathers make a difference.  A big difference.  That’s what Dadsworld is out to promote and praise.  We need our fathers to be involved in the raising of our kids, and we need to make involved parents the overwhelming majority, not just barely the majority.  We need to encourage parents to raise their own children!  Those fathers who are involved and parents who are doing the right thing should be thanked, and used as role models. 

What are your kids aspiring to?  It’s time to change what we idolize and see as desirable.  We do that by having real men step up, demand that other men either grow up or don’t have kids, and start thinking with our brains. 

We are supposed to be the brightest species of animal that ever lived on this planet, given special power to reason and make independent choices.  And this is the best we can do?  Wear pants that don’t fit and purposely hang off our butts, color our hair and smoke burning cancer sticks, make and listen to angry music about how bad we’ve got it, make fun of anything touching or emotional and generally have an apathetic attitude toward working and accomplishment.  And that’s cool? 

I demand better. 

The problem with a lot of these kids is that they don’t have a Dad around to set them straight, and demand better from them.  These people without Dad’s are the minority, but then major corporations sponsor celebrities, artists and athletes that personify this stereotype and all the sudden the majority of kids have started acting this way (like fools). 

Stop making excuses and justifying bad behavior.  Demand better.  Demand better in yourself, your friends and colleagues and your children.  This movement has to start with #1, you. 

I can hardly believe the amount of people who will justify bad choices, i.e. Getting high, drunk, cheating, smoking, using drugs, etc.  “I had a hard day”, “It’s really no big deal”, “I’m only human, not perfect”, “You would do it to if you had been through what I have.” You know what?  That’s not true.  There really are people out there who don’t drink to excess, abuse drugs, sleep around, commit adultery, take advantage of others, and undermine the family unit.  There are good people out there!  I feel this needs to be said because I have heard people in interviews say that “everyone does _____.”  Not true.  Take personal responsibility and set higher standards for yourself.  That’s part of the process of maturing from a child into an adult.  I will excuse a 15 month old baby for not being able to control his emotions, but a 24 year old adult should have learned self control and social restraint.

It’s time for our culture to step up, take responsibility for ourselves and start focusing and supporting causes of REAL value.  If Dadsworld.com can help out, even in a small way, then our time, effort and money spent running this website will be worth it.  Thank you for YOUR support.  Keep doing what’s right, and keep spreading the word.

Tags: character, class, dads, drugs, golden rule, parenting, president, responsibility, sex, violence