Cancel Culture to Morgan Wallen: You’ve Been Chopped

I’m not a fan of the N-word and, for the record, I refuse to use such a degrading word myself. But the hypocrisy from the Cancel Culture Crowd is stunning. Here’s the latest.

On one hand, Cardi B uses the word “nigga” half a dozen times in her song “Be Careful”—which has more than 130,559,700 YouTube views—and she uses it several dozen times in “Sauce Boyz” . . . and makes big bucks doing so.

But . . . when country artist Morgan Wallen called a friend the N-word—BOOM!—Cumulus Media banned his music from 400+ radio stations for “using a racial slur”, his music was instantly dropped by Pandora, SiriusXM, and both Apple Music’s Today’s Country and Spotify’s Hot Country Songs axed him from their playlists.

But wait there’s more.

CMT is censoring all of Wallen’s appearances from their various platforms and his record company has suspended his recording contract. Now that Country Music has given him the boot, will Wallen take up singing the blues? Inquiring minds want to know.

Welcome to the sanctimonious Cancel Culture. Someone says the N-word and their entire career and livelihood is vaporized. Or not. Where is the outrage over Cardi B using racial slurs? Why aren’t streaming services and stores dropping her music?

This hypocritical censorship isn’t entirely new. Where was the same outrage when Ludacris—President Obama’s favorite rapper—wrote the little ditty “Too Many Niggas Not Enough Hoes“?

Or take Eminem, who used the N-word back in 1993. He claims the rap was “made out of anger, stupidity and frustration when I was a teenager.” At the time he rapped, “All the girls I like to bone have big butts / No they don’t, ’cause I don’t like that n***er sh*t / I’m just here to make a bigger hit.” (N-word aside, gotta like his adoring view of women.)

Rapper 50 Cent, who uses the N-word constantly, told NBC’s Today Show, “I’m not using it as a racial slur . . . It’s just slang.” He gets a pass from the left for raps like “To All My Niggars” and “The Realest Niggars.”

Then there’s Kid Rock who, back on June 19, 2013, appeared on Howard Stern and said,

“We all use the n-word. We call each other the n-word all the time. We cut it up. My dentist’s name is Taco. We say stuff like that all the time ‘What’s up my ni66er?’ We’re just living up pop-culture. We just call it like it is, like band members do in privacy.”

Shock jock Stern went on to ask whether or not Kid Rock used the N-word around his son—who happens to be half black. Answer? “Why can’t I say the N-word to him?” Nice.

Def Jam founder Russell Simmons who defended the use of the N-word, saying, “When we say ‘nigger’ now, it’s very positive.”

If the N-word is so “very positive” now, why did Paula Deen, The Queen of Cooking, get such a bad rap eight years ago? Her critics became boiling mad that Paula used the N-word three decades prior. She promptly lost endorsement deals worth more than $12.5 million when sponsors like Home Depot, Target, Walmart and the Food Network dropped her like a hot potato. Their argument was half-baked at best.

To her credit, Paula Deen has apologized several times. So has Morgan Wallen. Can’t say the same thing about Cardi B, Post Malone, Machine Gun Kelly, Ludacris, 50 Cent, Kid Rock, Snoop Dogg, Vanilla Ice or any number of rappers before and after them who have sold millions of albums drenched with the N-word.

This begs a few questions:

Why do Walmart and Target still carry their albums, books and videos? Why doesn’t YouTube suspend the streaming of their music videos? Why isn’t their music pulled from radio—satellite and terrestrial—just as Wallen’s music was banned?

Is it possible that the prevalence of N-words in rap and hip hop music over the last 40 years has popularized the word so much its become common parlance? Why, then, are we so surprised when Morgan Wallen or some suburban kid in Kansas throws around a word they’ve heard a million times in their headphones?

If using the N-word is so offensive—yes, even worthy of losing your entire career over, why aren’t we equally concerned about those peddling and profiteering from of its usage?

And what about the salacious words Wallen spewed? Sexually degrading terms for female genitals are Okay? Who decides which words are acceptable and which words get you cancelled?

While the Cancel Culture arbitrarily picks who will be held accountable and who gets a pass, there’s One who will hold all of us accountable for our word choices—even those said in private.

Jesus says, “But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (Luke 12:36-37).

Thankfully, there’s some good news: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Jesus isn’t in the business of canceling us. He desires to transform us.

Cardi B and the Year the World Got Sick

When I say the world got sick, I’m not referring to the corona virus. I’m talking about the complete and utter moral failure and lack of discernment by youth around the globe enabling Cardi B, a morally bankrupt hip-hopper, to be named “Woman of the Year” by Billboard magazine.

Does that sound like an exaggeration?

Take a moment to look up the lyrics to “WAP”—brace yourself, they’re explicit. Go ahead. Do it. Then explain how this pornographic song hit the No.1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart—for four weeks—if it didn’t have a massive listening audience. In fact, “WAP” also became the first No.1 song on the Billboard Global 200 chart. You might want to read that again.

National Public Radio (NPR) lost all credibility with me when they listed “WAP” as their No.1 Song of the Year for 2020—a song they described as “raunchy fun.” NPR isn’t alone in their drooling over the latest hip hop smut-fest. With 93 million first week streams by jaded listeners, last year “WAP” set the world record for the “most streams for a song in a single week.”

As of this writing, there have been more than 205 million views of the video and just shy of 1 billion global streams of “WAP.” That’s sick.

Billboard’s December cover story gushed that 28-year-old Cardi B’s “unapologetic voice resonated far and wide in 2020 when the world needed it most.” Seriously? The world needed yet another XXX-rated hip hop song pumped into the kids AirPods at a time when parents have lost their jobs and, in turn, their homes?

How does a salacious sex-romp benefit family businesses which have been forced to close their doors forever?

How are lewd lyrics helping children, who have been deprived of friendships and peer interaction, cope with isolation, depression, and thoughts of suicide?

I’m still struggling to understand how Cardi’s “unapologetic voice” is what the world “needed most.”

For her part, Cardi acts surprised by those who would take issue with her vulgar lyrics. After all, she grew up listening to hardcore female rappers. She told Billboard, “I’m so used to listening to raunchy female rap music since I was a little girl” that “WAP” “to me was just a regular raunchy female rap song.” She adds, “I represent America.” I sure hope not.

For better or worse, America—and the world—are listening.

What are the implications for this generation of young listeners who stream her music? Who is helping teens process Cardi B’s fixation on genital pleasure and her “filthy bit of joy” (NPR) in light of God’s gift of sex and human sexuality? Who is raising a biblical standard of purity in a culture which has largely traded love for lust and where courting has been replaced by copulating?

Focus on the Family remains an excellent resource for moms and dads as they navigate their parenting journey in these turbulent times. Click here to learn more.

A final thought. The darker the night, the more we need light. When it comes to entertainment choices in our homes, Philippians 4:8 provides a spotlight to live by: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (NIV).

That’s what the world needs most.

The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy Is On Your Screen

I never met New York magazine columnist Jonathan Chait. If I have the opportunity to meet him one day, I’ll be sure to buy him lunch. After all, finding an honest liberal commentator on pop culture these days is about as rare as sighting an albino crow.

In his piece, The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy Is on Your Screen, Chait admits what conservatives used to argue, namely, that TV programming is a vast wasteland of liberal indoctrination.

Regarding Hollywood’s impact, he notes that “A trio of communications professors found that watching Will & Grace made audiences more receptive to gay rights.” Furthermore, “When Joe Biden endorsed gay marriage in May, he cited Will & Grace as the single-most important driving force in transforming public opinion on the subject.” Although I’d suggest Glee made Will & Grace look like a couple of lightweights by comparison.

If conceding that a connection exists between extreme liberal values on TV screen and a values shift in the culture wasn’t brave enough, this self-proclaimed “liberal hawk” does something I can’t say I’ve ever witnessed any liberal journalist do—he invites his reader to empathize with conservatives:

“…think of it from the conservative point of view, if you don’t happen to be one. Imagine that large chunks of your entertainment mocked your values and even transformed once-uncontroversial beliefs of yours into a kind of bigotry that might be greeted with revulsion. You’d probably be angry, too.”

However, he rightly points out that conservatives have largely stopped publicly holding Hollywood accountable for the daily dose of excrement they shovel into our living rooms via TV. Which begs a question: Why do millions of people in fly-over country wear a muzzle when Follywood producers mock, trample upon, and vilify their core beliefs?

Chait confessions “The more uncomfortable reality is that the culture war is an ongoing liberal rout. Hollywood is as liberal as ever, and conservatives have simply despaired of changing it.” Some might argue that we shouldn’t impose our values on others. Ah, yes, but clearly Hollywood doesn’t have that issue, do they?

That said, it’s decades after the fact—but hats off to this brave soul for having the hutzpah to say we conservatives are right about Hollywood’s role in corrupting our culture. I wonder if he saw the light because he got married and had two children . . . funny how that works.

STARTER SCREENS FOR TOTS

For their next birthday, give tots ages 3+ the gift that keeps on giving: a portable screen device.

For $139.99 bucks, your little prince or princess never has to leave the coziness of their bedroom. Thanks to advances in technology, six-year-olds can completely disengaged from the family. No more noise arguing over Legos, dolls, blocks, crayons or Hot Wheels.

With the Amazon Fire 8” Kids Edition Tablet display—headset and carrying case sold separately—kids can be King and Queen of their own viewing.

I’m serious here. Why risk their well-being exploring the dangerous outdoors? Between crime, global warming, and neighborhood bullies, it’s much better to have the kiddies watching the action from the safety of their bedside.

Forget the CDC reports documenting the link between childhood obesity and inactivity. What do those researchers at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) know about health, anyway? Who are they to claim in a study that 2 million preteens and teens in the U.S. are suffering from a prediabetic condition due to their inactivity and obesity? Enough of the guilt trip already. This is Ammmmerica.

We’re talking about your child’s happiness here. This model includes access to more than 20,000 apps, games, and videos. And, with up to 12 hours of battery life, the kiddos can awaken to the sights and sounds of the tube instead of the voices of their parents—how boring is that? Give ’em Sponge Bob and Sesame Street over Dad and Mom any day.

I say, buy two and save . . . Common sense not included.

NO MORE BABY EINSTEIN

Darn those people at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Once again, they’ve released a study sure to heap gobs of guilt on harried parents. Why should we care that 80% of toddlers in America watch two hours of television a day?

If 8 out of 10 parents are too busy to give a rip about the long-term negative behavioral consequences that their toddlers will experience in front of the tube, so what? It’s still a free country.

If a parent wants a mentally-stunted kid, isn’t that their choice?

As if that bit of bad news wasn’t enough, the Kaiser Family Foundation went and surveyed 1,051 families about the TV viewing habits of infants. Infants!

We already know that the American Academy of Pediatrics has urged mom and dad to keep their kids—especially infants—from watching ANY television until age two—because it damages brain development and measurably increases the risk of suffering from attention deficit disorder (ADD) later in life. That means no “Baby Einstein” videos, too.

Why, then, does Kaiser feel the need to rub into our faces the fact that 1 in 5 infants have a TV babbling away in their nurseries?

Can’t they see that life is hard and infants require buckets of actual, hands-on attention? With so many good guests on Jimmy Kimmel and Ellen—not to mention the latest episode of The Crown, Mandalorian, and WandaVision—who has time for a needy little infant?

Besides, who does Kaiser think they are to lecture the rest of us about parenting? What are they, the nation’s nanny?

If they cared so much about the welfare of infants, how about they come to my house and take my kid for a stroller ride . . . hold him when he cries . . . kiss him when he coos . . . dress him in a one-piece cozy for bedtime . . . and softly hum lullabies when he stirs in the middle of the night.

I mean, what do they think I am? His dad?

Why I Don't Watch Primetime TV: Reason #437

Here’s a fun fact you probably didn’t know about TV.

While we American vidiots were glued to our big screens and immersed in our surround sound, the first television set didn’t arrive in the Fiji Islands until 1995. Prior to the arrival of TV in that otherwise unspoiled tropical paradise, the Fijians had a rather curious cultural belief; they believed that to be fat was fabulous.

The bigger the body, the better. Large was in charge.

Natives living in Fiji considered it a compliment to say, “Looks like you’ve put on some weight—you look great!” Ever-hungry for the robust bod, the Fijians created various herbal potions which stimulated their hunger in order to supersize their bods—sort of like Viagra for the appetite. Unlike our infomercial-based obsession with getting the ultimate “abs of steel,” they sought “flabs of steel.”

But that all changed. The arrival of Western culture via television’s heavy dosage of Friends, Seinfeld and Baywatch prompted the island girls to rethink their picture of beauty. Thanks largely to the (initially) one available channel, young women in Fiji came to believe that being robust was revolting and began to purge rather than binge.

But wait. I thought TV didn’t influence behavior.

How could this be? Is there proof? Actually, yes.

Anthropologist and psychiatrist Anne Becker, a research director at Harvard’s Eating Disorders Center, noted the number of teens at risk for a variety of eating disorders (including anorexia and bulimia) more than doubled in Fiji in the three years immediately following the introduction to TV. What’s more, she discovered the use of vomiting as a weight control technique by high school girls increased five fold during the same period.

A mere coincidence?

In her report, Becker observed, “The acute and constant bombardment of certain images in the media are apparently quite influential in how teens experience their bodies. There’s a huge disparity between what they see on television and what they look like themselves—that goes not only for clothing, hairstyles and skin color but size of bodies.”

Question: If television programming can cause an entire people group to change their outlook on life, how might it be influencing your family?

Columnist John Leo puts it this way:

“In the old days, the Brady Bunch never thought about sex, as far as we knew. Their modern counterparts on TV never think about anything else . . . These shows are also carriers of heavy cultural messages, the most obvious being that parents are fools. In the teen soap operas, parents are absent, stupid, irrelevant, zanily adulterous, on the lam, or in jail. The unmistakable message is that kids are on their own, with no need to listen to parents, who know little or nothing anyway.”

Leo’s right. While there may be a handful of worthy shows, for the most part in TV-land the values of a few narcissists are inflicted upon the many. In turn, the many make life changes based upon the twisted view of reality presented by the self-important, ever-indulgent, pancaked-faced few.

As this picture of life offered by the gods who walk among us becomes increasingly depraved, the changes which take place in the rest of us—if honest—are often alarming. As a nation, we’ve come to tolerate the intolerable. Why? Television brings into our living room people whom we wouldn’t permit through the front door. Worse, we waste precious time feeding on stuff which is about as nutritious as an electronic Twinkie.

Which is reason #437 why we don’t watch anything on prime time TV . . . we stopped years ago.

Here’s a modest proposal. This year, why not send your TV on an extended vacation. Give it a rest for, say, thirty days and watch what happens. I double dare you. In fact, I’ll guarantee that the simple decision to unplug the TV for a month has the power to revolutionize your relationship with your spouse, your children, your world, and most importantly with God.

How can that be? It’s a matter of our focus. Take Tom and Vicki from Jacksonville, Florida. They were fed-up with the death grip of television on their lives. They decided to give my 30-day TV-free challenge a try. After just a handful of days they said:

“Bob, our children who never get along, much less play together, are getting along and playing together. We even put them in the same bedroom! It’s really weird. It makes we wonder if the TV had something to do with it since that’s the only thing that has changed.”

James and Debbie from Austin, Texas, told me:

“The greatest gift to me of having the TV off for a month has been the gift of time. Time for the kids imaginations to take hold creatively express themselves.”

If you are ready to bust the boob tube habit and fall in love with life again, get unplugged.

You’ll thank me later.