Desensitization

I received an email from the American Family Association (AFA) a couple days ago. They send email alerts to their subscribers regarding issues of concern to the family or issues that threaten the traditional family. Sometimes I think that they get a little nitpicky with their issues and the emails get to be too much. Other times, I appreciate them keeping me “in the know.”

The email that I received was about a homosexual couple on the soap opera, As the World Turns. This couple recently had a scene in which they kissed (open-mouthed) on screen. (Can I say “yuck!” at this point without being called homophobic?)

Proctor and Gamble sponsors As the World Turns and they established a toll-free number for viewers to call and let them know if they approve or disapprove of the homosexual couple. The AFA wanted subscribers to call Proctor & Gamble to let them know that they oppose the gay kissing scenes.

According to the AFA, “The motive behind P&G’s push is to desensitize viewers, especially younger viewers, to the homosexual lifestyle. The ultimate goal of homosexual activists is homosexual marriage.” Whether this is Proctor & Gamble’s true motive or not -- I do not know. What I do know is that we certainly are becoming desensitized to homosexuality, violence, gore and crime.

Here's an example of what I mean. Growing up I was frightened to death by Alfred Hitchcock movies. The Birds was one of those movies that made me nearly jump out of my skin. A few years ago I rented The Birds because I wanted my kids to see it. To me, it was a classic and Alfred Hitchcock was the greatest.

So, we sat down to watch this movie and I anxiously monitored my kids' faces for a response. At the start of the very first bird attack scene, they started laughing! Then they questioned me, wanting to know exactly what part of the movie was supposed to be the “scary part”. They really wanted to know how and why that movie could have frightened me. They just could not understand. I understood though.

My children had already seen so much on television and in the movies that was a hundred times worse than The Birds, that this movie was more of a comedy than a thriller for them. They had been desensitized.

That’s exactly what is going on in our world in general. The things of the world that used to shock us no longer have that effect. From sex on television to profanity in magazines to vulgarity in songs to homosexuality and over the top violence in movies – we accept it all. Nothing has shock-value anymore. Not only do we fail to think anything is wrong with any of it – we reward it.

Just think about it. What kind of movies typically win awards? Things that used to be considered trash are now considered brilliant works of art. I think it's all such a shame.

Webster defines the word "desensitize" as follows: to make emotionally insensitive or callous; specifically : to extinguish an emotional response (as of fear, anxiety, or guilt) to stimuli that formerly induced it. That sums it up perfectly. We are all desensitized.

My grandmother used to ask, “What is this world coming to?” We no longer need to ask what it's "coming to", we've reached that dreaded point to which she was referring.