I was driving across the state today for a meeting. On one of the highways I was on I saw a large billboard that said “Adult Superstore” and the name of this establishment – The Lion’s Den. As I drove I started thinking about the name. The more I thought about it the more appropriate I thought it was. The Lion’s Den. Not a place you’d want to end up in with your kids at the zoo if the exhibit didn’t include a very tall fence and/or chasm the separated you and your kids from the hungry man eating lions. At the Adult Superstore I’m sure there were no fences or chasms that separated the customers from all the porn they had to offer. The people who walk into those stores probably don’t even sense any danger.
Have you ever faced a fierce animal? It doesn’t have to be a lion but how about that barking dog that comes tearing down the driveway towards you while you’re out for a walk. In that moment don’t the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. But as you walk that route again and again you get used to that dog and it doesn’t bother you anymore. Much like the people who enter the Lion’s Den they are so desensitized to what they see that they sense no danger.
We live in a world that constantly tries to desensitize our kids to porn. Just turn on the TV and sexual innuendo is on even in cartoons. Some shows don’t use innuendo; the shows are full of sex. Listen to the radio and more and more songs are about all kinds of sex. Look at some of the billboards for various clothing brands and you’ll see a mostly naked model, leaving you to wonder what clothes they’re advertising. So when our kids are bombarded with all these types of media porn is the logical next step. Its not so scary or taboo. They enter the Lion’s Den with no fear. And that is pretty sad.
As parents we have to protect our kids from porn with Internet filters, education and so forth but we also have to pay close attention to the rest of the media they’re consuming. Because if we protect them from porn and ignore everything else we’re setting them up for failure later on. Lets make sure our kids never feel comfortable entering the Lion’s Den.