by Ernest L. Norman
In various articles published by Unarius, certain inferences have been made about present existing signs of a decadent age, and that the author of these articles does not wish to be classified as one of the currently existing doom-mongers or crepe-hangers, who go about deploring the general state of things and prophesying an early end of the earth.
On the premise that any constructive and progressive evolution made by any culture or civilization is, by necessity, composed of many constructive factors such as a healthy environment for all citizens, adequate laws and enforcement to govern various intemperances, and above all, a keen and alert attitude by citizens and leaders alike, for any unhealthy trends which could, if they remained unchecked, undermine the moral fibre of this nation even causing its eventual collapse and disintegration.
It has been observed by almost everyone that the better things in life are obtained only at great effort and self-determination; and they are held only by an equally great effort. At the present time, there are many destructive and corrosive trends currently expressing themselves, some very flagrantly, seemingly without corrective opposition. At least one or two of these trends could be the acid which will eat away the bastions of our civilization, and when combined with a number of others which are presently flourishing, then surely we, the citizens of today have doomed the tomorrow by our indifferent attitude.
By far, the greatest single corrosive trend which is making a tremendous contribution to a decadent age is the mounting rate of incidence of juvenile delinquency among the younger generation. Without a doubt, the greatest single contributing factor to juvenile delinquency is the television set; one or more of which are found in almost every home. These said television sets are flooding the American homes with murder, sadism, prostitution, gambling, and other such various vile panderings of debased human emotions.
The author is not alone or singularly aware of this national crisis, which has been mounting in tempo for the past ten years. Educators, doctors, psychiatrists, and various executive preventive and judicial branches of our national, state, and city governments are keenly aware of this problem, and which, in the general consensus of opinions, have found that the various crime programs to which the children are exposed, have warped their personalities, made them indifferent to human suffering, unsympathetic, uncooperative and with a contempt for law, order and decency.
May we repeat a few statistics currently published by various census and research groups as well as law enforcement agencies. J. Edgar Hoover stated in two syndicated articles that 51% of the crimes committed in the United States are by the American youth before he reaches twenty-one. Over 31% of all dope addiction is found in the adolescent – teenage group. These are but a few of the alarming statistics which point toward the down-hill trail.*
*These statistics quoted were as of 1960 and now, in 1972, with this new edition, those figures have greatly increased.
Let us find how television has been the chief contributing cause toward juvenile delinquency. In 1952, the American Medical Association, in their medical journal, published an editorial which gave definite warning at that time, of the trend of juvenile delinquency which was being created by the crime programs beamed at our children. The 25 million youngsters who view television daily, see a total of 25,000 million hours of broadcasting devoted to crime programs yearly.
It is very significant to note that since the publication of the editorial in the medical journal, there has been an 800% increase in juvenile delinquency up to 1958. This increase is in direct ratio with an 800% increase in the number of child viewers, for which various sponsors of these crime programs spend over 500 billion dollars yearly. This sum does not include other kinds of shows which do not show crime.
If a child starts at the age of 6 to view television, by the time he reaches the age of 18, he will have seen 17,000 people killed in violent action as they are portrayed on more than 10,000 yearly crime shows. These figures, staggering as they are, cannot be fully appreciated unless we also understand the tremendous psychological impact which this constant and never-ending portrayal of death, vice, and prostitution has upon the mind and subconscious of the growing child.
While the broadcasters claim there are no ill effects from these shows, yet the grim evidence is there. These various broadcasters have openly declared their firm intentions to uphold the highest moral standards in their program material; yet recent surveys made in different cities show that these same broadcasters give as much as 400 hours a month to crime shows. Moreover, not only are these Westerns and other types of crime shows becoming more violent, they are purposely beamed at such times when the youngsters have access to the television set.
It has been found in these same surveys that some stations, during the 7 to 11 p.m. period, run as many as 4 consecutive hours of crime during the Friday, Saturday and Sunday weekend period; and some of the week nights are almost as bad. Sponsors and broadcasters alike, have unashamedly admitted this fact. In these various crime shows, particularly the Westerns, law, order, and justice are flouted. The criminal is made a great hero; his exploits only partially tempered by an equally great killer, the peace officer.
These peace officers are very often seen in saloons gulping down hard whiskey, gambling with the criminals and female prostitutes. In short, there is often very little difference between the criminal and peace officer, save the badge. Women, too, come in for their share of distortions; the good and virtuous housewife is most often seen, worn and haggard, bending over a washtub or chopping wood while the prostitutes live a life of glittering opulence in the local saloon.
It would be difficult to imagine the turmoil which goes on in the childish mind when he attempts to justify and compromise his approach to understanding the new life about him, for in these tender years, everything seen and heard by the child always becomes some part of his ratio of comparisons. It is therefore easy to see that such a child who spends several hours daily viewing these vile intemperances will inevitably grow up devoid of certain moral values and much less strength to back them up.
The results of this terrible juvenile delinquency is a matter of national concern; and every daily newspaper carries one or more incidents wherein some juvenile has started a one-man crime wave. Two such recent incidents — one 17-year-old boy committed nine murders before he was stopped; another 14-year-old boy (Whitney), hitchhiked from Los Angeles, California to Florida and killed seven people on the way. Another typical example of juvenile delinquency was found in New York City, during 1959; the teenage gangsters killed more than 20 people in that city.
Nor do all of the full implications of this juvenile delinquency reach the public eye or ear. Various juvenile centers, maternity wards and other such associated places should be visited to find a more complete picture of this problem. Watch the teenage gangsters and hoodlums racing up and down the public streets in their souped-up hot-rods, often beating up and even killing defenseless people sometimes for nothing more than the vicarious thrill, following the pattern of some hoodlum gangster or Western idol portrayed on the television screen which they saw in their previous years.
Movies, too, come in for a fair share of this nefarious criminal practice and most movie houses in the larger cities and suburbs have become veritable child and teenage jungles where, during the long double and triple feature programs, children of all levels of life promiscuously associate, learning bad habits, perverted sex practices, and marijuana smoking from various profligates from the lower seamy side of the city. These are all definite indications of a disastrous climax to this world of tomorrow. For as the twig is bent, so the tree grows.
In one recent survey, the children were asked what vocation they would choose; only 6% chose to be scientists. When asked why, they said scientists were queer, freaks, monsters, etc., and no wonder, after constantly seeing Frankenstein and Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde and other mad scientists. The children have little longing to become one of these hard working, patient men and women who have contributed more to our society than any other single faction.
Worse, still, when compared to our competitive nation Russia, where more than 20% of the children start out to be scientists (some estimates say 50%), for in Russia the scientist is usually a public hero, is better paid, and lives better than any other citizen; and we are depending, in one sense, upon survival from our scientific technocracy in competition with Russia.
This, then, is the trend of today and which becomes the fact of tomorrow and the facts of tomorrow will indeed be grim if these trends of today are not checked. In the common conduct of human ethics, the cause of law enforcement is never fully justified; two wrongs never make a right, for law enforcement involves not only penal and capital punishment, but sometimes the act of apprehension is one of violence and death.
The only sane and logical solution to any national problem lies in the pure dimension of suitable and correct educational values propagated in an atmosphere and environment which is sterile of all criminal malpractices and any attendant seductive influences. Other various and adjunctive educational elements have been discussed in various articles of Unarius and, if all of these factors and elements are brought together, and if so vigorously pursued in the next ten generations they would place this nation, culturally speaking, far in advance of any nation, past or present.
It is interesting to note that during the recent months (1959-60), national attention was focused on Washington, D.C., where a Senate Investigations Committee was probing into the graft and corruption going on in various television quiz shows aired throughout the country. Various sponsors and producers of these quiz shows were subpoenaed before the Board and while results were to the general public, rather vague, yet certain new rulings were instigated. Disc Jockeys, too, came in for their share of unfavorable notoriety; the word “payola ” became a household term.
Two officials also resigned, one a Mr. Mac, who headed the Federal Communications Commission and the other, the Columbia Broadcasting System president. This investigation effort, however, can be considered very commendable and shows what can be done when public interest is sufficiently aroused.
Today millions of parents and various other groups of individuals interested in public welfare are hoping and praying that the spotlight will be turned upon the television crime shows. So long as the general public remains apathetic to this great need, criminals of all kinds will continue to ride roughshod through American homes, shooting and killing as they go, and we will continue to have a rise in our juvenile delinquency problem.
In 1959, two bills were presented to Congress which would authorize several million dollars to be used in investigating and curtailing the juvenile delinquency problem. How well it would be if our lawmakers did the first and most obvious thing: Clean up the crime wave on television and return it to its rightful position as one of the greatest entertainment and educational mediums of these times. Until that day arrives, however, much can be done to alleviate this situation; a national boycott imposed against crime shows by parents would very quickly achieve the desired results, for as the ratings on these shows dropped, sponsors would no longer support them and they would be withdrawn.
Also a flood of letters to Congress from millions of angered constituents would also speed the day of recovery from this ghastly condition. For, if the future generations are to live happily in their future world, we, the people of the present must use every means at our command to curtail and obliterate this and all other unwholesome trends and to make sure the the basic foundation upon which the future will be built, has not and shall not be weakened.
Excerpt from Infinite Contact