Other Columns by Kevin Fobbs
Kevin Fobbs Bio

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I did a live broadcast with recording artist Frank Zappa who was joined on the phone from Hollywood. When I challenged his frayed and faulty logic concerning the harm to the children of America, instead of being an adult and reasonable he simply hung up on me on the air. Zappa was not trying to protect children but his right to make music. He wanted to expose children to the destabilizing influence of music, which glorified sex, emphasized drug use and violence, and promoted the decay of the family. That was his world and it was the world that Hollywood reflected as well

Zappa could hang up on me, but he could not hang up on America. Eventually the Recording Industry Association of America caved in and required that labels describing the lyrics appear on all records.

Parents like myself fought back against the Zappas of the recording industry and what was at the time an unrepentant industry. We worked to establish necessary codes prohibiting those types of vile lyrics being marketed to children without their parent's knowledge. We also asked for point of sale enforcement and compliance at the retail level. Most importantly we worked to educate parents about warning labels.

It took several years, but it was well worth it to protect our children's future and it certainly did not diminish or derail the recording industry or negatively impact upon recording artists' ability to make millions and millions of dollars.

What we fought for then is the same thing we have to stand up and fight for now, and that is the protection of our children and grandchildren's innocence of youth. Now, 20 years later we see Hollywood being even more invasive than the recording industry in its time.

You see, the Culture Wars of the 80s are now in full swing and gone is Gangsta Rap and Hard Rock as a tool of destruction of our family values. It has been replaced with an even more stealthy weapon. That weapon of choice by the liberal entertainment industry is now cartoon characters like Sunday night's longest running nighttime cartoons series the Simpsons. First Sponge Bob Square Pants, then PBS's Buster The Bunny... and now the Simpsons walked right into the midst of this war with the Sunday's shows supposed legalization of gay marriage in the Simpson's fictional town of Springfield.

Was it necessary to air this episode and was it sending, yet again, another message to America's children? No V-Chip can protect our children from cartoon characters. When Hollywood could not get its anti-family values agenda item through PBS or other means then they will air it on Sunday via the popular primetime cartoon series.

We as parents and concerned citizens have to yet again put on our armor and suit up against the entertainment industry. When Hollywood announces its Academy Awards this coming weekend we must also announce our renewed effort to take back our family values and fight to preserve our children's future.

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