Did We Expect Something Classy from MTV?

Okay, here's my take on the Superbowl Halftime show debacle. I had already changed the channel when I saw that most of the dancers were clothed in nothing more than the lingerie you'd find in a Victoria's Secret catalog. I didn't need to see Janet and Justin pawing each other to know that this was not something that I wanted my kids to watch. So, I changed the channel soon after Janet came on stage. The only problem was I changed it back to see if the half time show was over yet and unfortunately my timing stunk - I changed it just in time to see Justin rip open Janets costume and expose herself. I quickly changed the channel back to America's Funniest Home Videos but not before I heard by 6 year old son say, "Mom, did that woman show her breast?" Thank you MTV.

In all the editorials and comments about this incident that I have read, the people who think folks are being way too uptight about this whole business generally say something like, "Well if you don't like what is happening just change the channel." The problem is I changed the channel; I exercised good judgement as a responsible parent. But the four seconds I took to see if the routine was over meant my kids now have a picture planted in their minds for many years to come. Also, CBS and MTV didn't warn us in advance that there was going to be objectionable material during the show. They should have had more control over the content of the program and not caught parents the nation over unawares.

The most important criticism that I have of the whole episode, though, is not about Janet's boob showing. It's that we don't even notice the decadence and vanity of the whole entertainment business anymore. We are so used to being shocked and oversexed that we missed the scantily clad dancers and the suggestive movements during the dancing and the sex filled innuendos in the words the performers were singing. And the whole thing had no art, no beauty, nothing of redeeming or enlightening value to it. It was as mind numbing and facile as the Roman circus was. This is what is Satanic. The depth of our own and our children's minds and character are being eroded by this stupidity. If Janet hadn't bared her breast, would anyone have noticed this?