WARNING - religious "innuendo" (Oh NO!)
Right now, there is a lot of hubbub going on in our pop and news cultures about a young girl by the name of Miley Cyrus. She is a 20-year-old singer who garnered fame and fortune by being the daughter of a country singer and then a teen idol on a Disney show about a pop star with an identity crisis. She recently did a performance that has thrown the social networking world into a frenzy. It was vulgar and repulsive and displayed not even an ounce of talent. Also, there was a grown man, nearly twice her age, engaging in the same vulgarity and repulsion, who isn't getting as much heat from the naysayers (although he should be).
By the time you read this, however, I fear that Miley Cyrus will be to you what Madonna was to me. What that means is that, in her prime, she throws all mothers, religious leaders, and conservatives into a judgmental frenzy, but by the time you grow up, she'll be nothing compared to what you're witnessing.
This terrifies me.
There have been letters and articles written to the children of the world about how to avoid being like her: the "what not to do"s and such. And as I read these, I agree with them and respond to them and re-post them so that others can read them and do the same. But it's got me thinking. I escaped my adolescence (fairly) unscathed regarding some of the more tempting moral issues that plague hormonal and misguided youth. How did I do that? Was I just so repulsive to the opposite sex that the opportunity to be lewd and senseless with my dress, speech, and actions just never presented itself? I like to think not. I mean, back then I didn't think I was so cute, but new-found wisdom, maturity, and hindsight tell me I actually wasn't so bad.
A while back, a young man I know was expressing frustration about how some of his church-going female associates were walking the walk regarding modest dress on Sundays, but that encounters with them throughout the rest of the week showed them in shorts that could double as panties and midriff-baring tops. He commented on how difficult it was for him, as someone preparing to serve an LDS mission, to look at these girls and not think inappropriate thoughts. He explained that boys absolutely notice them, and that, if they wanted to be supportive of their male acquaintances who were preparing for missions, they needed to tone it down. I couldn't help but mention to him that the LAST thing you say to a girl when you want her to change a behavior is that said behavior draws attention... especially male attention. "Oh, you mean boys NOTICE me when I dress this way? I'd better stop then!"
So, I wondered to myself, how does one successfully reach out to young girls about the way they dress and behave? And it came to me rather quickly. The only way a young girl will truly be able to avoid the pressure and desire to be a hot mess is if she knows 3 things: 1) who God is, 2) how He feels about her, and 3) that true happiness only comes from developing a relationship with Him.
In light of the recent events with Miley Cyrus and her rubber underwear and "twerking," instead of telling you what not to do, and just how much grounding you will get if you do it, I've decided to take the proactive approach. My one semester in psychology needs to be good for something, right?
When you find yourself surrounded by peers who think it's ok to talk openly about recreational drug abuse, or dress in clothes that are so revealing that complete nudity would likely make people less uncomfortable, or feel the desire to bend over and shake their butts in the air with their tongues hanging out of their mouths, or run around disrespecting other races and cultures by putting them on display and slapping their behinds, or frolicking up to a man twice your age who's dressed like something out of Tim Burton's worst nightmare and then rubbing up against his special places, or using sports' event memorabilia to do things that would not only spread diseases but also make Grandma pass out, I need you to think about asking yourself these questions:
Do I know who my Heavenly Father is?
Do I know how much He loves me?
Do I want happiness in the long term?
I think, more than anything else, instead of wasting your time on the above-mentioned idiotic activities (and, maybe, sort of, oh, I don't know, don't do them on stage and TV in front of millions of viewers?), if you take the time to truly discover the answer to such questions, then you'll be just fine.
And, then BONUS!: I won't have to be holed up in a nursing home for crazies because of my delinquent children.
Because, let's be honest, if that happens to me, guess who gets to foot the bill....?
