It Goes Way Beyond Miley

"You the hottest b---- in this place"
"Let me be the one you back that a-- to"
"Yeah, I had a b----, but she ain't bad as you"
"I'll give you something big enough to tear your a-- in two"
"Nothing like your last guy, he too square for you, He don't smack that a-- and pull your hair like that"
"Not many women can refuse this pimpin'"

These are all lyrics from a song nominated at the VMA's in the categories of Video of the Year, Best Song of the Summer, Best Male Video, and Best Collaboration. 

It seems to me we need to be outraged at way more than Miley Cyrus' VMA performance. We need to be outraged out ourselves. We need to be looking in the mirror and asking ourselves why songs with lyrics like the ones above become popular enough to be nominated multiple times for awards. We are giving honor to degradation of women. 

Yet again the word "pimpin'" is used as if it is no big deal. Wake up people! I pimp is a slave owner. A pimp abuses, manipulates, and sells women for his own personal gain. If someone wrote a song about selling or owning another race, we would see immediate outrage. The news would air the story for weeks. However, when a man sings about owning a woman and referring to her as a "b----," we deem it worthy of awards? 

Have we lost all of our common sense? Do we really think so little of ourselves? Do we think so little of our daughters? Dads, is this really the value you want your daughter to place on herself? If you view any woman in this way, then you are saying your daughter is worth so little also. The woman you call a b----? She's someone's daughter. The woman you see as nothing more than a sexual object is no different than your own child. Mothers, we are the examples to our daughters of what it means to be a woman. If you allow yourself to be degraded, then she will grow up believing degradation and abuse is normal. You are worth so much more! 

Sadly, the music industry will keep supplying where there is a demand. As much as we want to scream in outrage at what we see on television and hear in music, we are the ones to blame. If degrading songs didn't sell, nobody would make them. If outrageous performances didn't garner so much attention, they wouldn't be performed. The issue lies within ourselves and our culture. As long as men and women are willing to sacrifice their morals and lack of self control, the media will keep feeding us what we are living. The more extreme the media, the more desensitized we become in our "real" lives. Once upon a time Elvis was considered controversial. He would now be hired for children's parties because his dances were conservative compared to what we see today. 

I pray you become more aware to what you are putting into your hearts and spirits. What you put in is what will come out. Where do we draw the line? Do we throw our hands up in defeat? Or are we willing to fight? The fight begins in our own homes. Stop listening to the music. Stop watching the television shows. Go outside and play with your children. Go volunteer to help someone less fortunate. Listen to music that will feed your soul and spirit in a healthy way rather than in a sexual way. Watch television programming that will inspire you to be a better person. What changes do you need to make? Start today.