I'm sure that every generation has asked the same question "What the fuck happened to the world?" One could easily argue that society's ills have always been and that people's concern over the current state of our culture reflects not a changing society but a populace traditionally ignorant of the dark corners of humanity seeing for the first time light shed upon them.
When events happen like mass shootings or horrific crimes splattered across the news, it's easy to forget that atrocities have always existed. However it does seem like something is different today. We have the Westboro Baptist church spreading hate, people using the internet to share videos of everything from child abuse to the torture of animals. We have a culture of sick people doing sick things for entertainment, or for no real reason at all.
There are websites that specialize in "user submitted" content with little or no rules and regulations. These sites give a forum to those who sexually abuse children, support rape and violence and revel in harming the innocent. Have you ever heard of "Animal Crush" videos? Literally videos of people stomping puppies to death! Disgusting evil shit like this exists, and people profit from it. Furthermore, children are at greater risk online than ever before. From people profiting from pictures and videos of child abuse to pedophiles talking to your kids online, the threat is everywhere.
Chat rooms and anonymous webcam sites give sex offenders the opportunity to find new victims without leaving the comfort of their home. If you have children that use the internet unsupervised, be aware that they are subject to being flashed by strangers, being exposed to pornographic material and even being solicited by sex offenders. The ease with which cyber offenders are able to commit their crimes is disturbing and goes largely unreported.
We all know that in society there are bad people doing bad things and this is the way it has always been, so why am I talking about it? What's the point? The point is that our culture has a prevalent sickness that needs to be addressed. I'm not talking about the perpetrators of abuse and violence. I'm talking about the rest of us. We are afflicted with a disease of selfishness. Doctor King spoke a lot about the role of society and our duty to stand for what is right. He said that the silence of our friends will leave a greater impact than the words of our enemies. This is the fundamental problem facing us today.
The problem is not as much the people doing horrible things as it is the people allowing it as they are more concerned with the new iphone than the well-being of others. Abusive content is allowed on websites by moderators who only care about making money. Children are endangered by strangers because of parents who can't be bothered to protect them. It all comes down to selfishness. People hurt others because they only care about themselves. We see it happen and walk on by because we don't want to take the time to do anything.
It's time to change things. It's time for those who care to stand up. If things are going to change, we have to change them. Answer this: How many funny cat pictures have you shared on Facebook? And how many times have you shared something meaningful? Through social media, we have the power to reach millions, but the choice is ours to extend a healing hand for change, or to sit selfishly by and remain sick.
You are the cure. Stand up!
When events happen like mass shootings or horrific crimes splattered across the news, it's easy to forget that atrocities have always existed. However it does seem like something is different today. We have the Westboro Baptist church spreading hate, people using the internet to share videos of everything from child abuse to the torture of animals. We have a culture of sick people doing sick things for entertainment, or for no real reason at all.
There are websites that specialize in "user submitted" content with little or no rules and regulations. These sites give a forum to those who sexually abuse children, support rape and violence and revel in harming the innocent. Have you ever heard of "Animal Crush" videos? Literally videos of people stomping puppies to death! Disgusting evil shit like this exists, and people profit from it. Furthermore, children are at greater risk online than ever before. From people profiting from pictures and videos of child abuse to pedophiles talking to your kids online, the threat is everywhere.
Chat rooms and anonymous webcam sites give sex offenders the opportunity to find new victims without leaving the comfort of their home. If you have children that use the internet unsupervised, be aware that they are subject to being flashed by strangers, being exposed to pornographic material and even being solicited by sex offenders. The ease with which cyber offenders are able to commit their crimes is disturbing and goes largely unreported.
We all know that in society there are bad people doing bad things and this is the way it has always been, so why am I talking about it? What's the point? The point is that our culture has a prevalent sickness that needs to be addressed. I'm not talking about the perpetrators of abuse and violence. I'm talking about the rest of us. We are afflicted with a disease of selfishness. Doctor King spoke a lot about the role of society and our duty to stand for what is right. He said that the silence of our friends will leave a greater impact than the words of our enemies. This is the fundamental problem facing us today.
The problem is not as much the people doing horrible things as it is the people allowing it as they are more concerned with the new iphone than the well-being of others. Abusive content is allowed on websites by moderators who only care about making money. Children are endangered by strangers because of parents who can't be bothered to protect them. It all comes down to selfishness. People hurt others because they only care about themselves. We see it happen and walk on by because we don't want to take the time to do anything.
It's time to change things. It's time for those who care to stand up. If things are going to change, we have to change them. Answer this: How many funny cat pictures have you shared on Facebook? And how many times have you shared something meaningful? Through social media, we have the power to reach millions, but the choice is ours to extend a healing hand for change, or to sit selfishly by and remain sick.
You are the cure. Stand up!
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