第三篇 TV Could Nourish Minds and Hearts
(1) Despite questions of the motivation behind them, the attacks by the President and the Vice President on the moral content of television entertainment have found an echo in the chambers of the American soul. Many who reject the ______ still accept the message. They do not like the moral tone of American TV. In our society only the human family surpasses television in its capacity to communicate values, provide role models, form con-sciences and motivate human behavior. Few educators, church leaders or politicians possess the moral influence of those who create the nation’s entertainment.
(2) Every good story will not only captivate its viewers but also give them some insight into what it means to be a human being. By so doing, it can help them grow into the deeply centered, sovereignty free, joyously lov-ing human beings God made them to be. Meaning, freedom and love — the supreme human values. And this is the kind of human enrichment the American viewing public has a right to expect from those who make its en-tertainment.
(3) It is not a question of entertainment or enrichment. These are complementary concerns and presuppose each other. The story that entertains without enriching is superficial and escapist. The story that enriches with-out entertaining is simply dull. The story that does both is a delight.
(4) Is that what the American viewing public is getting? Perhaps 10% of prime-time network programming is a happy combination of entertainment and enrichment. I think immediately of dramas like I’ll Fly Away and Life Goes On or comedies like Brooklyn Bridge and The Wonder Years. There used to be television movies rich in human values, but they have now become an endangered species. Sleaze and mayhem. Murder off the front page. The woman in jeopardy. Is there too much sex on American TV? Not necessarily. Sex is a beautiful, even holy, part of human life, a unique way for husband an
