Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1992 10:33:09 -0800 [Disclaimer: This is a letter I obtained from the American Family Association. The opinions reflected herein are not my own.] American Family Association Dr. Donald E. Wildmon, President P.O. Drawer 2440 * 107 Parkgate * Tupelo, Mississippi 38803 PROJECT TO FIGHT MTV CABLE CHANNEL Dear Friend, I'm asking you to take some very important actions. You'll find them listed below. Your actions today will help fight one of TV's most offensive "teachers"--MTV--the music video channel. If you've never watched MTV, it's time you do. You must know what lessons MTV teaches millions of children every day. In truth, MTV is so bad, entertainer Eddie Rabbit has come out strongly against it. Here's what he tells parents: "MTV promotes the most violent of acts in front of our children. If parents saw someone peddling hard-core pornography to their, children, they'd have them arrested. That's what MTV does." MTV is a cancer eating away at the moral fiber of our young. In fact, MTV is such a dangerous threat to our children that West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, on the floor of the U.S. Senate, warned parents, saying: "The central message of most of these music videos is clear: Human happiness and fulfillment are experienced by becoming a sociopath and rejecting all responsibility. If we continue to sow the images of murder, violence, drug abuse, sadism, arrogance, irreverence, blasphemy, perversion, pornography and aberration before the eyes of millions of children, we should not be surprised if the foundations of our society rot away as if from leprosy." MTV teaches these lessons by design. MTV executives say they have a "mandate" to help form and shave the values of our children. A Los Angeles Daily News article quoted MTV senior vice president- creative director Judy McGrath as follows: "We have articulated our responsibility concerning our MANDATE to lead, serve and reflect our young audience." What "mandate?" MTV has no "mandate" to teach our children. What parents in their right minds would turn their children over to people who teach lessons like this: A 10:00 Sunday MORNING (1/19/92) feature had a man portray the devil and convince a woman to sell her soul to him. She at first resisted saying she was Christian. But the devil told her how many stars--such as Madonna--had sold their souls to him. The woman noted how these stars have expensive cars, homes, clothes and jewelry...and so she agreed. Once she did so, a music video entitled "The Devil Inside Me" aired. This song--which teaches that the devil is inside everyone--WAS SUNG TO A STUDIO AUDIENCE OF CHILDREN! The video ended with the devil and woman in bed. That, my friend, is not an isolated video. Eddie Rabbit would not risk professional blacklisting over an isolated video. Senator Byrd would not speak out against the dangers of MTV from the Senate floor over an isolated video. MTV is on a mission to sell our youth the values of drugs, violence, sex, and hedonism. MTV officials thoroughly reject traditional morals and values. Join the fight to get MTV off the air and out of our homes. MTV is shown on nearly every cable system in America. BUT KEEP THIS IN MIND: Even if you don't have cable, and even if you don't watch MTV, and even if you don't allow your children to watch MTV, .....the fact remains that MTV is pumped into 54.5 MILLION HOMES in America alone. And you and I and our children must live with the people who watch AND ACT OUT the lessons they learn on MTV. So decide today to help fight MTV. Take these actions: (1) Call your local cable company and ask them to quit carrying MTV over your cable network. (2) If they say they can't do that, ask them to scramble the MTV signal and make it a "premium" channel subscribers receive only by request. (3) If they say they can't do that, tell them to immediately scramble the signal and sound coming into your home from MTV. (4) If they refuse to do that, bite the bullet and CANCEL YOUR CABLE SERVICE. Believe me, you can live without cable TV. (5) Reproduce and distribute among your church members, friends, family, and others the enclosed petition concerning MTV. (6) Whether or not you get cable, SIGN the enclosed postcards to Ralston Purina and PepsiCo and MAIL THEM today. Ralston Purina and PepsiCo are two leading sponsors of MTV. There is absolutely no reason for them to help pay for filth on MTV. It is time to get angry at these two companies who tell us they are concerned with the kinds of television they help pay for. Thank you for taking this action today. You are helping rid society of a deadly menace. Better still, you are helping to protect the hearts and minds of our children from the prowling lion called MTV. In closing let me once again thank you for all the support you have given and continue to give our AFA ministry. Your ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT in our projects, your PRAYERS for me and the success of our work, and your FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS are making a tremendous difference. People are waking up. People are getting involved. Please keep up your valuable and irreplaceable support. And whenever you can, contribute to the success of our work. As I have told you many, many times, fully 99.9% of our funding comes from the generous sacrifices supporters like you make. Thank you for this help. Without you, there would be no AFA. God bless you, my friend, and your loved ones, too. Sincerely, Donald E. Wildmon P.S. I know that you, as I do, get tired fighting this never-ending battle. But we simply must not quit. God never gives up on us. For the sake of those who come after us, let us resolve to continue fighting the good fight. ======================================== Bryan J. Blumberg, The MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation 815 Colorado Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90041-1777 (213) 259-4914, B_BLUMBERG@MACSCH.COM