"Virtually a Virgin"

It seems that the gap between the entertainers and the entertained grows larger everyday. Americans are by now accustomed to actors and musicians ridiculing the virtues and morals that are the foundation of our civilization. The red and blue states find themselves increasingly more at odds on the major issues facing America.

In yet another stunning example of how out of touch the Hollywood elite are with middle America, actor Ben Affleck recently declared that his fiance, singer/actress Jennifer Lopez, is "virtually a virgin." The logical response to this statement is how could a woman infamously known for her string of short-lived marriages still be a virgin? According to Mr. Affleck, Ms. Lopez has been with five men and this, at least by Hollywood standards, makes her a virtual virgin, or at least "sexually inexperienced."

In a town where up is down and black is white, this Hollywood illogic should not come as a surprise to anyone. Celebrities certainly aren't known for their moral lifestyles. Yet they still like to pretend occasionally that they are still ethical people. Perhaps it's a ploy to woo their middle-America fans, who still believe that virginity is lost only once, not with each partner. Remember when Britney Spears claimed that she wanted to save sex for marriage? When asked about this statement, her ex-boyfriend, singer Justin Timberlake, replied, "yeah, right." He, better than anyone else, knows whether she actually kept that vow. When Britney Spears and fellow singer Christina Aguilera first appeared on the music scene, they were marketed as entertainment for teenagers, especially pre-teen girls. As their popularity increased, both girls shed their slightly sexy images for full-blown sexuality. Christian Aguilera's first music video from her first "adult" album might as well have been a soft-porn video. And Britney is hardly the naive little girl she was once marketed as.

The troubling question about this evolution for Britney and Christina is how it will affect their pre-teen fans. Most of the little girls who once dreamed of being Britney are now themselves teenagers with budding sexual interests. In the beginning, Britney's fans saw her as a beautiful dancer/singer with fame and fortune. Now those same fans are old enough to understand the latent (increasingly patent) sexuality in her songs and dance moves. Perhaps even unconsciously those impressionable young fans picked up on the subliminal (sometimes explicit) messages in Britney's entertainment.

For those of us raised in homes that instilled in us the Judeo-Christian code of morality, Hollywood "reasoning" makes no sense. After all, virginity is something that is lost only once -- not with each partner. But even more striking about Mr. Affleck's scientific and moral illogic is that it reveals the absolute lack of any moral compass in the entertainment industry. Time-tested and time-honored truths are M.I.A when you enter the world of Beverly Hills 90210.

This is an angering fact but it is also disheartening. The people we pay to entertain us have rejected any kind of morality or code of ethics -- a virtual ethical free-for-all. There will come a day in the not-too-distant future that watching a major television network, like ABC or NBC, will look more like the Play Boy channel than traditional family programming. Basic cable channels already offer as much sex, profanity and lewdness as the FCC lets them get away with (and there isn't much they can't do anymore).

There is one encouraging sign amidst the sea of immorality pushed on young people. That sign is singer Jessica Simpson. Although she is hardly innocent when it comes to presenting a sexy image, Ms. Simpson's off-stage behavior is an inspiration in the otherwise morally bereft entertainment culture. Ms. Simpson has opening shared the fact that she waited until her wedding night to have sex. Before she entered the entertainment industry, she made a vow to maintain her purity for her husband. She abided by that vow and gladly tells others that "My mother never sat me down and told me about abstinence until marriage," she explained. "but I learned from what she did with my dad. And when the time came, on my wedding night, it was really right." Not earth-shattering revelations, but they do offer a personal testimony that there is another way to live outside the Hollywood lifestyle.

The success of such family entertainment as American Idol, Lord of the Rings and Finding Nemo indicate that Americans are searching for programs that reflect their values instead of ridiculing them. The current success of PG-rated "Elf" is proof that family movies do well at the box office. Movies do not need excessive violence, immorality and vulgar language to truly entertain and ticket sales prove it. If only Hollywood could take a hint...