The Truth About Men by DeVon Franklin

Author:DeVon Franklin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Howard Books

VICE IS CELEBRATED

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In “Your Kids Are Surrounded by Junk Food. So What’s a Parent to Do?,” a blog post on Today’s Parent, Sarah Elton talks about how hard it is for parents to feed their kids healthy food when there is so much food that is bad for them everywhere our kids look—school lunches, birthday parties, etc. Parents trying to feed their children healthy food face a similar problem to men trying to live a healthy life: junk food—like vice—is everywhere.

One of the main reasons it’s such a struggle to live virtuously is because vice is all around us. Our culture not only tolerates vice, but celebrates it. As noted above, just look at the success of reality TV, which is primarily a vice-driven category of television. How many of these shows right now are based on fighting, excess, and straight-up lust? There have been many times when I have pitched unscripted programming based around virtuous themes and watched the executives literally roll their eyes. No one wants to watch people behaving well, they seem to be saying. There’s no money in that. And let’s be honest: promoting vice can make you rich; just look at the world of hip-hop.

Once upon a time, hip-hop truly was an art form focused on empowerment, yet it has been taken over by vice-driven music. However, even if the music does make some people rich, it does not justify the personal and cultural damage it causes. For example, here’s a line from G-Eazy, A$AP Rocky, and Cardi B’s hit song, “No Limit”: “F**k him then I get some money.” Also, in Future’s hit song “Mask Off” there is a repeated chant about the dangerous drugs “Molly” and Percocet. Hip-hop culture is so vice addicted and ready to promote vice that even talking about this will get me criticized. I’m all about artistic freedom, and whoever has the microphone is free to talk about whatever they please, whether we agree with it or not. I’m not anti-hip-hop; I love the music.

However, I see so many young people killing their potential because vice-filled music has a hold on their minds, telling them how they’re supposed to live. The culture doesn’t seem to care what the message is, as long as the beat is hot or as long as people stream it. Why? Money. Hip-hop and popular culture are dependent on feeding the Dog to make a profit. This is why the music is so prevalent. But the collateral damage is that it’s harming the potential of young women and destroying the Master in men, black and white, young and old.

Men and women, please, don’t just follow any culture (hip-hop or otherwise) mindlessly and become what it wants you to be. As the Message translation of Romans 12:2 says, “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.” We do have the capability of putting songs, TV shows, and movies filled with vice in the proper perspective so they don’t entice our lust.

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