Bob Dole: “last week, I ventured out to Hollywood and called upon the executives of the entertainment industry to exercise some…”

“last week, I ventured out to Hollywood and called upon the executives of the entertainment industry to exercise some good citizenship and put an end to the steady flow of mindless violence and loveless sex they serve up each day to our young people. I said that a ``line has been crossed--not just of taste, but of human dignity and decency. It is crossed every time sexual violence is given a catchy tune. When teen suicide is set to an appealing beat. When Hollywood's dream factories turn out nightmares of depravity.'' Although I made it very clear that government censorship was not the answer, the response to my remarks has been predictable and predictably ferocious. All the usual suspects--Oliver Stone, Ed Asner, Norman Lear--have been out in force, rushing to Hollywood's defense and lashing out at anyone who would dare criticize the entertainment industry for its excesses. I will continue to speak out because people like Bill Bennett, Paul Simon, Pete Domenici, Bill Bradley, and C. Delores Tucker all happen to be right: cultural messages can and do bore deep into the hearts and minds of our impressionable young. And when these messages are negative ones--repeated hour after hour, day after day, week after week--they can strip our children of that most precious gift of all: Their innocence. Apparently, the American people share this concern, particularly when it comes to television, perhaps the most dominant cultural force in America today.”