The Disney Conspiracy

While I call it the "Disney Conspiracy" it is really a "Hollywood" thing. The saddest part, though, is it is our children that are the victims. With each Disney child star that falls victim in a massive public breakdown a question should be asked, "Why did this happen?" Or more importantly, "Why does this happen over and over again?"

Drugs, Sex, Rock and Roll. While Disney might not really be to blame (each person has a responsibility to act for themselves) perhaps Disney should be more concerned with the image they are creating for themselves. From alcohol, meth, and other addictions that have destroyed careers and ruined lives in front of millions of disappointed fans, why haven't we learned from anyone's mistakes? And while addictions and eating disorders are a problem, they aren't as worrisome as the idolization of body parts.

As 11-facts-about-teen-pregnancy points out about 1/3 of all American girls will get pregnant before the age of 20. The 2013 US census also showed that 62% of new moms in their early 20s are unmarried. With 70 percent of the juvenile detention filled with children from broken homes, and 63 percent of teen suicides. There is a good reason for concern, especially since I have my own daughter to try and rise among such negative influence and keep safe.

So why blame Disney, or Hollywood, for this problem? It's because of the reason behind "Disney girls gone bad." And the message is simple, "You need to grow up." Unfortunately it is the misconception behind what it means to grow up that many teens loose their way, and Disney teens in particular.

Smoking is a good illustration of how these misconceptions are applied. Since the dangers of smoking are so much more greater than then its benefits it is very rare that any adult (over 20) starts smoking who has never done it before. Interestingly enough the peer pressure applied to youth to get them to smoke is to stop being a baby, or that they are old enough to make their own decisions. Most people who started smoking as a child fight hard as adults to break free from its addictive influences. Similarly Disney stars are similarly feel pressured to "grow up" in order to get new roles or just to fit in with the Hollywood party life.

As the father, it saddens me that such influences exist that teach that such behavior is "grown up." Jackson Kratz talks about how deplorable it is the way in which boy's are "taught" to be "men" in our society. As a father, worried about the world my children are growing up in, I want to tell America that it's time to grow up, get your head out of the gutter.

So while throwing around the word "conspiracy" is fun for me. I think it is important for each of us to be those crazy prophets standing on the wall, or in public places, trying to raise concern in those that walk so casually by. Whether it is a "conspiracy" or "the end is coming" or more simply "wake up," perhaps there is something to the message, and it shouldn't just be ignored.

Children need to know that they are of such infinite worth and potential, and know how thoroughly these kinds of influences can take that away from them. So many dreams are killed in the slums of Detroit where the only kinds of messages they hear are of drugs and sex. And the problems we as a culture cultivate there don't stop just by moving to Ann Arbor, or wherever, to get away. The can only be stopped in the way we choose to brainwash our children and help them to save their future.