Changes in our world not all for the best

Change is good. Change is bad. Well, that pretty well sums up where we find ourselves in so many ways.

Let's look around our own small little community and we can find ample examples of change for the good and change for the bad.

Sikeston is, by virtually any measure, in the middle of change. You can't help but notice the substantial construction under way with more on the horizon. These new ventures will translate into jobs and a brighter future for many of the newer generation.

That's clearly change for the good.

But on the other side of the ledger, we also have a growing dependent population that continues to put strains on our local economy. The numbers of those below the federal poverty level continues a slow multi-decades climb upward.

In many ways, that's not the kind of change any community wants or needs.

But the real change - and it impacts us all - is the cultural change in society.

From television to Hollywood, from increasing poverty rolls to a sliding downward trend in our moral compass, this nation is undergoing a change that does not bode well for the future.

Christians point to the removal of God from our public school system as the starting point for this change. And that may well be accurate.

Others say this downward change began when the federal government expanded the myriad of welfare programs that made sitting on a couch more profitable than working.

Still others believe these changes began with the slow but steady decline in the entertainment industry. And it would be easy to make that argument.

I had a discussion with two gentlemen this week who were worried about the television viewing options for their grandchildren. They compared the cartoon options today versus when they were that age.

To put it bluntly, the differences are both stark and frightening.

Let me give but one simple example of how others try to guide the national narrative in the most inaccurate way possible.

A massive federal study released just last week said that 1.6 percent of the American population is either gay or bi-sexual. Most earlier studies pegged the number at closer to 3 percent.

Regardless of the numbers, movies and television would have us believe that an unbelievably larger segment of the population has that sexual persuasion.

Granted, there are ample exceptions but increasingly, most television programming - particularly sitcoms - are virtually required to have a gay character.

Now let me be very clear. I am not anti-gay and I have no argument with the gay community.

My argument is with Hollywood and its massively misleading impression that it would have you view society.

Children are subjected to this misleading script and are left with an impression of society that is simply wrong.

And many schools also chime in with the same liberal agenda to give a false impression.

This is not done by coincidence. That much is sure.

Change can be good and it can be bad.

I'm waiting anxiously for the change for the good. I hope and pray it's right around the corner.

Michael Jensen