THE EDITOR, Sir:
I AM writing about a matter of great concern, and that is the relentless decline of moral standards in this country. I am convinced that a serious contributory factor is the X-rated adult television channel, and the only way to personally understand and gauge the extent of its effect on young, impressionable and curious minds is to see it for oneself.
I was speaking with a male teacher at a primary school in Kingston, and I heard from him some horrifying tales relating to the sexual activity of children as young as first graders. I am fully aware that parents have the option to block channels they consider to be inappropriate, but I am also conscious of the fact that there are a number of careless, irresponsible and wayward parents who cannot be relied upon to prevent their children from having access to those channels.
Children of all ages are going to experiment, and we have to be realistic and recognise that they are currently being drenched with immorality from so many angles (the lyrics of songs included), and this is not only damaging to the moral fibre of the country, but to the health of the nation when one calls to mind the seriousness of HIV/AIDS.
It is my view that scrambling or paying extra for the adult channel is not good enough. A ban should be placed on it for local television viewing, which would be just one step in helping to protect our young.
I am, etc.,
JOYCE WATTS
