Forbidden Pictures

A television show reminds me of just how far we've fallen.

About 9 years ago I got the entire television series of Little House on the Prairie for $19.99!  I don’t know how many episodes that is, but it’s a lot.  I put this series on the back-burner because I figured it would be nice to have someday when I couldn’t find anything decent to watch anymore.  That time is now.

Little House (as many called it) came out in 1974.  I was 11 years old.   It seems like a lifetime ago… actually, it was a lifetime ago!  Disco was becoming the rage along with bell bottom jeans and other “groovy” clothing that was kind of a combination of 1960s tie-die, flower power and “who knows what”.  The clothes sucked.  It didn’t matter whether we wore the trendy clothes of the time, or clothes that were previously fashionable, we were made fun of in school.  It was not a good era for clothes.  The society was changing.  Parents and Grandparents scrambled to protect children from the influences of the 1960s “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” that had sent many a young person down a bad path.  Some of those never did find their way again.  Vietnam was still a thing (though to a lesser extent), and the economy was in shambles. 

Along came this new show called Little House on the Prairie, portraying a normal family who found their way to the American Dream.  Dad, Mom, 3 girls, and a dog named Jack left the secure home they had with their parents, and braved the mid-western prairie.  They encountered rivers, wolves, and “savages” (American Indians who ended up being friends with the family) on their journey.  When Dad saw “the” place, he setup a homestead and began the hard work of building a shelter with his family.  Long story short, they lost it all.  The government came in and rounded up the American Indians to put them on a reservation and took the land the Ingalls Family settled on, forcing Dad to move his family to another “approved” place.  They settled in a tiny town and made a life there. 

Many of you know I spent most of my childhood on a small farm and ranch operation on the plains of Montana.  Our nearest neighbor, for many years, was almost a mile away.  I am a 4^th generation Montanan and I miss my “Big Sky” more than I can say.  Unfortunately, life had different plans for me, but it has turned out okay.   We didn’t have time for a lot of television, but when we did, it was such a treat to sit down *with the family* and watch a show while cracking and gobbling in-the-shell peanuts or popcorn.  Our television time was highly regulated by our parents and the list of approved shows we could watch was about 2 or 3 shows long.  Haha.  I remember grumbling at the time because kids at school had parents that would let them watch non-stop cartoons on Saturday, and pretty much whatever they wanted during the week.  Some of them even had televisions in their bedrooms!  We had books and, if we were old enough, we could even have a little AM radio.  I do not lament those restrictions today.  In fact, I find myself whispering, “thank you Mom” because it was her discernment that has helped me make better entertainment choices to this day.

Anyway, Little House on the Prairie was certainly in the lineup for our family.  Now, as an adult, I can see why.  I just started watching my prized copy of this series and I am left a bit speechless.  The first thing I thought upon seeing the Pilot episode was, “they would never allow a show like this to be made today.”  I shed a tear.  You see, in this show, there’s no gratuitous sex.  There’s a little violence, but it’s mostly blood free and harmless.  There are no homosexuals, transvestites, or drug dealers trying to influence everyone, though there are a few folks we end up suspecting of having some “other interests”.  There are no teachers trying to persuade little Laura Ingalls (a tom- boy through and through) that she should have her breasts removed because deep down she is really a boy.  There are no adults trying to convince the children they should “learn” about “how to” have sex of any kind.  There are mentions of God in almost every episode (especially the older ones).  There are messages of equality with other races.  No one is on anti-depressants (even though there were plenty of reasons to take them in their time, to try and “escape” hardship).  I mean, there is just too much good in this show.  Again, there is no way they would make it today.

But why???  There is a whole generation or two who can hum the theme music for the Little House series.  We also remember the names of the family members and the other people in the town.  If a series like this had such a profound impact on so many of us in 1974 until the series ended, why wouldn’t something similar have a profound effect on today’s youth? 

The truth is:  It would.  And that, my friends, is why they don’t make this kind of show today.

You see, the monsters who have determined what kind of entertainment we should see, don’t want edifying entertainment that lifts people up, makes them think, or makes them dream.  They want entertainment that grooms society for so-called “equity” and “fairness”, thinking that by ignoring the reality of life (not everyone gets an award), they can create a utopia where everyone joins together, has sex with one another, accepts everything someone else does without question, and has no sense of right and wrong or good and evil. 

This, to me, is not going to be a utopia.  It’s going to be (and already is) a hell hole.  

Life isn’t fair.  It’s impossible for government or anyone else to make everything equal for every living being on the planet.  Sometimes people end up poor (in Little House, the community came together to help that poor person), sometimes they get rich.  Sometimes people get sick, sometimes they don’t.  Sometimes people win, sometimes they lose. Some people live, some die.  Hard workers typically get a leg up on their lazy peers.  Inventive people typically find a niche they can profit from.  No matter what government or corporations do, there is no way to change the laws of nature or of humanity.  But, they are sure trying aren’t they?

Do we really want to give up our ability to choose our own path?  To have the option of heading out onto the great plains of life and finding our place in the world?   Do we really think conformity with every single thing dictated by government, the entertainment industry, big pharma, big food, big “whatever” is going to create a society that even compares a little bit to the quality of life the families and communities on Little House had? 

I would argue no.  Conformity and perfect “equality” are not an option in the world.  It isn’t now, it never has been in history, and it sure wasn’t in the Little House series.  But, man, the people sure had a good life *without* everything that’s being pushed on us right now. 

I strive for The Little House on the Prairie Life.