I recently settled an auto accident injury case for a university professor.  For purposes of discussion, I’m going to call him John (not his real name).  John told me that he originally came to the United States in the early 1980s to attend college.  After graduating, he accepted a job offer from a large U.S. corporation.  He eventually became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

John is currently employed as a professor at a university.  During one of our conversations, he told me that several of his students are from the country he came from.  When I asked him if the students are as dedicated to their studies as he was, he shook his head and said, “No.”

John told me that when he came to the United States, it took three generations for the descendents of foreigners to become “Americanized” (his word).  He said that when he started college in the United States, the American students partied all the time, while he and the other students from his country spent all their leisure time studying.  With a tone of frustration in his voice he told me that now the students who come to college from his country are already Americanized.  He said that they party as much as the Americans do.

When I asked John what his explanation was for the change in behavior between the time he was in school 30 years ago and now, he responded, “It’s the Internet.  All the young people in the other countries have access to the Internet and watch YouTube and replays of American movies and television shows.  They now have the ability to become completely immersed in the culture of America before they ever set foot in this country.  By the time they get here they behave the same way the American students behave.”

When I was growing up in the 1960s and 70s, the only media available was the print media (newspapers, magazines, etc.), three network television stations, and movies that were shown only in theaters.  During that period of time, the sexual revolution was in full bloom and the moral fabric of our country was starting to unravel.

The media provided the pipelines through which the poisonous beliefs and behavior of the “new morality” were constantly being promoted and encouraged.  Attached to the pipelines were delivery mechanisms that were needed to actually distribute the poison.  Those delivery mechanisms included books stores, the U.S. Postal Service, television sets, and movie theaters.

During the 1970s, video players were invented and cable television stations started appearing on the media landscape.  In the 1980s, as sales volumes increased, the prices of video players became more affordable, so most people were able to buy the players to hook up to their television sets.  At the same time, video rental stores started popping up all over the country.

While the cable television stations provided new pipelines for the delivery of poison, video recorders/players became new delivery mechanisms for the poison.  The poison I’m referring to came in various forms and included the promotion and glorification of violence, adultery, contraception, pornography, drunkenness, casual (and illegal) drug use, sexual promiscuity, and no-fault divorce.

Next came the invention and widespread use of the Internet, which opened up millions of local, national, and international pipelines that could be utilized by individuals and companies to access and consume poison that was being distributed through the pipelines.  With the advent of the Internet came an entirely new set of delivery mechanisms, such as personal computers, iPods, iPads, and smartphones, all of which could connect to and access the Internet pipelines at any time of the day or night.

If you have an internet connection in your home, you have access to pipelines that are connected to millions of homes and businesses in the United States, India, Great Britain, Russia, China, New Zealand, and every other country in the world.  Never before in the history of mankind has it been so easy to transfer digital videos, pictures, music, and massive amounts of data with the simple click of a button.

Millions of individuals and companies from every corner of the world now have the “opportunity” to deliver poison to you and your family members at any time of the day or night.  All that is needed to complete the transfer of the poison is a delivery mechanism connected to the Internet.

Right now, in my own home, there are eight delivery mechanisms that are connected to the Internet – two personal computers, three laptop computers, and three smartphones.  Two of the delivery mechanisms are owned and used by my daughter Mary (20) – a laptop and a smartphone.  One of the delivery mechanisms is owned and used by my daughter Christine (18) – a laptop.  Christine and Teresa (16) both have cell phones that do not have Internet access, so I don’t consider their phones to be Internet pipeline delivery mechanisms.  The two desktop computers in our home are connected to the Internet and are generally available for use by any member of my family.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

The foreign students who are landing on our college campuses are looking forward to getting drunk and engaging in activities that they were introduced to when they consumed the poison that was delivered to them through the Internet pipelines.  They have been indulging in the poison for so long that whatever virtuous beliefs and values they were taught when they were children have been completely neutralized.

When I was growing up, my mom had a saying: “You don’t have to drink poison to know it’s poison.” Most parents willingly provide Internet pipeline delivery mechanisms to their teenagers that end up being used to serve-up poison that is consumed on a daily basis – poison that causes permanent damage to their children’s hearts, minds, and souls.

Although there are a lot of positive benefits to the Internet, most parents ignore and/or overlook the damage than is caused by the unsupervised use of the Internet by their children.  I have two suggestions for parents: (1) place restrictions on and closely monitor the use of all delivery mechanisms that are used by your children (laptops, smartphones, iPads, etc.); and (2) Pray a family rosary every day with the specific request to the Blessed Virgin Mary to watch over, guide, and protect your children from the poison that is so readily available to them.  A small price to pay for the protection of your loved ones.

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