To the editor:
Highland Park has always been a good place to live. Many here have a lifetime of pride in the area and love for it. The developments in Sugarhouse the past two years are good and are appreciated. A bit of inconvenience with more traffic, but that is far outweighed by the new appearance and convenience.The new buildings are well-done and the streets and landscaping are choice. One of the better locations is occupied by a fine building that houses 10 movie screens.
News reports inform us that up to 75 percent of teenagers of America today are sexually active. Other reports talk of youth gangs - murders, robberies, wanton destruction and all kinds of activities that cost this nation (and our community) much of our wealth and strength that could be used to promote a better life. One local educator reports 50 percent of the children in his elementary school come from single-parent homes.
The above-mentioned theaters advertise today two movies rated "G," two rated "PG," three rated "R," and three rated "PG13." The reason the eight are not rated "G" is because they portray explicit sex, pornographic scenes or physical violence with various types of lethal weapons. These deviated lifestyles are learned, at least to a high degree, by young people viewing such movies.
Why does the movie industry produce such shows? Why do theater companies and TV channels show them? The answer to both questions is simple: Because people patronize them.
America is crashing around us while many political leaders think more of the three P's - power, pocketbooks and perks - than of leadership with integrity and many people live the attitude of "eat, drink and be merry." Where has common sense gone?
J. Wayne Dudley
Salt Lake City