I don’t often venture into super serious topics on this blog, but being an avid book consumer and a creator of entertainment, I feel like I need to write about the topic of pornography. I may be in the minority when I say literature that leaves little to the sexual imagination pisses me off. Books where teenage girls swoon after and give their bodies to boys who treat them like crap make me seethe. Call me a prude – I don’t care. I believe every human is precious and our bodies are a gift. I’d say our bodies are sacred.

Pornography is a pernicious enemy to healthy minds and bodies.

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I feel a responsibility to keep my writing clean. We have enough base and disgusting literature in the world. To keep readers’ attention without cheap sex appeal almost seems like a lost art.

I challenge you, fellow writers, to write better.

I challenge you, fellow readers, to choose better books.

I have to put a plug in for a book that was recommended to me a couple of years ago. Good Pictures Bad Pictures: Porn-Proofing Today’s Young Kids has been my go-to source for talking to my kids about the dangers of addiction, not only to pornography, but to anything that could potentially cause damage to the mind or body. If you are hesitant to start a dialogue with your kids – fear it no more, this book can help. I’ve even heard my son talking to his friends about his “thinking brain” and “feeling brain” and why he doesn’t want to watch scary shows or play violent video games.

I do not know the authors – but I have enormous gratitude for them and their product. I cannot recommend it enough.

It’s IMPOSSIBLE to keep your kids from seeing the onslaught of pornography Every. Where. You. Look.

Our family took a vacation this spring, and ended up detouring through Las Vegas on our way home. Short of locking them in the hotel room with the TV unplugged, I thought we’d done a pretty good job of diverting the kids’ attention away from the worst of the disturbing images spread all over that dirty city. All we wanted to do was see the Bellagio fountains. That’s it. Of course, we can’t protect our kids from everything and at one point I heard my nine year old son gasp, “WHOA!” I looked over at him, wide-eyed and staring at a half-naked lady dancing. I told him to look at his feet and make sure they were moving him out of there as fast as possible. When we got to the car, we had a serious talk about what he’d just seen, why it’s not okay and how he needs to respect and protect women. I reminded him of what we’d learned in Good Pictures Bad Pictures: Porn-Proofing Today’s Young Kids, and once again, the conversation was easy and natural.

The next day, we were stopped by a couple of women who were trying to sell us cheap tickets to the Excalibur show in exchange for going to a time-share presentation. Logan asked one of the women if there was anything inappropriate in the show, and she told him no, it was family friendly. Then he said, “Because I’m about to go through puberty, which means I’m going to become a man. I want to be intentional that I become a good and gentle man when I grow up.” There it is, friends. That’s the power of talking to your kids about the tough stuff. It might just be a small victory, but it’s a start.