The voice you believe will determine the future you experience

I'm a music fan and enjoy watching the biggest stars perform on stage.  I've been to a lot of concerts in my life.  Most of them were great and had me listening to the same music on repeat in the days that followed.  So, when it was announced that Miley Cyrus, one of the most relevant performers today, was coming to town, I rushed to purchase tickets.  Additionally, creating an opportunity for Liz and I to spend quality time together is high on our priority list.

Before you ask the obvious question, I'll answer it.  Why?  Why go to a Miley Cyrus concert and support her antics?  Aside from trying to indulge in an evening of good music, which was less than 1% of the reason why I chose Miley, I wanted to see what the hype was all about and what this generation of teenagers really sees up close.  I had remained open minded after her VMA performance and optimistic that she had a few things about the music industry figured out.  I wanted to give her a chance as an artist because she's clearly a very talented vocalist.   I also don't want to be a naive parent when my kids are teenagers and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be aware and informed on the pressures they'll face.  The Christian term is being "in the world, but not of the world" and I learned a lot.  Paying over $60 each to witness it first hand might not have been required, however, it shed a lot of light on this culture.  I was shocked how many young girls were in attendance.  Are those parents naive or just stupid?  The world/pop culture is stacked against respect, purity and wholesome entertainment and fun.  But I knew that.  I didn't need to go to a teenie bopper concert to be reminded of this.  I just didn't know how extreme it actually is, though.  I knew all of this intellectually, or in black and white.  Going to the concert put everything into vibrant technicolor.

There was vulgarity and weirdness, tasteless and inappropriate behaviors with even a few commendable musical selections.  She sang covers of Bob Dylan, Lana Del Ray and Outkast, which were incredible.  She does have an amazing voice.  She sang a version of "Jolene" that was amazing...until she adjusted the lyrics and called Jolene a "stupid f***ing b***."  I knew the dancing stuffed animals, twerking and drug references were going to be frequent.  I didn't expect her to use the F-word over 100 times, though.  There was a giant inflatable wolf that was entirely out of place (unlike the inflatable woman for "A Whole Lotta Rosie" by AC/DC).  It was just overall tacky.  I just didn't expect Miley Cyrus, a female, to be so degrading and disrespectful towards women.

Here's the scary part: this is normal!  Maybe not for you or me, but it's normal in high schools and, dare I say, middle schools.  Inappropriate vulgarity with very little self-respect, respect for others and respect for women is common place right now.  To think otherwise is not seeing the truth.  Again, this isn't an earth shattering report.  However, it's first time I've felt that general sentiment from a female performer performing in front of an audience full of females.  Sure, Miley Cyrus has leveraged her talents to make millions of dollars and, at the surface, that's commendable.  But she doesn't respect women.  Young girls craving to become women are her audience and they worship her.  They're the next generation of female business leaders, teachers and mothers and their role model doesn't respect them.  That's a problem.  I can't put my thumb on exactly where the disrespect lies, other than objectifying women.  Her message is to do whatever you want to do, regardless of what others think, and somehow that gives you power.  Guys have been disrespecting women on stage for hundreds of years and now we have girls doing it without remorse.  I saw 20,000 girls drink it in and love it.

Recently, I've talked to some parents of teenagers who have struggled to understand their son or daughter's atrocious behavior.  There's been enough instances that I think most parents are in the dark with what teenagers are exposed to.  They have instant access to unlimited information, and it's nearly impossible to filter it in order protect their innocent minds and hearts.  Parents might be naive, but their children certainly are not.  We sat behind two teenage girls.  I guessed them to be 13 or 14 years old.  They were dressed modestly, which wasn't the norm.  It looked like Mom and Dad took an interest in how they looked when they walked out the door, which indicated that they might respect Mom and Dad's opinion.  There was a plethora of disgusting clothing choices, but these girls looked wholesome and sweet in an ocean of girls who looked much less innocent.  During the entire show, these little sweethearts stood still.  Motionless.  Arms crossed with frightful eyes.   The picture was a masterpiece that captured everything that is wrong with the scene.  Those two little girls had lost their innocence.  What's next for them?  What is their perception of reality?  How do they view women and what does respect mean to them?  How do they now see themselves?  As a result, will they make bad decisions that will leave them victimized?  Will they tell their parents how the evening made them feel?  Are they listening to lies that spewed out of Miley Cyrus's mouth?  How many more lies will they hear and listen to?  Every time you believe a lie [about who you are], something inside dies.

Miley is heralded as being innovative, creative, independent and sexy - all traits that little girls are longing for.  She's not any of those things.  Deception does its best work in areas of vulnerability.  An entire generation of girls are being deceived by the loudest female voice of this decade.  They "think" this is what it means to be woman.

I don't regret going to this concert at all.  I'm actually glad I went.  I also don't feel like I compromised any of my values or standards (because I was with Liz).  I feel like it was a fortunate slap in my face to wake up to what pop culture is and what messages our children are receiving.  How do we get an entire generation of girls to believe they're accepted, cherished, loved and valuable?  How do we get them to listen to right voices?

"The voice you believe will determine the future you experience." - Steven Furtick