You've heard the saying "Children should be seen and not heard." But teen political writer Kyle Williams is challenging that adage and making a name for himself in the process. As the youngest columnist for WorldNetDaily.com, he has tackled subjects such as abortion, homosexual rights, separation of church and state, and the public school system. In Seen and Heard Williams again takes on the establishment, offering clear evidence that a leftist agenda is at work in our nation. His lively, energetic analysis of current events will leave readers with an understanding of the attack on traditional family values that is taking place daily. Williams's writing style-sound logic infused with passion and conviction-makes Seen and Heard both informative and entertaining.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Kyle Williams, a thirteen-year-old, was first introduced to WorldNetDaily.com readers in 2001 as its newest columnist. His weekly column, "Veritas," was an instant hit. Home-schooled in rural Oklahoma, Williams brings a fresh perspective to the debate table, shattering stereotypes about the apathy of youth. He is sharp, salient, and sure to upset the reigning liberal orthodoxy with perceptive criticisms. He possesses a driving desire to expose liberal propaganda in the nation’s schools and media, and he encourages other young Americans to express their views, trusting that the truth—veritas—will win in the end.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter 1
Attacking the Family
IT'S THURSDAY NIGHT. YOU GET HOME FROM WORK exhausted, you collapse on the couch, and you turn on NBC. What do you see? Most often, it is not something a five-year-old should be exposed to, much less a teen or preteen. I don't even know how any adult could call that good, clean entertainment. This scenario could replay with almost any form of mainstream entertainment. The movies, talk shows, cable TV, public TV, or movie channels.
Many say that the entertainment part of our country is a drag on our nation and a negative influence. I have had such thoughts and even wished the entire western seaboard would fall off into the Pacific Ocean. Adios, Hollywood! But, of course, it's much deeper than that. Perhaps it's better to say that the entertainment industry is more of a reflection of America than an influence on it.
This isn't to say that all Americans are begging and pleading for the immorality that "entertainment" puts out. Moreover, many across the real America, the heartland and rural areas, despise it. It's the people who actually appreciate the immorality of American entertainment that keep it alive. But culture isn't a bunch of neatly packed, isolated boxes; it's more like a bubbling pot with everything inside roiling and rubbing up against each other. As such, the filth spills over and has a negative effect on young people and the impressionable.
I'm sure teachers ask themselves daily why their students are so disrespectful, talk in class, yell profanities, refuse to do work, and in some cases, behave violently toward their own peers and even teachers. While to avoid laying blame on uninvolved parents would be irresponsible, "entertainment" certainly does play a noticeable part in our cultural downslide.
Then again, being the greatest influence on young people, the blame for the "immoralizing" of America could be laid convincingly at the feet of the parents.
But how convincingly? Many parents allow their children to watch this sort of stuff anytime they wish. The blame could be laid at the feet of the breakdown of the nuclear family. But then why has the family broken down?
There are many factors in the destruction of the American family, but the overarching reason is an ongoing, relentless attack against the values that undergird it.
And the attack comes from all sides. Besides the hideous entertainment industry's attack on traditional Judeo-Christian values, labor unions and special-interest organizations are playing a major role in this war as well. The National Education Association (NEA), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood, and others continue their onslaught against these values daily.
The Assault
The NEA has made its views on homosexuality very clear in the past years, as well as revealing other aspects of its antifamily agenda. Flying under the banner of protecting youth from discrimination, groups like the NEA are indoctrinating and recruiting young Americans into the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender cause.
Likewise, Planned Parenthood Federation of America plays a huge role in this war. After making sure every teen in America has a condom, Planned Parenthood works hard to cover up the unintended results, creating a society where killing helpless children is acceptable. This organization has been and continues to be a force in public education, but has unarguably advocated an open and easy access port to abortions, condoms, and other such things for American children. Whether intentional or not, they have become a force against the family with their role in public education.
The National Organization for Women has not only supported these things, but wants any woman to have the option for abortion at any time during her pregnancy and, as a result, is partly responsible for the breakdown of the nuclear family as well.
The ACLU, clear with its agenda to take anything and everything that has to do with God out of government and based on the fallacy of separation of church and state, has worked especially hard to take God out of schools and the lives of American youth. Our nation is dripping with heritage that shows God was once important to us. God is etched into the buildings and memorials of Washington, D.C. Look at the East Coast and see how morality, justice, and American values began there-but the coast has turned into the headquarters for attacking them. Slowly, some have tried to eradicate the reminders of God in public life. It's called religious cleansing. Many of these special-interest groups, burrowing in the schools of America, recruit, teach, and indoctrinate young Americans with ideas and thoughts that no rational person would desire.
We can argue till doomsday whether the attack on the family is intentional. Of course, these organizations play dumb when faced with such accusations, but the end result is clear. Actions are actions, no matter what the thought behind them, and so is the case for this. Many of the left-wing organizations mentioned above would like people to forget what a family looks like; they don't like the picture of a mom and dad and a couple of kids.
Entertainment and left-wing organizations are continually breaking down the American family.
Forming Opinions
In the world we live in, Ryan has baseball practice, Jessica has cheer practice, Mom has work, as does Dad. Obviously, many parents aren't able to watch their children all the time. Our family lives are splintered with each family member's different activities. Eating together as a family each night is almost obsolete. Sitting down to watch a movie together is extinct. Family activities are all but gone. This chaotic picture is what is now called life.
Yet, despite how it may seem, there actually used to be nuclear families. They spent their days together. They worked together; they ate together; they played together; they prayed together and went to church together. Families were strong; divorce was rare. Convictions of morality and faith had deep roots. Their way of life left little time for mischief; additionally, when discipline was needed, the consequences were stiff. Their extended family usually lived nearby or even in the same home, so they had substantial family support. Community was close-knit then; neighbors not only knew each other, but genuinely cared about each other. They had barn raisings, quilting bees, and barn dances.
We always hear this rhetoric from politicians about transforming their communities. Yet there are hardly such things as real communities in mainstream America.
A century ago, parents demanded a lot from their children. The young people were independent and had many responsibilities. Therefore, parents didn't watch them much more than many children are watched today. Bringing it back to the beginning of the chapter, what's missing in the life of 1820s Adam, as opposed to Thoroughly Modern Ryan's life, is the entertainment industry. In the 1800s rap music, video games, the Internet, movies, and all these influences were not even a speck in someone's imagination, much less invented. And that's a good thing.
Nevertheless, parents are not about to get off the hook. Along with the great moral decline of the American society, "absentee" parents are one of the big reasons. With the majority of both parents working, we find many times they seem to care more about their careers than their children. Affluence has become an enemy to many families. Instead of curled up on Mom's or Dad's lap listening to a story, little children are left in front of the television while parents are out making more money.
With involved parents, there would be no entertainment industry to speak of, much less being the way it is now.
As I talked with an acquaintance who lives abroad, I asked what is one of the things that comes to mind about America. She replied, saying that America is too liberal-not necessarily in the political sense, but in that we accept things so much more quickly and freely than other nations do, such as abortion, homosexuality, adultery, out-of-wedlock children, etc. Indeed, America does accept things quickly, rashly, and takes issues too lightly. With all the crime and corruption in the first term of the Clinton administration, he was still elected to a second term; even now that boggles the minds of many. Where have our principles gone?
Americans forget. Americans are lazy. Americans don't pay attention. It's the truth. In a sense, we are all in our little worlds where we can sit down to watch the television all day long and are not interrupted at all. Why? Because we can. The only change from that was September 11, but that was temporary. We aren't forgiving; we just forget. We rationalize evil so we don't have to deal with it. Things are hard to deal with-easier to just let them go, find diversions, or not pay attention.
Why get up from the couch, get dressed, and drive the car out to the local school to vote for the next president? Shoot! Friends is almost on. Who cares about voting, much less joining a political action group, attending a rally at the capitol, or reading the newspaper? The aloofness has a certain appeal to it (it caters to our innate selfishness), though it tends to be responsible for our national disasters.
Schools
Perhaps the greatest example of the effect of public schools in harming the family was at the beginning of the twentieth century. At the turn of the century, the majority of Americans were living in traditional, Christian homes and Charles Darwin's doctrine was introduced into the society, but it had very little influence and was dismissed by most.
At that time, John Dewey began his philosophy of "progressive learning"; as a signer of the Humanist Manifesto, he has been given credit for writing most of it...
Attacking the Family
IT'S THURSDAY NIGHT. YOU GET HOME FROM WORK exhausted, you collapse on the couch, and you turn on NBC. What do you see? Most often, it is not something a five-year-old should be exposed to, much less a teen or preteen. I don't even know how any adult could call that good, clean entertainment. This scenario could replay with almost any form of mainstream entertainment. The movies, talk shows, cable TV, public TV, or movie channels.
Many say that the entertainment part of our country is a drag on our nation and a negative influence. I have had such thoughts and even wished the entire western seaboard would fall off into the Pacific Ocean. Adios, Hollywood! But, of course, it's much deeper than that. Perhaps it's better to say that the entertainment industry is more of a reflection of America than an influence on it.
This isn't to say that all Americans are begging and pleading for the immorality that "entertainment" puts out. Moreover, many across the real America, the heartland and rural areas, despise it. It's the people who actually appreciate the immorality of American entertainment that keep it alive. But culture isn't a bunch of neatly packed, isolated boxes; it's more like a bubbling pot with everything inside roiling and rubbing up against each other. As such, the filth spills over and has a negative effect on young people and the impressionable.
I'm sure teachers ask themselves daily why their students are so disrespectful, talk in class, yell profanities, refuse to do work, and in some cases, behave violently toward their own peers and even teachers. While to avoid laying blame on uninvolved parents would be irresponsible, "entertainment" certainly does play a noticeable part in our cultural downslide.
Then again, being the greatest influence on young people, the blame for the "immoralizing" of America could be laid convincingly at the feet of the parents.
But how convincingly? Many parents allow their children to watch this sort of stuff anytime they wish. The blame could be laid at the feet of the breakdown of the nuclear family. But then why has the family broken down?
There are many factors in the destruction of the American family, but the overarching reason is an ongoing, relentless attack against the values that undergird it.
And the attack comes from all sides. Besides the hideous entertainment industry's attack on traditional Judeo-Christian values, labor unions and special-interest organizations are playing a major role in this war as well. The National Education Association (NEA), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood, and others continue their onslaught against these values daily.
The Assault
The NEA has made its views on homosexuality very clear in the past years, as well as revealing other aspects of its antifamily agenda. Flying under the banner of protecting youth from discrimination, groups like the NEA are indoctrinating and recruiting young Americans into the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender cause.
Likewise, Planned Parenthood Federation of America plays a huge role in this war. After making sure every teen in America has a condom, Planned Parenthood works hard to cover up the unintended results, creating a society where killing helpless children is acceptable. This organization has been and continues to be a force in public education, but has unarguably advocated an open and easy access port to abortions, condoms, and other such things for American children. Whether intentional or not, they have become a force against the family with their role in public education.
The National Organization for Women has not only supported these things, but wants any woman to have the option for abortion at any time during her pregnancy and, as a result, is partly responsible for the breakdown of the nuclear family as well.
The ACLU, clear with its agenda to take anything and everything that has to do with God out of government and based on the fallacy of separation of church and state, has worked especially hard to take God out of schools and the lives of American youth. Our nation is dripping with heritage that shows God was once important to us. God is etched into the buildings and memorials of Washington, D.C. Look at the East Coast and see how morality, justice, and American values began there-but the coast has turned into the headquarters for attacking them. Slowly, some have tried to eradicate the reminders of God in public life. It's called religious cleansing. Many of these special-interest groups, burrowing in the schools of America, recruit, teach, and indoctrinate young Americans with ideas and thoughts that no rational person would desire.
We can argue till doomsday whether the attack on the family is intentional. Of course, these organizations play dumb when faced with such accusations, but the end result is clear. Actions are actions, no matter what the thought behind them, and so is the case for this. Many of the left-wing organizations mentioned above would like people to forget what a family looks like; they don't like the picture of a mom and dad and a couple of kids.
Entertainment and left-wing organizations are continually breaking down the American family.
Forming Opinions
In the world we live in, Ryan has baseball practice, Jessica has cheer practice, Mom has work, as does Dad. Obviously, many parents aren't able to watch their children all the time. Our family lives are splintered with each family member's different activities. Eating together as a family each night is almost obsolete. Sitting down to watch a movie together is extinct. Family activities are all but gone. This chaotic picture is what is now called life.
Yet, despite how it may seem, there actually used to be nuclear families. They spent their days together. They worked together; they ate together; they played together; they prayed together and went to church together. Families were strong; divorce was rare. Convictions of morality and faith had deep roots. Their way of life left little time for mischief; additionally, when discipline was needed, the consequences were stiff. Their extended family usually lived nearby or even in the same home, so they had substantial family support. Community was close-knit then; neighbors not only knew each other, but genuinely cared about each other. They had barn raisings, quilting bees, and barn dances.
We always hear this rhetoric from politicians about transforming their communities. Yet there are hardly such things as real communities in mainstream America.
A century ago, parents demanded a lot from their children. The young people were independent and had many responsibilities. Therefore, parents didn't watch them much more than many children are watched today. Bringing it back to the beginning of the chapter, what's missing in the life of 1820s Adam, as opposed to Thoroughly Modern Ryan's life, is the entertainment industry. In the 1800s rap music, video games, the Internet, movies, and all these influences were not even a speck in someone's imagination, much less invented. And that's a good thing.
Nevertheless, parents are not about to get off the hook. Along with the great moral decline of the American society, "absentee" parents are one of the big reasons. With the majority of both parents working, we find many times they seem to care more about their careers than their children. Affluence has become an enemy to many families. Instead of curled up on Mom's or Dad's lap listening to a story, little children are left in front of the television while parents are out making more money.
With involved parents, there would be no entertainment industry to speak of, much less being the way it is now.
As I talked with an acquaintance who lives abroad, I asked what is one of the things that comes to mind about America. She replied, saying that America is too liberal-not necessarily in the political sense, but in that we accept things so much more quickly and freely than other nations do, such as abortion, homosexuality, adultery, out-of-wedlock children, etc. Indeed, America does accept things quickly, rashly, and takes issues too lightly. With all the crime and corruption in the first term of the Clinton administration, he was still elected to a second term; even now that boggles the minds of many. Where have our principles gone?
Americans forget. Americans are lazy. Americans don't pay attention. It's the truth. In a sense, we are all in our little worlds where we can sit down to watch the television all day long and are not interrupted at all. Why? Because we can. The only change from that was September 11, but that was temporary. We aren't forgiving; we just forget. We rationalize evil so we don't have to deal with it. Things are hard to deal with-easier to just let them go, find diversions, or not pay attention.
Why get up from the couch, get dressed, and drive the car out to the local school to vote for the next president? Shoot! Friends is almost on. Who cares about voting, much less joining a political action group, attending a rally at the capitol, or reading the newspaper? The aloofness has a certain appeal to it (it caters to our innate selfishness), though it tends to be responsible for our national disasters.
Schools
Perhaps the greatest example of the effect of public schools in harming the family was at the beginning of the twentieth century. At the turn of the century, the majority of Americans were living in traditional, Christian homes and Charles Darwin's doctrine was introduced into the society, but it had very little influence and was dismissed by most.
At that time, John Dewey began his philosophy of "progressive learning"; as a signer of the Humanist Manifesto, he has been given credit for writing most of it...
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18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
How to Support a Thesis without any Evidence,
By Daisy Turner (Charlottesville, VA, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Seen and Heard: America's Youngest Political Pundit Tackles the Lies and Truths of Politics and Culture (Hardcover)
The claim of this book is that the liberals are responsible for the decline of American society from the "good old days" and that to fix all of society's problems we should return to the glory days of the nuclear family. Nothing new there; that idea has been in circulation since the days of Confucius.What makes Kyle Williams' book unique is its complete lack of supporting evidence for its claim. Take the very first paragraph (available in the Amazon exercept). Williams says that NBC's Thursday after-work programming is unfit for a five-year-old, much less a teenager. Leaving aside the odd grammar (transposing "five-year-old" and "teenager" would make more sense in context), we see absolutely no reason for why NBC's programming is unfit for children. Is Sex and the City scheduled for 6 PM? No, indeed: a quick glance at NBC's website shows that programming from 5-8 consists of the news, Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy. Granted, lots of news stories are not appropriate for 5 year olds, but should the news be banned or filtered because of that? I hope not! The book goes on in that vein, with its nostalgic "memories" of barn-raisings and vehement attacks on a school system that the author, being home-schooled, knows nothing about. (This latter would be ok if he had provided some valid study or other evidence to support his point, rather than merely "My mommy thinks public schools are bad for children," which is essentially what his argument comes down to.) The only extenuating circumstance of this book (1 star instead of 0) is that the author is so young. This level of writing is what I'd expect from an 8th or 9th grader, but he shouldn't be touted as a "political pundit" until he learns to back up his claims with actual facts.
10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
1 cent book provides 3 cents worth of laughs...,
By
This review is from: Seen and Heard: America's Youngest Political Pundit Tackles the Lies and Truths of Politics and Culture (Hardcover)
The only problem is even though it's only a penny you'd still have to pay $2-$3 shipping. Not worth it! Funny book written by a sweaty little fat kid with crazy Christian conservative parents. Hearing a 14 year old virgin boy's opinion on abortion is great. And it's all yours for only one penny!
22 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Bring in the Noise,
By
This review is from: Seen and Heard: America's Youngest Political Pundit Tackles the Lies and Truths of Politics and Culture (Hardcover)
As a 16-year-old American with aspirations of somehow being involved in the political process within the next ten years, I sympathize strongly with the urge to dispel the notions of many that children in our country "have nothing to say". Everyone is wondering why the youth of our country are so apathetic about voting and becoming politically active - why shouldn't they be? Everything about the political machine panders to people "18 or over", and if you don't fit into that demographic, then in essence, nobody cares about you.With that said, however, we must understand the dangers of the susceptibility of children to any sort of information that may come their way. Williams spends the first few pages of his book talking about the "bubbling pot" of our present-day culture, mentioning that there is very little keeping the youth of America from seeing mass amounts of violence, sex, and other degrading values on television. So what are you advocating - censorship? The entire flow of the book reeks of dogmatic Christian beliefs, spewed by a child who, while quite eloquent and informed, is obviously part of the blind following of religion that leads to approximately half the country supporting Bush simply because he's a good ol' Christian, what with his intolerance of gays and inability to see any viewpoint except the church's on abortion. John Kerry, in the second presidential debate this past Friday, made an interesting and valid point. He said that he was a Catholic and believed strongly in the value of a human life, essentially stating that he as a person was against abortion. He went on to say, however, that it is not the job of a President to take an article of belief such as that and force it on the American people like it was their own. Bush made some comment which he intended to be funny about how nobody could understand Kerry because of the way he spoke, which was in my opinion not only ignorant but insulting to the Americans watching the debate - he almost seemed to imply that we were too stupid to understand what Kerry was saying. In any case, the point made is a good one, and applies here as well - we don't choose a President to tell us what to believe and to say that we can't believe certain things when some of us obviously do. In the same way, Williams cannot force his beliefs on me just because he came up in a Christian background and doesn't agree with what he sees on television or in the papers. Guess what, Kyle? Suck it up. You'll soon learn, if you haven't already, that nobody has the patience to listen to someone moan about how the whole world is out to get them, and that you can't use the fact that you're thirteen as a novelty for much longer. Conservatives, as a whole, pride themselves on being the "we-don't-take-nothin'-from-no-one" party, but they spend an awful lot of time whining about how everybody hates them and is trying to question the leader in a time when he shouldn't be questioned. Or about how the "liberal media" and the "feminazis" are out to ruin the American way of life. Liberals aren't out to ruin anyone's way of life except the people who are intolerant of the concept of FREE SPEECH and of this lap-dog ideal that many Republicans carry for our current president. We, as Americans, are charged with the responsibility of thinking for ourselves. Hey all you wailing conservatives out there, get THIS: liberals questioned Clinton after the Lewinsky scandal, so where's your indignance at there not being any WMD's? If Bush was a Democrat, he'd have been impeached before he could utter anything about Saddam being a threat to American security after the huge scam that was Iraq. This dogmatic approach to politics has to end. We need, and I'm sure Kyle would agree with me, a return to "civility in public discourse", as a famous pundit once said. We need to start thinking about what makes sense to us, and not what the politicians in Washington say you should think makes sense. Believe me, Kyle, I was in your shoes once, and for me it wasn't too long ago. Facts are the only constants in our life - don't let the opinions of angry or confused white men muddle the argument.
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First Sentence:
IT'S THURSDAY NIGHT. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, United States, Planned Parenthood, First Amendment, National Education Association, Social Security, Thomas Jefferson, Jesse Jackson, Big Daddy, Department of Education, American Civil Liberties Union, Declaration of Independence, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President Bush, Supreme Court, Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Clinton, Dan Rather, Jim Inhofe, John Adams, Vice President Cheney, Attorney General John Ashcroft, Benjamin Franklin, Capitol Hill New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
IT'S THURSDAY NIGHT. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, United States, Planned Parenthood, First Amendment, National Education Association, Social Security, Thomas Jefferson, Jesse Jackson, Big Daddy, Department of Education, American Civil Liberties Union, Declaration of Independence, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President Bush, Supreme Court, Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Clinton, Dan Rather, Jim Inhofe, John Adams, Vice President Cheney, Attorney General John Ashcroft, Benjamin Franklin, Capitol Hill New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 23
books:
See all 23 books this book cites
- The Homeschooling Revolution by Isabel Lyman on page 88, and Back Matter
- Absolute Power (Export) by David Baldacci on page 143, and Back Matter
- Vindicating the Founders: Race, Sex, Class, and Justice in the Origins of America by Thomas G. West on page 177, and Back Matter
- Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth by Jeffrey Satinover on page 106, and Back Matter
- Taking America Back by Joseph Farah on page 177, and Back Matter
See all 23 books this book cites
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