I am Woman, Hear me Roar

I am really irate right now, and this post will definitely NOT include pictures. I will probably have to go back and edit this post later to make it calmer. But this is my blog and so I can throw a tantrum if I want to (which I almost did at Walgreen's today).

Last week I went to the corner Walgreen's and as I was there, I passed by the current Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition. I hope and pray that your eyes have not been thus offended. It is HORRENDOUS!! Let's just say that the model looks more like she's wearing a strategically placed necklace than a swimsuit top. I was just so grateful that I didn't have my kids with me. So, as I checked out I talked to the cashier, asked for the manager, no one was on site, so I left my message that it was absolutely NOT appropriate and that they should remove it from the shelf, or at least cover the picture. He promised he'd pass along the message.

Today I had to pop in again at Walgreen's so I decided to check out what they had done about the offensive mag. No change. This time a manager was in, so I spoke with him. I started pretty calmly and expressed the same feelings I had before. The manager told me that he had checked with his boss but they said he could not remove the mags. I asked about covering the picture, but he dismissed that option. He said that they had to sell them because this year Walgreen's received a bunch of money from the men's shaving products for this promotion where, if someone buys a men's shaving product they get a coupon for a buck off the Sports Illustrated. "Any Sport's Illustrated? Or just the swimsuit edition?" The swimsuit edition. WHAT? That's where I just flipped. Not only are they carrying the swimsuit issue, and displaying it in all it's slime, they are actually promoting it!! I could just see my little K. (15 years down the road), going in innocently enough to buy shave cream and getting just another temptation thrown at him in the process. At this point my voice was probably a tad loud and I started saying things like "disgusting, absolutely inappropriate, Walgreen's is supporting porn, disrepect of and degradation of women" and such. I calmed down enough at the end to say, "Please pass my comments onward and upward." But then I got out in the car and I continued my private tirade: This is NOT the kind of world that I belong in!! This is NOT OKAY with me!! Porn, hardcore or soft, is as President Hinckley called it, A Tragic Evil Among Us .

Of course I'll write letters to Walgreen's and every shaving company I can think of. But I was thinking of something and I want to ask if any of you have seen this idea in action in your LDS wards. We do all kinds of Relief Society groups: book groups, quilting groups, playgroups, whatever. What better place for there to be a group for the promotion of moral values? There's always more power in multiple voices. I know that most of us share these same values. The world may be slipping into the quagmire, but I don't want it to happen without me fighting back the best I can. I want to make a stand and say "THIS IS NOT OKAY!"

I am reminded of an article Pres. Hinckley wrote in the September 2004 Ensign called In Opposition to Evil wherein he says: "I am one who believes that the situation is far from hopeless. I am satisfied that there is no need to stand still and let the filth and violence overwhelm us or to run in despair. The tide, high and menacing as it is, can be turned back if enough [moral and good people] will add their strength to the strength of the few who are now effectively working. I believe the challenge to oppose this evil is one from which members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as citizens, cannot shrink." Then he mentions 4 ways to start the fight:
1. Start with yourself.
2. Teach the rising generation.
3. Let your voices be heard. Not shrill voices (oops!), but voices of conviction and sincerity. "Remarkable consequences often flow from a well-written letter and a postage stamp."
4. Enlist the strength of God in doing battle.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could rally around as women in Relief Society and do what we can to make a difference in this world of ours? It's our world! Are we going to just let it go? I love President Hinckley's optimism! I had a random thought the other day: What if this "final battle" prior to the Second Coming of Christ includes a battle of morals not just a battle of artillary? It seems like the war of evil is already upon us, folks, but the promise is that we can have God's help and power in this fight! But it is a fight. If any of you have seen RS groups such as this, let me know. I would be very interested in getting more ideas!