Rav Breuer zt"l on the Internet

Just substitute "internet" for "television."

Courtesy of Reb Yitzchok Levine via Reb Gershon Seif:

In his essay The Television Scandal that appeared in the Mitteilungen, Vol. 21, December 1959/January 1960 Rav Dr. Joseph Breuer wrote in part

What is deeply disturbing, however, is the indifference with which the general public accepts the obvious fact that one of the most revolutionary technological achievements of our time is being used to poison the spiritual and moral values of the contemporary generation, especially the youth. That which is true for obscene and offensive literature, which inundates the current literary market (we need only refer to the millions of copies of objectionable so-called “comic books”), applies in a much higher degree to the television programs, which parallel the level of smut literature. Or could anyone still be unaware of the acute threat to our children’s moral purity and mental health posed by programs that are of a clearly immoral and sensual character, glorifying brutality, crime and naked materialism?

As long as we do not have effective legislative measures to combat the danger threatening the nation, parents who are anxious to promote the welfare of their children will follow the course necessitated by the situation. The easiest way out would be to forgo one’s personal use of the medium and to forbid the children to watch television. Yet it is more than doubtful whether this would have the desired effect. “Stolen waters taste sweetly and secret bread is pleasant” pronounces Solomonic truth (Mishlei 9:17).

The following course may offer better promise of success. Here, as everywhere, parental example is of decisive importance. Parents who regularly spend their evenings in front of the television set, watching one program after the other, should not be surprised if their children, following their example, feel magically drawn to the lure of television. Why should parents expect of their children a fortitude which they themselves fail to exhibit? If parents in their own viewing habits deal with television in the proper manner, both regarding the limitation of time and the careful selection of programs, children will be ready to accept the kind of nourishment that is adequate and healthy. For children will understand, especially with growing maturity, that nourishment for the mind and soul, like that for the body, must be subjected to a painstaking selection.

Let no one underestimate the influence of literature and television on the minds of young and old. We cannot fully protect our children from coming into contact with the sort of material that has such an unhealthy effect on their imagination and senses. Much will have been achieved if our children, together with us, are determined to reject such material as unbefitting the dignity of moral man. The atmosphere in which our children are reared — nurtured and purified by the common striving of school and home will play a major role in the healthy and protected growth of our youth.