Live Long & Prosper
S. M. Hutchens on the Fifth Commandment
When Mary and I were married more than twenty years ago, we decided that there would be no television in our home, mostly for the advantage of our children, whom we did not wish to be burdened with it. Several years ago we acquired a small set and keep it in the basement, connected to a videotape player, which gives us full control over what appears on the screen in our home. We still do not have television reception, either by air or over cable.
This means that when I do watch television, once or twice a year, what I see is more striking to me than to those who watch it regularly. I see the changes that have come gradually to most people as abrupt and rather shocking. One of the largest and most horrifying changes has been the portrayal of what is supposed to be normal family life, of the normal and expected behavior of parents and children. We have come a long way from “Ozzie and Harriet” and “Father Knows Best.”
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
S. M. Hutchens is a Touchstone senior editor.
• Not a subscriber or wish to renew your subscription? Subscribe to Touchstone today for full online access. Over 30 years of publishing!
personal subscriptions
Purchase Print &
Online Subscription

Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
gift subscriptions
GIVE Print &
Online Subscription

Give six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for the reduced rate of $29.95. That's only $2.50 per month!
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
kindle subscription
OR get a subscription to Touchstone to read on your Kindle for only $1.99 per month! (This option is KINDLE ONLY and does not include either print or online.)
Your subscription goes a long way to ensure that Touchstone is able to continue its mission of publishing quality Christian articles and commentary.
more on the ten commandments from the online archives
more from the online archives
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor