Tipper Gore has been crusading against violence in children`s television for a decade, yet her cause received national media attention only when she took on the graphic sex of heavy metal music and MTV. As the wife of Tennessee Sen. Albert Gore Jr., a newly announced hopeful in the Democratic race for the White House, Gore is used to public scrutiny. And as the mother of four children, she is passionate about protecting children from explicit depictions of sex and violence. So she`s unruffled by any criticism her campaign, and her new book, ”Raising PG Kids in an X-rated Society” (Abingdon Press, $8.95), may receive. In an interview with Chicago writer Beth Austin, she makes only one complaint: As a loyal Bruce Springsteen fan, she hates being labeled as anti-rock.
It`s not an anti-rock campaign. I like rock. I still like it. I am anti-explicit-sex-and-violence-to-younger-kids-without-notification. But I love rock music, and most rock music is perfectly fine. I grew up listening to rock music and loving it.
The music that had the biggest impact on me was the Beatles. I grew up with the Beatles and the music of the `60s. I remember being in my room the first time ”I Want To Hold Your Hand” came over on my radio. I must have been 14. I went, ”Wow! Is that a great sound!” It just energized me–and everyone else, apparently.
I remember when they came on ”The Ed Sullivan Show.” I was ready for the show probably two hours before it came on, already sitting in front of the TV.
I went to college at Boston University. It was a great college town. I was there from `66 to `70. In college it was Bob Dylan. I liked folk music, Peter, Paul and Mary. Music made me feel good and it made me feel a part of something larger, larger than myself. It made me feel positive, even the songs pointing out injustice. It was very unifying. It made me see beyond myself.
Back then, radio was like a national radio. They were playing these songs, from the Beatles to Donovan, on all the Top 40 stations all around the country. Everyone liked it. You not only had the college students, the kids listening to it. You also had adults liking the music.
I`ll tell you what was played at our wedding (in 1970): ”All You Need is Love.” We had a medley of Beatles songs. The Beatles looked at life as a real spectrum of development. They put a value on growing old and the love relationship: ”Will you still love me when I`m 64?” I think that`s what makes me so upset when I see some of the songs today. They don`t treat any of that.
Before I tuned in to what my children were watching, I based my decisions on what they could watch or listen to on my own past. I did monitor TV and movies because I knew the levels of adult themes and violence were pretty high. Ten years ago I was involved with groups that were trying to raise awareness about the level of television violence and its impact on children. But music was a very unexpected place to find it, for me. I didn`t think there was anything I had to monitor as far as music was concerned–until my children questioned me about it.
They were watching videos, and my 6-year-old said, ”Mom, why is the teacher taking off her clothes?” I said, ”What are you watching! You know you`re not allowed to watch HBO without my screening it.” And she said, ”No, this is MTV.” Well, it turns out that it was Van Halen`s ”Hot for Teacher.” I sat down and watched with them. Then I tuned in to their world.
I was appalled. Other parents were experiencing the same rude awakening. One day in early 1985, my friend Susan Baker came by to talk about her concerns. Susan and her husband, U.S. Treasury Secretary James Baker, have eight children. She told me that two of her friends were getting ready to take action on the issue of pornographic and violent images in music. I was so angry about the songs my children and I had heard that I quickly agreed to join Baker in doing something about it. We decided to establish the nonprofit Parents` Music Resource Center, to inform parents about inappropriate materials.
I felt I had to do something, that`s why I wrote the book. I felt parents needed to know what they`re children are listening to. It makes me angry that children are being exploited by commercial interests. My background is in psychology. I have two degrees in psychology, which has oriented me towards this. And then I`m outraged about what`s being presented to children because I am a mother.
I think our family has always been the first priority for Al and me. I did have a strong family background. I always told my parents everything. They gave me guidance and support every step of the way.
I was born in Washington, D.C., and brought up in Arlington, Va. I`m from a family that believed in taking an active part in democracy. They were both Republicans and Democrats, which made for interesting dinner table
conversations.
My husband and I met in Washington. We met at a high school prom–very tame. When I met him, he was 17 and I was 16. I always felt that he was an extremely intelligent person with lots of qualities that I was attracted to, particularly his wit and his intelligence–and I think he`s extremely handsome and sexy and all of that. But there was an added quality, even then. I didn`t know how it was going to shake out.
But when we were married, I thought, ”Here is a man who is going to make my life very interesting.” I thought together we were going to have an interesting life.
We married when I graduated from college. Our first daughter was born in 1973. When he moved into politics, we were living in Nashville, Tenn.; he was working at a newspaper and in law school. We were not even particularly involved in Democratic Party politics. We did not go to the local rallies, that kind of thing. We were in our own world. I was in graduate school in psychology, thinking that I might want to go on and get my Ph.D. and become a child psychiatrist.
I was working part-time as a photographer at a newspaper and caring for our child. The photography was something that happened. I saw it was something that I could do part-time, perhaps. It was something that appealed to me as journalism. So I thought, ”Maybe I`ll be a photojournalist and get some more training in that.”
My husband didn`t give me much time to think before he went into politics. The congressional seat came open unexpectedly. On a Friday afternoon in March, 1976, my husband got a call that this man, Joe Evins, who had been in Congress for 30 years, was going to retire. I remember it clear as a bell: He turned to me and said, ”I think I`m going to run for Congress.”
That was a bombshell. He was thinking about being a writer and combining it with law. We were going in a very different direction. So it was a shock.
He is from a political family and his father (Sen. Albert Gore Sr.), was in public service for 32 years. So, of course, it was in the background.
When you help your husband campaign for Congress, that`s a different role. During that campaign, I remember going to my boss and saying, ”Al`s going to run for Congress.” I said, ”I don`t want to quit. I`m going to campaign on my days off.” And my boss said, ”You`re not going to be able to do that. This is an all-out race. You go campaign for your husband. If he loses, your job is here.”
I missed the photography a great deal. I was very excited about what I was learning and doing at the newspaper. But I think in any successful relationship, it`s a give and take, and sometimes you have to give more than at other times. I believe you`ve got to be willing to sacrifice for your relationship and for love.
I think both the husband and wife have to be clear about their goals in political life. I wouldn`t think about asking him to skip a vote to take me out to dinner. I think that would be irresponsible. But there are times when the family needs him, when I need him. He`ll schedule a family weekend. We see him in the evenings. We have dinner together. He helps the children with their homework. He gets up to fix their breakfast and lets me sleep.
That`s not to say it`s not difficult. I think it`s one of the most difficult lives you can have.
He just turned 39, I`m 38. I know who I am. I still dance, I still love rock music. I still go to concerts. My husband gave me the Bruce Springsteen album, the triple album, for Christmas. It was my main present.
