Bring Back Shame and Prudery (Vanity)

Vanity ^ | 2-6-2004 | Me, Judith Anne

[gcruse]

It started downhill into the sewer when the media and left
started assulting people for their "puritanical" beliefs.

I think it is more of a cultural imperative, much as democracy tends to socialism once the electrorate realizes they have the keys to the treasury (read, the other man's pocket).

Look at the change over time in men's wear from long-tailed morning coats at the turn of the 20th century, through shorter tails until tie & tails gave way to tuxedoes for formal wear and tailless jackets for commerce, culminating in casual Fridays.  Culture tends toward easier living.  Mores seem to move in train.

The Puritans will always be among us, handling snakes and invoking brimstone, but life goes on outside the walls.

[frgoff]

-And we need to do it in a way which convinces people of the merits of doing so, rather than convinces them that we are just a bunch of huffy old coots trying to spoil their fun.-

And that, right there, is why this will never work by outside forces. We have the culture we have because most people WANT it, and get angry when you try to tell them it's wrong.

The culture will not change until being called a huffy old coat becomes a compliment and the ones doing the calling are shamed into silence by the people calling them immoral perverts.

[cynicom]

Not quite what I had in mind...

These people that are hell bent for socialism, everyone do his own thing, have got a surprise coming. As an illustration, they need to recall what happened when Hitler and Stalin imposed total government control on their people. Morality was imposed that would make religious morality look like childs play.

[Judith Anne]

I've learned something that helps in everyday life...if a friend says something like: "I've got a joke for you" I just say, "If it's off-color, I'd rather not hear it" but I keep smiling.

One day, we all reprised all the dumb jokes we used to tell when we were kids, and the silly ones our kids are telling now--we were all LOL...it's not so hard to raise your standards...

[gcruse]

These people that are hell bent for socialism, everyone do his own thing, have got a surprise coming.

Well, actually, socialism is everyone doing what they are told.  One's own thing is called liberty.

I hope you aren't advocating a Talibanish takedown of America.

[cynicom]

Always a mistake to read into a statement, something that is not there.

[sasafras]

Sounds like a good idea - lets take our families back and turn off the TV or at least get rid of cable/satellite. Why give race and porn pettlers (i.e. BET and MTV) any more money?

[William McKinley]

We have the culture we have because most people WANT it, and get angry when you try to tell them it's wrong.

I am not sure I agree with you totally, although clearly we are close to agreement.

I think it is the forest versus the trees. Any single thing we point to and say its wrong, we run the risk of angering some. We do it often enough, we anger everyone. But I think that most people do NOT want the culture we have. I think most people realize that overall, things have gone awry.

We need to avoid fighting over the trees so that everyone keeps their eyes on the forest.

[gcruse]

Then what surprise, and whence?

[gcruse]

Apropos this thread, Peggy Noonan's column on it, where cultural suicide leads, and the incomparable Wonkette, here is just one sliver.  The rest is over at  The Wonkette.

Peggy-speak	What it means
This was the Super Bowl, after all, a football game in early-evening prime time with children watching, and nice people who hadn't bought into the concept of seeing a sex show.	I have never seen or heard of professional football cheerleaders and when a beer commercial comes on the television, I find my memory of it mysteriously wiped clean.

[Amelia]

When I was young, we listened to music with lyrics about love, beauty and social issues.

Uh, NO.

It was sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll, remember?

[Judith Anne]

Ridiculing Peggy Noonan isn't going to make the issue of a completely inappropriate SuperBowl halftime show go away, and won't change the minds of many middle Americans who were offended.

I deliberately put "Shame and Prudery" in the title. Those of us who have been called names, who still possess the concept of shame in our emotional repertoires, who haven't had a sense of propriety blunted by pop culture's continual assaults, won't be bothered by ridicule. What we've preserved is more valuable than regard for the scorn of others.

[T.Smith]

"Here's a thought--any church group that had a SuperBowl party for the kids, and allowed them to see the half-time show could probably be charged with showing inappropriate films to children..."

Could you qualify that a little further? I watched the Super Bowl with a Sunday School group and we allowed our children to watch with us. How were we supposed to know that Janet Jackson was going to whip out her breast?

[ValenB4]

And how do we "make" them PPV? What if MTV refuses?

[Judith Anne]

So, the "dancing" was okay? The "lyrics" were okay? According to many, they were way over the top. It wasn't just a one-second shot of a breast with a nipple ornament.

That remark you quoted may have been an overstatement on my part, then again, maybe not. I reserve the right to think it over.

[T.Smith]

I couldn't understand the lyrics, could you?

[Judith Anne]

You know what? I'm a nurse, and ended my shift at 7:30, and then drove home, which takes an hour. I never could understand much of hip-hop "lyrics" but I heard that they were shown on the screens of 89 million plus TVs. Is that untrue?

Virtually every one of my patients was either watching the game or had it on for visitors. They were offended. I didn't hear any positive comments.

[sauropod]

Well, I was watching the Animal Planet channel w/ my kids because I thought it was relatively safe. It was about 7 pm or so on a Wednesday evening. Then, lo and behold, there was this commercial for a female libido enhancing pill of some kind. I tried to distract their attention from the TV commercial, but they are old enough now that they have caught on to what I was trying to do. There was no remote available to quickly change the channel.

My daughter, age 9, started asking about what the subject matter was. I told her "never mind" or "none of your business" or something like that.

I was and am furious over this. Am writing the Discovery.com (aren't they the ones that own Animal Planet?) about this.

[sauropod]

See post no. 78. There is no safety in "family channels."

[Judith Anne]

That's awful. No wonder you're angry.