Posted on 08/28/2007 10:25:27 AM PDT by .cnI redruM
Senator Larry Craig has become our nation’s latest congressional joke. The headlines about “Craig’s List”, “His own Private Idaho”, “Brokeback Bathroom” and terror in the toilets are worth a laugh. Yet, even as funny as these headlines are at first glance, something else here doesn’t make me want to laugh.
The upshot of all this bathroom humor will ultimately be that Senator Craig was just another one of those crazy family values types that talks a good game in public and then gets freaky in the c**p stall. Postmodern “moralists” like Larry Flynt will extrapolate from there. The talking point takeaway will read that people who “preach old fashioned morality” are just hypocrites and should go put a sock in it. Because Larry Craig’s disgusting behavior gives the Penthouse Posse ammunition to impugn the decency of everyone attempting to improve the quality of America’s increasingly jaded and coarsening culture, he has become a traitor to the cause of basic decency and needs to resign or be primaried.
Senator Craig received vocal support from pro-life and pro-family groups. These people, such as The Idaho Values Alliance, have praised legislative votes taken by Larry Craig. Because Craig couldn’t rise above the absolute lowest common denominator of respectable behavior, these people now come in for grossly unjustified ridicule.
Ridicule of Larry Craig will now become a proxy for ridicule of anyone attempting to use moral suasion to improve the level of American society. Anyone seeking to stem the barbarism of moral relativity will be viewed as just another biblethumper/hypocrite. Sticking up for common decency now gets you associated with the perverted Larry Craig.
Sometimes moralists annoy me as well. This usually happens any time they accuse Little Old Me of being immoral. I understand why these types get under so many people’s skins. That doesn’t stop the quest for decent public behavior from being worthy.
Morality enforced by shame or persuasion is vastly superior to the alternative. Once all the “big-mouths” and “know-it-alls” that spout morality are demonized, once we derisively dismiss the “family values crowd” as just a bunch of hypocrites lusting for “Craig’s Crusty Crank”, we’re left with one alternative to modify the behavior of individuals in our society. That alternative is violence.
This is something to keep in mind as we snicker at the deplorable ethical example set by Senator Craig. It boils down to one fundamental question. Does Senator Craig’s status as a deeply flawed messenger imply that asking for better societal morals is flawed?
If we keep answering affirmatively to that, I want the next plane out of here. Morality does get reestablished in the end and it’s usually by the likes of Savonarola or Oliver Cromwell. I’ll take my disappointment with the hypocritical “Terror of The Toilets” over that dystopia any day.
The Liberals and Dems would love to be able to execute those they deem to be guilty of hypocrisy.
Why do you have such a problem with it?
There are numerous women (both Dem and Rep) who refuse to believe there are guys who cruise for sex in public men’s rooms.
“Truth Boat” was a contraction, intended to imply a similar approach in dealing with Hillary and/or whomever the Dim candidate might be. We all need to be “swift” in truthing their lies, including lies of omission.
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