Posted on 11/21/2017 11:27:03 PM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
Americans have been buried in the last six weeks by a blizzard of reports of sexual harassment, assault, misconduct and malfeasance from our politicians, journalists and Hollywood glitterati. In the last week alone, we've seen a picture of Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., during his pre-senatorial days placing his hands over a sleeping woman's breasts; the suspension of New York Times journalist Glenn Thrush for allegedly harassing young female journalists; and eight women telling the Washington Post that fabled television host Charlie Rose had made unwanted sexual advances ranging from groping to lewd phone calls. That follows on the heels of allegations of child molestation against Alabama Senate Republican nominee Roy Moore, confirmed accusations of unwanted exposure from comedian Louis C.K. and allegations of sexual assault against Russell Simmons. Every day, it seems, a new member of the cultural aristocracy comes tumbling down.
What's behind all of it? Why did it take so long for this avalanche to start? And what does it tell us about the culture we've built?
Misconduct thrives when accountability fades. Historically speaking, we have always had elite classes of people who engaged in sexually atrocious behavior, and that class was largely confined to those with power and their hangers-on. Kings and potentates could revel in their harems -- they could seize and rape concubines -- and those upon whom they bestowed favor could expect to enjoy like treatment. But in an egalitarian, free society, a society without hereditary aristocracy, we pride ourselves on having a common standard of behavior for everyone.
That's simply not true. When it comes to sexual exploitation of women in particular, we treat our new aristocracy in the same way peasants treated the old aristocracy: with deference. In America, three things confer aristocratic status: fame, money and power. Hollywood, politics and journalism are built on all three. And elite status in each of those industries bought not just a bevy of opportunities for brutality but also a silent knowledge that the consequences would be slight for engaging in that brutality.
First, the opportunities. Just as certain peasants of old sought to curry favor with lords, too many Americans seek to curry favor with the powerful. That's the story of the Hollywood casting couch. It's the story of the famed journalist and his nighttime corner booth at the local pub. It's the story of the politician and his late-night office meetings. Does anyone think women were dying to meet Harvey Weinstein or Charlie Rose or Glenn Thrush? Each story we hear tells the same tale: Women thought the only way they could get ahead was to treat these men with complaisance. They thought that they couldn't turn down dinner invites. And if they were abused, they thought they had to keep their mouths shut.
In many cases, they did. That's because the public offered no consequences to the elite. Perhaps we blamed the victims and were unwilling to blame the accusers. Perhaps the darkest side of humanity revels in the pain inflicted by others. Whatever the case, the aristocrats knew, and they acted accordingly.
So, what's changed now? It's tempting to say that we've woken up -- that we're unwilling to allow fame and money and power to excuse abuse, and we're not going to go back to the old way anymore. But that would be too sanguine. So long as fame and money and power exist, there will be those who seek to exploit them and those who look the other way. False idols always have their adherents.
It's our job to ensure that the idols remain smashed. And that means recanting our own idolatry for a cultural sultanate that deserves to be torn down.
As astute as Ben is, he frequently parrots the memes of the left.
it’s a simple answer, women just need to pack Smith & Wesson snub nose 38’s....some creep gets wise, plug him
the first phase (imho) has been completed and we are sufficiently desensitized for phase two to begin ... Phase two, the lowering of consent age.
Ben is great sometimes but he is falling for the repetition of Lies.
What Western Civ. has known since the Ancient Greeks is that without Virtue formation in children, you can never have freedom or civil society. The other thing is “just” Law. We have Evil “laws” now which are unconstitutional and will destroy our country. Unjust laws destroy civil society as Cicero stated, since vice breeds vice.
With the income tax and the Fed Reserve and welfare state we promote theft and punish virtue as we reward vice. Also, we now promote insanity, sodomy and baby-killing which will always corrupt children who grow up with vice as “good” and “legal”-—just the way that slavery was good and normal for centuries, because it was “legal”.
We need to return to Just Laws and promoting virtue in education which is only done with Classical Education which teaches children how to think and reason-—not programmed into little non-thinking, irrational socialists where Up is Down and Boys are Girls.
“That’s because the public offered no consequences to the elite.”
This can also be read as this:
The president of the US got away with this and was idolized, continues to be. The message to his supporters was support me and my elite group, including my wife, my greatest supporter (enabler) and we will continue to change the culture turning it into a hedonistic, abortion worshipping hellhole
Well stated. That so many colleges and universities no longer teach western civilization has eroded our society.
If the tide is turning on tgem, which seems to be the case, it is most likely related to last year’s election results.
Trump represents the sincerely transparent, honest-dealing successful people that just want to pursue happiness. They don’t depend on society and the elite for their success, so they don’t worship the elite- they don worship government, politicians nor media.
Suddenly the elites are just people - subject to laws, ethics and standard. The Clintons can’t protect them. Like vermin when the lights go on they are suddenly gross, out for only themselves and powerless. They live like vermin so that’s how they’ll go down. Suddenly they’ll hate their leaders for not staying in power.
They’ve hated Trump and Trumps supporters for being strong and threatening their disgusting way of life, which is a threat to America. The two cultures cannot coexist. Not by choice but by their nature
The liberals, having failed at destroying Trump and his supporters will turn on their own elites when they have nowhere else to go with their fear and loathing
They haven’t believed that anyone as successful as Trump can get to that level without being criminal. But he is an honest businessman enormously successful by his own merits his supporters don’t need his level of success nor his lifestyle they just want to be left in peace to pursue happiness
Nothing more but nothing less. Liberalism, by its nature, takes that away, so it has to be stopped
That could be what’s going on here. The Clintons can be put out only by their own people.
Tell it like it is Susie!!! Or, as some in this area are prone to say in response to something that is dead on the money, “You ain’t never lied!” Seriously speaking there is not much that could be added to what you wrote and only a fool would argue against it.
Fixed that or you. You're welcome!
Excellent.
For the New Age religion, the Marxists have to destroy all wisdom and knowledge of history and destroy all Traditions (since that is how you pass on wisdom to the next generation).
The Wisdom of the Ages has to be wiped off the face of the earth-—so the worldview of a Thomas Jefferson or a Newton or a Tesla would be completely impossible.
For “happy” slaves, the Marxist needs a very ignorant populace who will believe that “snow is black”—be completely devoid of reason—so free will and individualism (thinking outside the allowed box) can never exist.
Schools only program now—making little robots who regurgitate the lies and warped realities that are fed to the children in Common Core. Only Classical Education gives the tools to use reason and the logic of an Aristotle. And Christianity and the Bible and Christ were banned in the 60s so the worldview which created the US Constitution, the Age of Reason and Modern Science (Law of non-contradiction and Free Will) will not exist-—just a wishy washy scientism where Up is Down, Slavery is Good, Vice is Virtue and Boys are Girls——total removal from Truth (God) and Reality.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.