"Now I don't want to get off on a rant here, but...." -Dennis Miller
Like everybody, there are quite a few things in this world which just annoy the hell out of me. I try not to voice these opinions for various reasons. I never want to hurt anyone's feelings, I appear bitter when I do, etc. Unfortunately, unless I voice my frustrations, they don't go away. The solution I've come up with, is this Rant & Roar section of my website. Every so often, I plan to vent my frustration, go on a rant and just plain roar about a certain topic that annoys me. I mean absolutely no offense to anyone in particular. This section is not an excuse for me to attack anyone. It's just me letting off some steam.
You can also check out my previous rants.
I realized not long ago that there are quite a few people out there who think that society as we know it is crumbling. They feel that decency and morality have been on the decline for years and that things are getting worse every day. Most, but not all of these groups tend to be religious in nature. The American Family Association, the group I love to hate, state their concerns about this exact topic on their website. They say that "The American Family Association exists to motivate and equip individuals to restore the moral foundations of American culture." Before we continue, let me just say that this rant is not an attack on the AFA (my thoughts on the AFA can be found in my AFA review section). Many different people and groups have this same belief and for various reasons. Whether they are religious or not, the message is always the same however. Morality is in trouble.
Personally, I don't think this is the case. This view that things were somehow so much more "moral" or "acceptable" back in the old days isn't founded on anything but nostalgia of the popular culture of the time. Yes, it's true that television shows didn't even mention sex back in the 50s. It's also true that movies back then didn't have body counts in the thousands like today's movies do. What we need to keep in mind however is that the morality which was displayed in popular culture and the morality of the actual culture were very very different.
Let's talk about the obvious cases right off the bat. People claim that morality has been on the decline over the past few decades. I say they are wrong. I don't think it can be denied that over the past few decades we've made monumental strides in becoming a much more tolerant and moral society. Back in "the good old days", rape was often acceptable because women "were asking for it". Husband were allowed to beat up and torture their wives with no penalty. Blacks were treated as inferior and were often murdered for no reason. Jews were viewed as inferior and were not permitted in live in many areas. People were allowed to beat up and kill homosexuals because they were viewed as "wrong". Women and blacks were not allowed to hold jobs. Blacks and whites were not allowed to date. Need I continue? There are many more examples I could give. Are these the "moral foundations" that people would like to restore?
Of course, it is still unclear how far back "the good old days" really are. I mean, when exactly did we hit the peak of morality? Perhaps these people are referring to a time even earlier than the 1940s and 1950s. Perhaps they are referring to the time when slavery was legal? How about when the Spanish Inquisition was viewed as 'noble'? How about when the slaughtering of Indians was thought of as okay?
I'm not saying that the moral values we hold today are perfect. I am saying however, that the strides in morality we've made over the past few decades cannot be ignored. People have rights which are finally starting to be recognized. Hate due to ignorance is becoming less and less acceptable today, and that's something to be proud of. People are waking up and realizing that the old "moral foundations" need changing and improving. Morality hasn't been on the decline, it's been on the rise. While there are undeniable problems in our society, they are problems which can be fixed with modern moral values. They can be fixed with values that respect everyone, even those who are female, Jewish, black and homosexual.
<----- Back to previous rants
<----- Back to my homepage