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Jewish World Review August 11, 2010/ 1 Elul, 5770 A Far Better ‘National Discussion’ By Arnold Ahlert
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
It's hard to take a "war"--as in culture war--and reduce it to a single battle. But the symbolism provided by two particular people is highly indicative of where we are today. In 2008, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was forced to resign in disgrace due to the fact that he had spent thousands of dollars on prostitutes. The particular prostitute most closely associated with Spitzer was one Ashley Dupre. Forgetting the law for a moment--including Spitzer's money transfers to a corporate front operated by the prostitution ring, for which he was never prosecuted--one might think that two such people would find life substantially more difficult going forward. One would be completely wrong: Eliot Spitzer has a TV show on CNN, and Ashley Dupre writes a regular column for the Sunday NY Post.
This, in a nutshell, is what is wrong with America today. Bad behavior--or far more accurately, illegal and prosecutable behavior by both parties--is not merely ignored, but rewarded. Even worse, it's completely beyond doubt that, somewhere in America, some schlub and the skank he paid for sex are cooling their heels in jail cells.
In other words, some johns and some hookers are "more equal than others."
Sometimes I wonder about the unspoken or unseen ramifications of such an outcome. For example, what's an aspiring and hard-working student aiming for a career in television supposed to think when he or she knows that the hacks at CNN hired Spitzer precisely because of his outrageous behavior? What are aspiring columnists supposed to think when there's one less writing job available because those "clever" folks at the NY Post think turning a hooker into a sex advice columnist is a great idea?
Americans have long been ambivalent about the difference between fame and infamy. Some of the most despicable people on earth have utterly fascinated us for decades. Bonnie and Clyde were treated like stars by the media at the time, despite the reality that they were bank robbers--and cop-killers. And as recently as two weeks ago, director Oliver Stone, prior to apologizing for it, insisted that Americans need to put the duo of Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin "in context." According to Stone, two of the top three mass murderers in the history of the world can't be judged as "only bad or good."
Perhaps Mr. Stone might care to explain what factors "mitigate" the extermination of thirty-five million people.
No doubt Ollie would give it his best effort--and no doubt a number of Americans would agree with him. We are up to our societal necks in the kind of moral relativism that allows for such profoundly misguided thinking. There are substantial numbers of Americans who truly believe right and wrong are completely contextual, or can be "adjusted" as they go along. And the only restraining mechanism on them can be reduced to three words:
Don't get caught.
There is no doubt in my mind that Eliot and Ashley would be up to their old tricks as it were if their behavior had remained undetected. In today's America, there literally millions of ways to rationalize almost anything. Legions of guys just like Spitzer tell themselves they are "above" such mundane restraints as monogamy, even as legions of young girls tell themselves married women "get men to spend money on them, and I'm just skipping the marriage part."
Although he was referring to a different subject, the late Patrick Moynihan's words ring truer than ever: America is in a constant process of "defining deviancy down." That which used to shock no longer does. In fact, "shocking," "outrageous," and "disgusting" might be the quickest route to fame and fortune these days.
Far more importantly however, is the effect defining deviancy down has on government: it is my contention that the expansion of the state at every level is directly attributable to our moral meltdown. For example, there is no longer any real stigma attached to having a child--or several children by several different men--out of wedlock, and paying for their upkeep with a welfare check. People are no longer ashamed of taking a government handout even if they are perfectly capable of working. People who paid for more house than they could afford, expect a bailout. Nearly half the country is content to pay no income taxes to underwrite the greatest nation on earth.
In fact, government today spends billions upon billions of dollars subsidizing what used to be considered rotten behavior. And it does so in ways that actually encourage more rotten behavior--as the phrase "too big to fail" so aptly illustrates.
Regular readers of my columns know I spend a lot of time talking about morality. The reason for this is simple: no society, even one with a document as brilliantly written as the Constitution, can withstand large-scale confusion regarding right and wrong. If one takes the Constitution for what it really is--a contract between the people and the government--that which is written down only has meaning if both parties maintain "good faith."
Nothing destroys good faith quicker than moral ambiguity. Think about how many Supreme Court decisions have been 5-4 votes with the exact same members ending up on the exact same side, even on issues which should have been slam dunks. Think about the fact that, for the first time in five thousand years, the definition of the word "marriage" is up for grabs. Think about the fact that many Americans consider overt law-breaking OK because they refuse to make the distinction between "legal" and "illegal" alien--or that perjury and obstruction of justice is excusable when it's "only about sex."
What happened? Secular Humanism happened. Those who rejoiced when it was declared that "G0d is dead" thought they were ushering in an age of enlightened thinking. What we got instead was a societal free-for-all--millions of Americans "doing their own thing" completely freed from the burden of taking responsibility for the consequences. Completely unencumbered by former brake pedals of society known as guilt and shame.
Much like government debt, such a societal ethos is also unsustainable. A society which makes little distinction between right and wrong, good and evil--or needy and lazy--is headed for the ash heap of history.
People like Eliot Spitzer and Ashley Dupre, along with countless others, are the proverbial canaries in the coal mine. That they are where they are today--along with the enablers who put them there--is an indication that "playing it straight" is rapidly becoming a sucker's bet. Why bother to learn writing or the skills necessary to perform on TV if something as easy as a well-publicized roll in the sack will take you to the same place? Why bother being good when bad works just as well--if not better?
Countless times I've heard we need a "national discussion" regarding race. I think a national discussion about morality is far more important. I trust the American public can spot the difference between those who are sincere--and those who are demagoguing phonies hiding behind ideological bromides.
Maybe we can't stuff the proverbial genie back in the bottle. But if we don't make the effort, I suspect future generations will marvel about a society that seemingly had everything--and tossed it all away for little more than an instant gratification that became far more fashionable than hard work and moral restraint.
Are Americans ready for this kind of conversation?
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