Displays of our country’s decent into depravity occur
daily. They are overtaking years of work to maintain our above
average humanity. Those of us that notice the difference in
the day-to-day interactions shudder as all semblance of the
past slips away.
By
past, I mean just a few years ago. The takeover by the electronic
world is only part of the problem. Language is being used
which was once called nasty, obscene or even dirty, even
by young
children. At one time what was once referred to as “swear
words” were only used by men, among men in restricted
areas (such as lounges).
Today,
foul language is heard everywhere. You may be in a park watching
a kid’s game of ball and hear an array of words,
(often from parents) used only by truck drivers in the past.
As you travel through the aisles of a mall or department store,
groups of youngsters both male and female, speak in a foul
language all their own and loud enough so everyone can hear.
We used to be able to ride in our car with the windows down
while in traffic. Not now; every other car has music blasting
and the lyrics are full of offensive language. Roll the windows
up to defend your hearing and turn your own radio on — you
guessed it, more nasty words on talk radio and the music
channels.
In the past, if a slip of the tongue produced a swear word
on TV it was immediately bleeped. Efforts to control the use
of swear words caused programming to be in a delay mode to
allow bad language to be deleted. Programs that had too many
bleeps were replaced with shows that were declared to have
cleaner content.
Programming
such as Rush Limbaugh’s despicable commentaries
and degrading descriptions of people was never allowed. Slang
words were frowned upon, let alone the common use of filthy
language. I heard the use of S.O.B. — not just the initials
the whole phrase, on a prime time news program this week. Many “family
hours” of evening TV programming are full of
unsuitable language, attire, sex and whatever else
the sponsors
are willing to tolerate. Grandparents are often embarrassed
to view TV
with their grandkids because of the alarming content
that
may pop up.
As I see it, the FCC has apparently relaxed all rules and the
Supreme Court has ruled for freedom of any speech. A few days
ago I heard a conversation between a mother and her very young
son in the grocery store. He was pleading for a certain brand
of cereal. The mother won the battle but not before the young
child (around 6 years old) blurted out an obscenity at her.
The mother stood helpless with downcast eyes.
In
the past, any youngster using such language to his mother
would have gotten a slap across the mouth.
Not
in today’s “free” society.
Young people are taught in kindergarten on up if a parent slaps
or spanks them they should call 911 and we know they all have
phones handy.
A
parent could be put in jail and actually lose custody of
their child. If the laws applied today
were used
in the past,
the jails would have been full of parents.
Respect for parents and most adults was a trait most
young people
developed growing
up and it continued on into adulthood. I don’t advocate
teachers being allowed to strike students but some of the same
teachers telling kids to dial 911 would, not that long ago,
crack a ruler across an offender’s knuckles.
I
may be old-fashioned, a prude or whatever other title is
current but I was never embarrassed
while out in
public with
my family. What can be done about it First,
get
rid of 90 percent of the “civil rights” attorneys making fortunes
from the decay of our country’s moral fiber. We probably
can’t do that, but Fels-Naptha soap is still for sale
and could come in handy. Any improvement has to begin in the
homes where our young people are expected to be taught “respect.”