I am not referring only to sexual purity. It seems to me that anything taught to us as a virtue in the past, is now dismissed.
Work Hard Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (golden rule) The Ten Commandments
In the 60's, with the rise of protestors and hippies, a whole new set of rules came into play. Free love Keep the Faith, Baby Never trust anyone over 30 Vietnam ended, and with the ups and downs of the economy, things gradually moved to.... Greed is good ( yup it's from a movie) Don't be unhappy, ever ( raise in divorce rates, abortion, and yes, suicide) Fast forward to the 90's and the birth of the personal computer and the internet.Absolutely anything you wanted to say, or research, could be found. In the privacy of your own home. Technology was highly driven by the porn industry, by the way. So now, in 2015, we have a highly secularized, self centered population ( the ME generation has come to dominate.) They use the latest technology, the latest medical advances, the latest information from scientists, to proclaim a new age, a golden age of humanity. But suffering, from rape to murder, is what makes the nightly news. the economy, not just here but in most of the world is in the tank. Relationships are largely not formalized and short lived. Children often grow up without their fathers. Millions rely on food stamps and local food banks just to have food to eat. And that is in America. Conditions in the Middle East, Africa, and the Asian countries, are far worse. As the social experiment of the last 50 years or more is not working ( unless you are a one percenter or a politician) might I suggest that the virtues our parents and grandparents so treasured might be more of an answer than any government program. And that is up to local groups, not just churches Muslim worship centers synagogues or temples, but every civic group that has an interest in making a difference in their community. Is it really so awful to teach people , especially the youngsters, not to steal? Not to use weapons against others, not to lie, and to hold people accountable for their actions? we have the laws in place. Our wishy washy moral teaching and our demand that no matter how egregious the act, there is an excuse, only leads to more ( young?) people thinking they can do whatever they want and not pay any consequences. Is it so wrong to teach teenagers to ( in the lovely language of my generation) to keep it in their pants? that education comes first...and sexual activity is for adults. Who hopefully are well educated enough not to make babies or have unprotected sex and get diseases which will impact their lives and perhaps anyone else they have sex with. Is it so wrong to remind them that despite the bad behavior of previous generations, drugs and alcohol really aren't your friends. They kill...ambition relationships and sometimes the body. I am astounded that living small vile lives has become the norm.We used to know that a man;s handshake was as good as his word, that a leopard can;t change its spots ( now we have an apology and everything is just fine..no matter how bad the actions. .....guess what,they will DO IT AGAIN.) That moms and dads loved us no matter what, and so, yes, we had to listen to them. In our youthful rebellion, we did indeed hate that. But they were right.... We were wrong to think that removing restraints were good for all of us.. We were wrong to think that rewriting everything from sexual expression to the idea of gender as simply social constructs would not work. By telling people they are responsible for nothing and yet should be given everything, that whatever they think is their own highest good is indeed just dandy. No matter how insane or evil some people's ideas can be. The social contract...that we can function within a society to get our needs met, that we follow the laws and do not impede other citizens, has led to a government that seems to, more and more, want to restrict and limit us. It;s time to take our power back. |
Faith and ReasonA grandma's perspective on a few things.. Archives
May 2020
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