by Jack
Philosophically speaking anything that can stand the test of time must be true. Even science agrees with that one, although science adds its true until it can be proven not true. There’s a lot of things in the Bible that have stood the test of time and are worth remembering. One passage is (Matthew 5: 14 – 16, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
I take that as a clear directive for individuals to set good examples for all to see, because it will enrich those around them! And like a city upon a hill or a bright light in a room, those good works cannot be hidden. Pretty powerful when you think about it. Well, we’ve had about 2000 years to get with the program, how are we doing?
How does that idealism square with the examples set by cultural leaders and pop icons in today’s society? Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr., AKA “Common” (see left) was recently invited to the White House, but have your ever read any of his lyrics? Probably not, but let me assure you they are pretty vile or you can click on the link and see for yourself.. warning, he talks about killing and raping and he was a guest at our White House??? There’s better known examples, but not really any better, like Madonna, Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson, Eminem, Tupac Shakur, Jeremiah Wright. No need to explain what they are about is there? These names came to mind pretty quick and so do a lot more, but what about the good examples? What names come to mind now? Hmmm…not quite as easy. Oh, there’s a few around, but their names don’t get a lot of publicity and the ones the do are generally put down by the know-it-left elites.
The liberal left has had a strong influence on us for the last 50 years, lets take a look at their progress:
In the 1940’s and early 50’s the seven greatest problems facing our young were: 1. Talking in class, 2. Chewing gum, 3. Making noise, 4. Running in halls, 5. Cutting in line, 6. Dress code violations, 7. Littering. Today it’s: 1. Drug abuse, 2. Alcohol abuse, 3. Pregnancy, 4. Suicide, 5. Rape, 6. Robbery and 7. Assault.
David Blankenthorn wrote an article for The Roanoke Times titled, “What are Family Values.” Here’s an excerpt: FAMILY VALUES is surely one of the most potent cultural and political phrases of the past decade. But while “family values” are often invoked, they are less frequently defined…
Certainly, few societies celebrate diversity and tolerance as much as ours does. Our ethos of individualism, deeply embedded in our culture, generates skepticism toward any attempt, especially by government, to judge or restrict individual behavior. Moreover, since private behavior can never conform fully to idealized social norms, an influential current of opinion today, especially within elite culture, views any set of unambiguous norms with suspicion, fearing them to be oppressive and overly judgmental. In historical terms, this belief that norms themselves are the problem that the best cultural ethos regarding the family is one of moral agnosticism – is unprecedented, even as a significant minority view.” end
Did you get what he’s saying? Let me underscore it: The line between right and wrong today isn’t just blurred it’s been ground up, stomped on and set on fire. We’re losing our respect for family values and replacing them with situational ethics that promote vicious criminal behavior. We’re allowing thugs and perverts to teach our kids thanks in no small part to Hollywood where low moral behavior has always been a problem.
I wonder where we will be in another 50 years? Maybe we won’t.
Jack … did you click on Kim’s butt?
Betcha did. (I know you clicked on Chas’s engagement announcement.)
And if you did, there’s a real limit to how much complaining you can do.
Who cares about Kims butt? This is serius. I care about “our culture” because it affects me at school. I used to live in Compton (L.A.) and my high school was definitely not safe. we had a lot drug dealing and gangs. we moved up to Chico. It is a lot safer at Chico High.
Welcome to Chico Nicole. I hope your life here is better and safer. And hope our new city council will be able to get our city’s finances back in shape and make it even safer for all of us.
Hi Nicole, Chico isn’t perfect, but its a darn sight safer for you here than in Compton. All schools in America should be safe and drug free, we owe that to the students.
Nicole … Jack was complaining about the state of popular culture, and I was suggesting that perhaps he contributes to the state of America’s popular culture, by clicking on Kim’s butt … and this is serious.
Have you clicked on Kim’s butt?
Now, call me a wicked cynic, but I will own to being just the tiniest bit suspicious of you, Nicole. You’re our very first, in … what? … ten, fifteen years, high schooler. This would make you quite … unusual.
I would further assert that suburban California is suburban California. I have no doubt at all that you can get anything you want in the way of illicit substances at Chico High … if you ask. And I have trouble conceiving of a high schooler who would not know this.
And then there’s Compton. That’s a decidedly notorious locale. I’d be willing to wager that the Surenos … or Surenas … have a Chico affiliate. So if someone was thinking that they had escaped, I would doubt sincerely that they had.
I don’t know … it just sounds all not quite right. Or, I’m just a wicked cynic.
Nicole welcome to Chico and thank you for taking the time to post a comment here. You are absolutely right that this is a serious problem.
Too many of our children are drawn to activities that ens up causing them to waste their most productive years. At this age your learning potential is high and you deserve the best education in the safest environment that we can provide.
It is my hope that more people will begin to see how important strong values and strong families are so that one day maybe even places like Compton will be safer and prosperous for the people who live there.
I hope you will continue to speak out. We need young voices in this fight. For the record, I agree, “who cares about Kims butt!” 🙂
Libby, I could care less what Kim Kardashian does to grab attention. So, no I didn’t bother to look. -Jack
Heck, I’ll admit I looked the picture up. I’ve seen photos of Kim Kardashian that looked very attractive–these were not among them. There’s something almost grotesquely cartoonish about them, which has never been my speed when it comes to women.
I have trouble with the idea that our society is any less moral now than it was 50 or even a hundred years ago. I think that idea rests on ignoring a lot of moral atrocities that were occurring during those times–institutionalized racial segregation, fewer options for women, etc.
I think believers in this idea mistake manners and politeness for morality. Our civilization isn’t less moral now than it was, we just don’t button our immorality up as much. It’s harder to hide things now and due to advancements in media and technology, we don’t even try as hard. There are positives and negatives to this–people dealing with issues like depression now have outlets and resources to talk about these struggles with others and get help, but at the same time, negative behaviors are amplified as well.
So I don’t think our culture is any better or worse than it was in the past. In some ways we’ve taken great moral strides–just look at the way gays are treated now vs. how they were treated no less than 20 years ago. But because we have so much more access to both bad and good behavior we have to be vigilant about ensuring that we are exposing ourselves and those around us to positive influences. People are also exposed to a lot more diversity of ideas, so the difference between right and wrong isn’t as easy as just listening to what your pastor, parents and teachers tell you–those people are competing with so many more influences, some of which are actually valuable (I couldn’t accept my gay friends and family members until I started listening to secular voices on morality), some of which are terrible (the Kardashians).
In my opinion part of becoming a moral person is weeding through the din, exposing yourself to different theories by reading people who have thought a lot about morality, and figuring where you stand on the issues. Some prefer to cling to more traditional sources of morality and I think those are the people who have more hostility and fear toward our current culture, with its plurality of voices and lack of clear direction on issues of right and wrong.
I also think the dig at Common is a bit unfair. I’m not a fan, but it’s my understanding that his lyrics have progressed a lot over the years and he now condemns violence–he’s been praised by no less than Maya Angelou.
I find people like Ted Nugent, who openly talk about shooting the president at concerts, far more immoral, and yet he is still routinely invited to Tea Party events. Sean Hannity, who loudly condemned Common’s invitation to the White House, still calls Nugent a “friend of the show” and when asked to distance himself from Nugent’s violent, racist, sexist and homophobic comments, refused to do so.
Chris we have made great progress in racial and alternate lifestyle freedom, acceptance and tolerance, you are right about that. But to say this proves we in America are now as moral as we were in an earlier time is a stretch.
Attitudes about the value of morals have changed dramatically. Great swaths of the public dismiss entirely the notion of morals and values. That wasn’t true in America following WWII when the forces of evil brought the value and urgency of a moral society into strong focus. It seems people need a huge wake up call from time to time.
“Some prefer to cling to more traditional sources of morality and I think those are the people who have more hostility and fear toward our current culture”
Please tell me what alternate theories there are to the traditional:
Thou shalt not murder
Thou shalt not steal
Thou shalt not covet
Thous shalt not lie
Thous shalt not commit adultery
Honor your mother and father
Do unto others what you would have them do unto you
Mind your own business
It seems to me that these simple moral guides, if they were still being widely taught, would make a big difference. Many people today lack even these basics in moral grounding and it shows up in our society as broken families, lost kids, dangerous schools, murders and robberies in every community, gangs, and widespread substance and sex abuse/dysfunction.
I recognize that people had personal issues that were not made public in the past (alcoholism; child abuse). People kept their problems to themselves, within their own sphere. attitudes changed and so did our society: letting it all hang out, running personal issues on others outside the family, failing to experience any sense of personal shame, have changed the way we experience bad behaviors, often we accept them as normal. Oprah did a lot of good but her style of programming also did a lot of harm, people look for sensational responses (fame) and mass tearful hugs more than they look for real solutions to their problems. They are more self-absorbed and expect the world to change to accommodate them.
Our kids and young adults are not safer today than I was growing up and they are being exposed to a lot of really harmful stuff…some of it taxpayer funded.
Many of the popular “theories” from the sixties and seventies are playing out now. Noticing the difference is called being acutely aware. This does not indicate a state of “fear” or “hostility,” rather, simple adult concern. Responsible people notice and call attention.
How about paying the taxes you owe being a moral issue?
Come on Big Al pay up!!
As Sharpton Rose, So Did His Unpaid Taxes:
“Mr. Sharpton has regularly sidestepped the sorts of obligations most people see as inevitable, like taxes, rent and other bills. Records reviewed by The New York Times show more than $4.5 million in current state and federal tax liens against him and his for-profit businesses.
And though he said in recent interviews that he was paying both down, his balance with the state, at least, has actually grown in recent years. His National Action Network appears to have been sustained for years by not paying federal payroll taxes on its employees.
With the tax liability outstanding, Mr. Sharpton traveled first class and collected a sizable salary, the kind of practice by nonprofit groups that the United States Treasury’s inspector general for tax administration recently characterized as “abusive,” or “potentially criminal” if the failure to turn over or collect taxes is willful.
Mr. Sharpton and the National Action Network have repeatedly failed to pay travel agencies, hotels and landlords. He has leaned on the generosity of friends and sometimes even the organization, intermingling its finances with his own to cover his daughters’ private school tuition.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/nyregion/questions-about-al-sharptons-finances-accompany-his-rise-in-influence.html?_r=0
Interesting denial by Sharpton.
Activist Sharpton denies New York Times report on unpaid taxes:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/19/us-usa-sharpton-taxes-idUSKCN0J32AY20141119?feedType=RSS
Peggy you nailed that one and he’s not alone. As we have posted many times a good number of those who “serve us” in government seem to think they don’t have to be particularly responsible about paying taxes.
And how about purposely deceiving people to get what you want or to gain power and control? This is all around us in pol.itics, business, education and the churches to one degree or another. Media participates when it chooses sides and operates without disclosure The entertainment industry has lowered its standards drastically.
I do think people are tiring of it and beginning to wake up to what’s been lost in the process of letting it all hang out.
Tina, but how many times will it take exposing the hypocrisy of the democrats for people to vote enough of them out that they never get control of our nation again?
This gov’t wanted Denish D’Sousa behind bars for $20k, but Big Al’s multi-millions tax evasion leaves him still free to walk the streets of Ferguson, Mo.
Dinesh D’Souza on felony sentence: ‘The main thing for me is not being silenced’:
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/09/24/dinesh-dsouza-on-felony-sentence-main-thing-for-me-is-not-being-silenced/
Where is the equal justice? Oh that’s right, it doesn’t exist under this administration.