I’m so old that I can recall how Europeans used to frown over America’s inhibitions regarding sexuality. Sadly, such a critique is no longer voiced. My memory was jolted from a brief review in John Stormer’s 1998 best seller, None Dare Call It Education. Although experienced by those of my age set, Stormer’s concise listing had more of an impact than living it one at a time simply because its continuing deterioration was revealed as the key contributor leading to today’s uncertainties.
This reading brought back all the pluses and joys of what was “the best of times.” I mean, truthfully, if we can ever get past the “yeah buts” and alibis, others may begin to understand that those lessons and trials that served my generation are still available. Yes, there were restrictions for just about everything, but our eventual obedience molded well-balanced and peaceful citizens. We still acted up, but punishment was always waiting!
Within one’s quiet thought process, which is becoming a premium today, ask whether today’s or yesterday’s standards mold a more productive citizen or a healthier and more peaceful society. Stormer cites 1960 as the specific period. He begins with the FCC forbidding the words “Hell” or “Damn” over the airwaves. “Prayer and Bible reading were permitted in America’s schools. It was safe to walk even on big city streets at night…There was no drug problem, no X-rated, R-rated or PG movies…there were no co-ed dorms on college campuses or in Army barracks, and no birth control pills (they were introduced in May 1960) and no legalized abortions…”
Today, parents are grudgingly thankful for abortion pills, usually citing the excuse that “can’t stop them, they’re going to do it anyway.” This caving-in attitude is a contributing factor to many of today’s failures. What happened to parental authority, a strict father figure, and of course, a young lady’s morality and self-worth? From personal experience, I can tell you that there were limits enforced when on a date.
It’s now a given that it’s dangerous to walk on a city street at night. This has been encouraged since authorities expressed their intention to “defund” the police. Somehow, this all snowballed from a false media rendering of a proper arrest. Sensitivity and social justice took precedence over standards for any normal investigative procedure. Since then, it’s common to view the police, and not the criminal, as a possible culprit.
Stormer’s brief listing only scratches the surface of America’s dangerous and illegal governing. For this to happen, a segment of America’s conscientiousness was first dumbed down, then controlled, and finally corrupted. Thankfully, as a result of distant but not forgotten memories of what was, an awakening is occurring, and its movement is returning home to the America of old. Gratifying as this is, the awaiting peril impels our reunity and with the requirement for us not to give an inch. No more compromising!
We need to understand that what made America so great was its effort and its faith. From now on, we take the harder path and embrace our challenges. Easy doesn’t teach, doesn’t build character. Our traditions must return at a full gallop. That portrait of George Washington, hanging in every classroom, needs to be rehanged now!
