"Usually, terrible things that are done with the excuse that progress requires them are not really progress at all, but just terrible things." -Russell Baker
When did decency go out of style? What about pride? How did hard work become a dirty concept? These questions are especially apropos today. We live in a society where entitlement is abound. From government subsidies for almost everything to the horrid trend of spoiling children simply for existing, we're a bunch of 'gimmie' junkies. Though the symptoms of this sickness may be invisible to many, there are still some of us who see the signs and are very, very disappointed.
In the last century, we saw a lot of things go the way of the dodo. Ladies stopped wearing gloves and hats. Housework became an offense. Men went from alpha to beta and stopped opening doors for women as not to patronize them. The thought of talking on the phone, much less texting, while at dinner was unheard of. Now, we're lucky if anyone sits down as a family for a meal anymore. With all the advances in technology and general knowledge, we lost more than I fear we can ever regain. The term 'manners' is almost extinct. Who cares if an individual's need to express said individuality offends someone? The person offended is simply a bigot, a rube, or a racist. We've resorted to attacking those who only wish to live in a civil society because we can't stomach the thought of having to be responsible for ourselves or in general, be decent human beings. No one wants to be inconvenienced.
I was raised by an older generation than most of my peers. Some kids my age had grandparents younger than my parents. As I've said in posts previous, both were of the Great Depression/WWII generation. Things were different then. I was taught to have manners, to know my place, to respect elders. Common decency and a strict sense of right and wrong were the lessons of the day for me. We had family meals, we talked about our day, and I wasn't allowed to eat in front of the TV until I was in high school, and then, begrudgingly. I learned to hold my tongue in sensitive matters and certainly mind the feelings of the people around me in conversation. To me, there was nothing wrong with being civil and, God forbid, have normal opinions of things. I suppose, as an artist, this upbringing may have set me up to not circulate well in the art world. You see, I don't think of myself as an art goddess. I wasn't told everything I did was perfect simply because spoiling the child was a trend. I was encouraged to work hard at a goal by myself, and excel the proper way.
One thing that was never appropriate for general public conversation was sexual matters. Sex and things of sexual nature, were private. Don't get me wrong, I don't think moderate sexuality in entertainment is going to send me to hell, but there are some things that just aren't appropriate for the public. Honestly, there are some things that aren't appropriate at all. I don't care how someone may view individuality. I don't care what's deemed okay in other countries. Some behaviors are just inherently wrong. I've learned to ignore some things because the law says I have to. This specific thing of which I will share with you, is not one of those times.
On a trip to the grocery on day last year, I saw something I will never forget. I was walking through the parking lot and spied a vanity plate. Everyone knows, vanity plates can be, well, nasty sometimes, but this one tops the charts. In the world of manga and anime, there are a lot of... odd things. I can understand, to a point, but past that point, I believe the stuff should be sold only in sex shops behind a curtain. There's a kind of manga and anime, a type, if you will, that I discovered unintentionally one day on the fabulous thing called the internet. This type is specifically about children in sexual situations. Art, comics, animated work, and even novel-type fiction, it's all there. You heard me, minors, children, kids, in sexual situations. This is something adults read and pass it off as literature or who knows what. Essentially, the license plate advertised that the owner of the car was into kiddie porn.
Does it make it okay that the kids aren't real? Nope. Fantasy is just one step away from reality. Anyone who's read a crime novel or watched a crime show on TV knows that criminals usually fantasize about committing a crime before they actually commit one. Does it make it okay for them to do this because it's their right to express what they like? Nope. Sorry, but all sorts of rules of the land and rules of decency say no. You wouldn't stand for someone driving around with an 'I like kiddie porn' bumper sticker, would you? I don't care what people in Japan think is okay as entertainment. Here, in this country, child porn is not okay.
Modesty, decorum, manners, human compassion: we're so lacking in these things. We've become obsessed with ourselves and the pleasure we can gain for ourselves that we've turned into slothful, hateful, monsters. We parade our 'individuality' as a banner that says "treat me like royalty because I'm different". But why does different always have to mean super strange and fringe? Why can't different denote a skill, a specialty, or a penchant for perfect manners? In this politically correct world of entitled whiners, some things have been edged out. People must step up and say enough is enough before the damage to our society is irreparable.
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