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Once upon a time, an obligation to larger society
Orlando Sentinel ^
| May 8, 2002
| Leonard Pitts | Tribune Media Services
Posted on 05/08/2002 5:56:50 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
I know that at Lauderdale and Miami, I've noticed they continue to keep the skin mags in the top row, where they are in polyurethane to prevent casual viewing. They have been doing this since I was a child, when I was interested in such things.
2
posted on
05/08/2002 6:12:12 AM PDT
by
Clemenza
To: Cincinatus' Wife
There was a recognition that the public space belonged to all of us. You could do as you wished in private or in controlled places. But you did not appropriate the public space for your own use. You moderated your behavior there. To do otherwise was regarded as an act of disrespect -- for society and for yourself. Somehow, however, I don't think the advocates of posting the 10 Commandments in government court buildings really buy into this argument.
3
posted on
05/08/2002 6:17:50 AM PDT
by
jlogajan
To: Cincinatus' Wife
Mr. Pitts is a bright and thoroughly decent man, but I don't think he's noticed the critical correlation that goes along with the bloom of so much public indecency:
the explosive growth of "public space," for which no one can effectively be held responsible.Let's take that airport he was traversing. By law, it's public space. Therefore, to whom does one complain when conditions there are unacceptable? Some functionary somewhere in state or county government. Some functionary who has no stake in making the complainer a happy customer. One could boycott the newsstand, of course, but this would be ineffective unless one publicized one's reasons for doing so... and that courts lawsuits and other unfriendly responses from groups that like what the newsstand is doing, that want to see more of it, and that could argue with good grounding in the law that no one's private preferences ought to rule public space!
Political fights over the allocation of "public" resources are only possible because the resources are public -- no one has title to them, and no one is responsible for how they're used or misused. The larger those pools of "public" resources grow, the more parties will fight over them, and the more vicious the fights will be.
There's no way to eliminate all "public space." But America has taken a wrong turn in allowing it to mushroom as it has. We urgently need a restoration of private property in innumerable venues, so that the owners of that property can be made to endure some consequences -- economic, mostly -- for offenses against taste and decency. And given the horrible mess we have at our airports, that might be the best of all places to start.
Freedom, Wealth, and Peace,
Francis W. Porretto
Visit The Palace Of Reason: http://palaceofreason.com
4
posted on
05/08/2002 6:34:45 AM PDT
by
fporretto
To: Cincinatus' Wife
O'Reilly had a very pretty Eurasian reporter (whose name escapes me) on last night who hit the nail on the head during her irate report and that was that the parents are letting their little girls dress and behave like Brittany Spears etc. thinking it is cute. In other words the parents are enabling and abetting their way too young daughters to behave like 'women of the profession' by letting them emulate dress etc. way beyond their years. They willingly rob them of their childhood by throwing them headlong into this sub culture.
Whether intended or not, the boys are sent a message and nature makes them act accordingly. You, as the parent have the right but as the man asks, is this right? No, no and no.
5
posted on
05/08/2002 6:38:23 AM PDT
by
yoe
Comment #6 Removed by Moderator
To: Millburn Drysdale
If it upsets him, he shouldn't buy there. He should tell his friends not to buy there. The store has the right to display its wares as it sees appropriate, and Mr. Pitts has the right to go elsewhere.It's called freedom. Deal with it.
You missed the whole point of the article... It is called decency. Why don't you get some?
7
posted on
05/08/2002 6:44:28 AM PDT
by
Gaston
To: Gaston
You missed the whole point of the article... It is called decency. Why don't you get some?Bump!
To: Cincinatus' Wife
This article is a mere blip on what goes through my mind with increasing frequency, daily. I just came into the house trying to think of how the country (and the world) can return to some semblence of "higher class" rather than "gutter crass" in which we are drowning.
For all the splintered groups which have "causes which are good and great" -- what and where is the consensus? Is there no going back?
I am sick of hearing that so many things which were shameful and secretive being acceptable today, as if morality had changed ... It has NOT.
I think of the scandalous upper classes of the Renaissance, where the women wore sheer fabrics and highlighted the upper torso ... for a time ... as a style ... but it passed.
Instead of shocking and ugly, in my face and in your face ... entertainment of all kinds from sexual deviation to gross language and violence being a fad ... they are the norm.
I feel that I am trying to turn the tide, literally ... and I am at a loss where to begin.
As Conservatives, I would think that this reversal should be a primary goal. Where am I wrong on this?
9
posted on
05/08/2002 6:53:48 AM PDT
by
AKA Elena
To: Cincinatus' Wife
Terrorists fly planes into the WTC and the Pentagon and all this jacka$$ is concerned about is how the magazine stand in the airport displays its porn. by Millburn DrysdaleSadly it took only six posts to find just the sort of thing the author of this article wishes we could avoid.
10
posted on
05/08/2002 6:54:08 AM PDT
by
Gaston
To: yoe
Raising teenagers right now, I have had much more trouble with the parents of my kids friends, than their friends.
Many households allow their kids to drink, smoke dope, have sex and God knows what else, and yes the parents are there. One set of parents gave my 17 year old money to buy Maui Wowie for them when we went on a family vacation to Hawaii!!!!
To: yoe
You, as the parent have the right but as the man asks, is this right? No, no and no.Our culture represents us to the world. Pop-culture and cult of the celebrity highlight low behavior and encouage everyone to partake in the debauchery.
To: AKA Elena
I feel that I am trying to turn the tide, literally ... and I am at a loss where to begin. As Conservatives, I would think that this reversal should be a primary goal. Where am I wrong on this?Those who grew up in the sixties, are now in positions of power. They're in politics, they run publishing, are heads of corporations, unions, they're the educators, etc. The parents of a couple of generations have tried to be hip and friends to their kids. Women have been "freed" to find themselves and pursue careers and the kids have been left to learn from the TV and each other. Our youth have money and time (allowances and no jobs) and promoters are finding ways to make a profit and sell the idea that anything is O.K. Too bad there's no one home to help them grow up with morals and respect. I understand your frustration and alarm.
To: Millburn Drysdale
Terrorists fly planes into the WTC and the Pentagon and all this jackass is concerned about is how the magazine stand in the airport displays its porn.You don't read much, do you? One of the most widely circulated news columns on 9/12/01, by the same man, Leonard Pitts:
Well go forward from this moment
But then again, according to your twisted reasoning, if terrorism upsets us, we shouldn't live here?
To: Cincinatus' Wife
You missed the whole point of the article... It is called decency. Why don't you get some?Bump II...and to me, jlogajan, poster #3, this is what the Ten Commandants teach, respect for others in your home or public places among other things...laws that try to keep human behavior in line to some degree.
15
posted on
05/08/2002 7:21:31 AM PDT
by
yoe
To: browardchad
Thank you for the LINK. I hadn't seen it and I'm glad I have now. It should be reread often.
To: yoe
Ten Commandants teach, respect for others in your home or public places among other things...laws that try to keep human behavior in line to some degree.I believe our founding fathers told us if we didn't keep our decency we wouldn't keep our republic.
To: jlogajan
Somehow, however, I don't think the advocates of posting the 10 Commandments in government court buildings really buy into this argument.The decorous behavior of persons in public, in the past, was largely governed by said 10 Commandments. In the past, posting them wasn't necessary because they were inculcated from a very young age in nearly everyone.
To: Cincinatus' Wife
Indeed they did.
19
posted on
05/08/2002 8:24:18 AM PDT
by
Tauzero
To: Chemist_Geek
The decorous behavior of persons in public, in the past, was largely governed by said 10 Commandments. In the past, posting them wasn't necessary because they were inculcated from a very young age in nearly everyone. I hear a lot of people say that, but I have to wonder if it is entirely accurate, given the nature of the 1st Commandment.
Did 'polite society' really expect non-Christians to hide their faith?
20
posted on
05/08/2002 8:33:03 AM PDT
by
freeeee
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