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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.

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

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.

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?

There's no such thing as community in many places in the US today, if not most places -- especially cities. Small neighborhoods or communities which have a distinct sort of personality are fading away or gone altogether. In some, mostly newer, places, it was never there to begin with.

I am only 33, but when I was growing up in Seattle (especially when I was very young), each area of Seattle had its own flavor and indentity. You may not know everyone, but you knew enough people who in turn knew you that there was a sense of relationship -- of community. You helped your neighbors when they needed it and knew something of their lives and families.

These days, this sort of thing seems mostly superficial, dry and stale. It is like people go through the motions without any feeling or passion. People are focused strictly on themselves, their family, and their friends, and if you are outside of those circles, then you weren't worth their time (unless you were being paid).

The Seattle of today is a mere ghost of its old self. The quirkiness is gone. The silly things we did in summer, gone. Sure, there are still events and activities, but they are bland and stale: little different than any other city. Seattle has gone from a nice, quirky town to just another big city. JP Patches, Ivar, Seattle Slew: you are gone now. Almost Live: gone, too.

I make mention of this not to speak only of my city, but because I am sure that most cities in the country have experienced the same growing staleness and lack of personality, but maybe I'm mistaken in that.

Tuor