BY: DR. FOREST LEWIS
I am part of the baby boomer generation that grew up in the 1950's/60's. We are the generation that brought America among other things, "The Sexual Revolution".
We really pushed the envelope back then; and now it is time to pay the piper. It was my generation that rebelled against the "Victorian Mores" that our parents attempted to instill into us. No sir, we weren't having it. They had lived their "uptight lives": and those from my generation said, that's not going to be us. We wanted what we wanted, and we wanted it "All". Instant gratification, "Baby". I will use the vernacular when it is appropriate, because this was the language that was used back then. With all of the foresight that we thought we possessed, we didn't consider that we lacked the wisdom of our parents; and their parents before them.
Nothwithstanding, we weren't going to be told what to do any longer. It was my generation that started "Divorce Proceedings" against our parents lifestyle. It wasn't "Our Bag". My generation didn't belive in getting married. Heck, we normalized, "Shacking Up". We also normalized promiscuity. You were considered a weirdo if you were still a virgin at the age of sixteen. That appellation was applied across the board. In other words, a girl who was a virgin in most environs in the U.S. was considered abnormal, if she had not lost her virginity by the age of sixteen. Lord help you, if you were a male virgin and you happened to be sixteen.
Many of you who read my column on a daily basis understand that I am from the south. However, you did not know that my wife is from the once great state of Colorado. The mile high state has lost a lot of its greatness due to the heavy influx of illegal aliens from Mexico. I can recall my wife's family visiting our home, following the birth of our daughter in the early 1970's. My wife's sixteen year old sister confided in her that she would sneak out of the family home late at night, and drink beer with her boyfriend. A child would soon follow because of this wild behavior. She then made the mistake of marrying her boyfriend who would use her as a human punching bag, whenever he got drunk, which was often. However, she got smart, divorced this loser--went to college--and is now a registered nurse, with a Master's Degree.
My generation was a "Train Wreck" in the making. We now have solid data to support our parents conclusion, that what they were teaching us was designed to accompish a several things, (1) Provide us with a moral compass, (2) Help us to "slowly grow up", and (3) Protect us "From Ourselves".
When we were children growing up in "The Good Old Days," it was unheard of, a teacher having sex with a student. The thought of a young boy propositioning a female teacher would have earned him the right to have his "Mouth Washed Out With Soap". He would have also had to face "Dad". I don't know about you, but growing up in the south, "Dad" was someone that "you did your best to avoid". "Daddy" did not play.
Nowadays, there is not a year that does not go by that we do not hear of a "Knock Out Blond," who calls herself a school teacher, being accused of having sex with one of her young students. This outlandish behavior has its roots firmly planted in the 1960's. These women are obviously troubled. However, have you found yourself asking, where were these women at when I went to school? Well, they were there, but they had control over their loins. Besides, society wouldn't have stood for such maniacal behavior.
The disease of, "If It Feels Good, Do It," has spread to the beauty pageants in this country. Ashley Harder, Miss New Jersey has had to take off her tiara. Seems Ms. Harder has gone out and "Gotten Herself Pregnant". I know that we live in an imperfect world, however, do some research, and see if you can find a similar case in the 1940's or the 1950's. I'm willing to bet that you can't.
Erin Abramson will replace Ms. Harder. Abramson had to this say," whatever made her resign, I wish her lots of luck and hope she's OK." My advice to Ms. Abramson, "Shut Up." Comments like Abramson's give tacit approval to this type of behavior. I thought that beauty contestants were suppose to be role models for young girls. Ms. Harder's reckless behavior sends a wrong message to young girls. It says, if you can not control your impulses, "Just Say, Yes". It also says, "Who Cares What The Public Thinks". After all, "If It Feels Good, Do It".
Ms. Harder is not the only pageant winner who has not only brought shame to herself and her family--but to the pageant as well. Miss Nevada, Katie Rees, lost her title after controversial photos of her showed up on the internet. The photos are disgusting, to say the least. Then, there is Miss USA, Tara Conner who was caught, "Bending Her Elbow" at New York City nightspots. Ms. Conner was drinking while underage. Recall, she was going to be "Fired" by Donald Trump? However, Trump said that he believed in "Second Chances". Conner agreed to enter an alcohol rehab program.
Perhaps the most damning aspect of the, "If It Feels Good, Do It" schema comes from a New York Times analysis. The Times says today, more American women are living without a husband then at any other time in our history as a country.
Two words describe what is going on in our society; and if something isn't done, we follow what happened to the great Roman Empire.
The Roman Empire fell because the people got caught up in "Self". In other words, Hedonism flourished throughout the empire. A hedonist is a person who is motivated by pleasure; pain is avoided at all costs. Freud discussed hedonism. However, he called it "The Pleasure Principle". Freud said that man is composed of a tripartite system. That is to say, (1) Id, (2) Ego, (3) Super-Ego. Freudian theory says the Id is the "Pleasure Principle" part of man.
The Id is insatible. Left to its own devices, man's Id would consume him. Man would be consumed, because he could never gain enough pleasure. Under Freud's model, the Ego is charged with keeping the Id under control. However, the Id mechanism sometimes has the power to overpower the Ego. This is where the Super-Ego comes in--thus providing psychical balance to the human organism.
Since we are "Free Moral Agents," man can do whatever he desires. Hence, look at the terrible mess America is in today. All because of hedonism. However, man also subscribes to existentialism. Existentialism advocates man be subjective in his thinking; and at the same time exercise his "Free Will And Individuality". God is shunned. In fact, to the existentialist, he/she "IS GOD".
We witness this type of crazy thinking each day that we open our eyes. However, I would like to go back to that New York Times analysis that says more American women are living without a husband today than at any other time. The Times declared:
"Several factors are driving the statistical shift. At one end of the age spectrum, women are marrying later or living with unmarried partners more often and for longer periods. At the other end, women are living longer as widows and after a divorce, are more likely than men to delay remarriage, sometimes delighting in their newfound freedom"
The Times analysis went on to say:
"In addition, marriage rates among black women remain low. Only about 30 percent of black women are living with a spouse, according to the Census Bureau, compared with about 49 percent of Hispanic women, 55 percent of non-Hispanic white women and more than 60 percent of Asian women"
In 2005, 51 percent of women who were surveyed, said they were living with their husband. Demographer, William H. Frey of the Brookings Institution said of the shift:
"It is a clear tipping point, reflecting the culmination of post-1960 trends associated with greater independence and more flexible lifestyles for women"
Frey added that "for better or worse, women are less dependent on men or the institution of marriage." He concluded by saying that today's young women are ready and willing to live "longer parts of their lives alone or with nonmarried partners.
We have seen that the theoretical paradigm of "Hedonism" is alive and well in the United States. The above is just one example of what this virus can do to a people.
Can America survive; or will we follow the pattern of the Great Roman Empire, and "Fall"?
Only time will tell, because America is already in a teeter tottering state.
Americans are intoxicated from drinking too much from the fountain of "Hedonism". We are doomed as a country if an antidote isn't administered to end this spell of intoxication.
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