State of the Union: Dismal

And I'm not talking politics here. I've posted before on my bete noire-the boomers- and the America they have wrought. This morning, I woke up to the news that smoking is banned on all Sarasota beaches. So now they will write $97.00 tickets to normally lawabiding citizens, while addressing none of the social ills in this town. You see, modern morality consists of not smoking, wearing your seat belts, and getting flu shots for your children. Any violation of the same is now pursued with the same zeal once reserved by the Puritan fathers for adulteresses.

So it is with real appreciation, I've come across conservative columnists who are feeling the same thing about a world gone horribly astray. Each has a different perspective and a different aim in writing. But read all three, and you will pick up the sense of wrongness that pervades all.

Last week, I came across Dennis Prager's column in which he feels the boomers owe the succeeding generations an apology for the world they've created. Then a week or so ago, I ran into this column by Michael Medved, which comments on the mechanism that helped create this mess, namely, the Vietnam War, and its societal consequences. Although Medved is a lot more optimistic than I am, he also sees the civic decay.

I also read this column about the problem of "selling morality to an amoral public." Here the author discusses the political ramifications of a culture where vulgarity is the norm. The columnist begins her recent experiences with current entertainment. She reminds me of a situation that came up with my mother. Recently, my mother has taken up reading again. I get her Spanish language books from the library. Not knowing any but literary types, I rely on well-know authors. Time after time, she tells me she is shocked by the frequency, graphic detail, and, shall we say, unusual nature of sex acts. And she is no prude.

In the end, although repulsed, I will not be tainted. But what will happen to the children?