Late
Summer Musings
Published in Marietta Daily Journal August 28, 2016
Regarding fellow columnist,
Professor Melvyn Fein …
A conservative sociologist is one
thing, but a conservative sociologist who teaches at a large university and
consistently lays out conservative principles through lucid writing is quite
another.
I met the good professor several
years ago when he spoke at the Madison Forum, and have talked on the phone with
him once since. The man has a mind like
a bear trap, which is to say he can clamp down on illogic and faulty premises
quicker than you can snap your finger.
Lazy thinking is not his province.
Lack of knowledge has never been his problem.
My most recent journey into Dr.
Fein’s rich thought world took place on Monday, August 22 when, in his Marietta
Daily Journal column, he broached the subject of America’s supposed
invincibility. Fein doesn’t believe
America is invincible.
Neither do I. But as Dr. Fein pointed out, Vice-President
Joe Biden does. In the column, Dr. Fein
faulted Biden for his recent remark, “We own the finish line,” delivered at the
Democratic National Convention. In his
address Biden virtually stated that everything in America is sweetness and
light and that our status as a world leader will continue in perpetuity. Biden, of course, was defending his boss’
record.
Biden’s over-confidence troubled me
as well. 10th grade world
history should be enough to teach us that nations come and go, including great
empires. Whether blessed with chariots,
horsemen, the greatest of scientists, or the most bombs, nations can still
fall.
When my soon-to-be-born grandson is
just 45, what do you suspect America will look like? Will we still be a beacon of freedom sought
after by people from every corner of the earth? Will our cities be thriving or
languishing? What will the home be like?
More important are the questions:
What brought America to her greatness and what are the characteristics and
conditions that brought about the demise of every great civilization before
us? Fein mentioned Rome, Britain, and
others that today can only tell of past glory.
How do things as simple as manners
fit into the picture? Work ethic? Standards?
Desire for excellence? Regard for
others? Religious freedom? The proper role of government? Morality?
I’m just saying that Professor Fein
set me to thinking. The glory that was
Greece and the grandeur that was Rome are no more. If America’s glory is to continue, what must
Americans do and be?
Regarding the emerging topic of
pornography …
If pundits and preachers won’t
address it, Elizabeth Smart will.
Kidnapped in 2002 at age 14 and held captive for nine months, Ms. Smart
is now revealing how her captor read hardcore pornography magazines and then
acted out his desires on her. Because
her life “became a living hell,” Smart is now working with the anti-pornography
organization, Fight the New Drug.
With speaking engagements and
videos, Smart is speaking out against porn.
We should wish her well. Anyone
who thinks pornography is harmless has never worked with teens or college
students. Anyone who thinks porn
purveyors are sleazy, backstreet weirdoes hasn’t kept up with technology or
noticed what the most famous hotel chains offer their guests. Pornography is ubiquitous. It is in our
homes. Parental controls for television
or smart phones are laughable.
My line of work keeps me in
libraries and bookstores, but don’t take my word for it. See for yourself that a large per cent of
current fiction is now laced with hardcore verbal porn. An image is an image whether on a screen, in
a magazine, or in the words of a novel.
All of which leads me to ask if any
political or religious leaders are willing to speak out against the drug Elizabeth
Smart is now fighting, and if any hotel chains are willing to forego some
dollars for the sake of those (mostly men) who are fighting porn addiction. Or if America’s love for porn is in any way
related to the kind of culture my soon-to-be-born grandson will face.
Regarding how we elect our
presidents …
The road to the White House is
exhausting for both candidates and voters.
The fact that it brings out the worst in us is not new. More and more discussion is being focused on
how to best reform the Electoral College system which is as confusing as it is
arcane. Is it time to elect our
president by popular vote? Louie
Hunter, former Cobb County Commissioner and an astute student of politics and
government, is one of many who are advocating change. We might want to stay tuned.
Happy Dog Days of summer!
Roger
Hines
8/23/16
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