Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Morality Was So Yesterday
Today’s society has changed and transformed from what it was at its original state. It seems that every generation deteriorates more and more, leaving a diluted morally weak society in the end. Since this conception of youth and young generations is an age old issue, it would seem that the world never really gets worse, it just seems to. This is not necessarily the case. Mr. Robert H. Bork wrote a book called, Slouching Towards Gomorrah. This book focuses on one of the many weaknesses within the American culture that has begun eating away at the roots of the nation. He believes that this deterioration of a moral society is due mainly to the era known as the Sixties. The main aspect in his introduction to this book speaks primarily on the subject of Modern Liberalism.
Modern liberalism can be taken from its original meaning and twisted to fit into American society today. Many conservative people view liberalism with a negative connotation. This, however, is a misconception of that phrase. Modern liberalism, according to Robert H. Bork, is defined as, “the latest stage of the liberalism that has been growing in the West for at least two and a half centuries…. [and includes] radical egalitarianism (the equality of outcomes rather than of opportunity) and radical individualism (the drastic reduction of limits to personal gratification)” (Bork, 5). These two components of liberalism, as you may think, do not work well together. They seem to clash and collide like oil and water.
Having a liberalistic attitude can be a very good lifestyle, as long as it’s in its original state of meaning. “Modern liberalism is very different in content from the liberalism of, say, the 1940s or 1950s, and certainly different from the liberalism of the last century. The sentiments and beliefs that drive it, however, are the same: the ideals of liberty and equality” (Bork, 6). The difference between the old and the new (which is seen today) is the moral factor. In its true state, morality should not be ignored, but rather included in the quest for individualism, liberty, and equality. In this modern society, the liberal aspect of that still stands, yet the moral factor has been shunned. Liberalism is seen today as a pursuit of anything desired; whether right or wrong. Many people use crime, sex, violence, and personal rights to immoral behavior to say that they are seeking equality and liberty. Instead, they are misusing the word liberty. Liberalism should not be an excuse for wrong doing, rather a reason for doing right. America has twisted the real meaning to justify its own fall towards ‘Gomorrah.’
Bork, Robert H. Slouching Towards Gomorrah. (1996)
