Around and About
March 21, 2012
For this week's Around and About, I have just two items. The first is an article in this week's Spectator by Hitchens Minor on the strategic problem posed by gay marriage to moral conservatives in the public square. His point is a good one: for all of the hoo-hah about gay marriage, marriage was functionally redefined a long time ago when it became as disposable as toilet paper. One might add a Romans 1 touch to his argument by pointing out that, if homosexuality is a constitutive part of God's judgment, and not simply a cause of the same, then the advent of gay marriage is part of God's judgment on the way marriage has been effectively dismantled by heterosexuals, some of whom are among the most loud-mouthed opponents of same-sex unions.
While we are on the subject of sexual freedom, here is a sentence I heard on the television yesterday morning from a pundit commenting on New Jersey's new 'sexting' laws relating to the transmission of explicit material by cellphone. The context was a report on how schools are running seminars to warn children about the dangers involved. I am quoting from memory so this may not be verbatim, but the key words were all there:
'Children need to realise that when they send sexually explicit pictures of themselves, however innocently, via their cellphones, they are exposing themselves to danger.'
Reflect on the terrifying amorality of that sentence, especially in terms of the choice of adverbs and the adjective. Welcome to a world where such a sentence can be said in all seriousness on mainstream television and no-one bats an eyelid. Welcome to the world of Dr Tarr and Professor Fether.
While we are on the subject of sexual freedom, here is a sentence I heard on the television yesterday morning from a pundit commenting on New Jersey's new 'sexting' laws relating to the transmission of explicit material by cellphone. The context was a report on how schools are running seminars to warn children about the dangers involved. I am quoting from memory so this may not be verbatim, but the key words were all there:
'Children need to realise that when they send sexually explicit pictures of themselves, however innocently, via their cellphones, they are exposing themselves to danger.'
Reflect on the terrifying amorality of that sentence, especially in terms of the choice of adverbs and the adjective. Welcome to a world where such a sentence can be said in all seriousness on mainstream television and no-one bats an eyelid. Welcome to the world of Dr Tarr and Professor Fether.
