As usual, a lot to like here. Certainly there has been a rejection of traditional Judeo-Christian morals regarding sexuality, which has tremendous consequences for politics and society, as Aaron outlines. That being conceded, in my experience, we still live in a highly moralistic era--though many of the specific morals have changed. Adul…
As usual, a lot to like here. Certainly there has been a rejection of traditional Judeo-Christian morals regarding sexuality, which has tremendous consequences for politics and society, as Aaron outlines. That being conceded, in my experience, we still live in a highly moralistic era--though many of the specific morals have changed. Adultery may not affect a politician's career, but it will still end most marriages. And there now are hyper-strict rules now about behavior between the sexes, and much of what used to count as friendliness (a pat on the back) or innocent flirting (a wink) are now often considered sexual harassment. And as the one quote above notes, many in our society are highly legalistic and judgmental about how we talk and act about a host of subjects, especially race. Or take the policing of language. At one point, the F word was nearly unspeakable in public--now it appears as the adjective/adverb/noun of choice. At the same time, the N word is basically the new F word, something we whites anyway should not say out loud (I'm not suggesting we should be free to say it out loud, just that we still have language morals, only they've shifted.) So I'm not sure we are any less moral, but we are certainly less concerned about some traditional moral issues and more concerned than ever about others. An interesting exercise would be to list what people are judged for or shamed for today--that would be the beginning of an outline of ethics in "the negative world." I think Christians would agree with some of the new standards, and disagree with others and--hopefully--would frown on judgment and shaming as a solution :-)
I am much more cynical. The morality of today is unlike that of the past in that much of it is enforced as a power play to control others, not out of a legitimate belief in the correctness of the morality. E.g., the deathly fear of Nazis around every corner in America while the regime funds actual Nazis in Ukraine.
I think that the reason that the N word is the new F word is that it is not seen as personal morality, but political morality. Thus your example actually fits what Aaron wrote, and the observation that in a revolutionary age, personal morality takes a back seat to having the right views about the revolutionary topics of the times.
Thank you, sir. In most of these cases, I think the new morality is not really more but ideological, which is why it changes all the time. There's nothing to anchor to that won't be up for grabs tomorrow.
As usual, a lot to like here. Certainly there has been a rejection of traditional Judeo-Christian morals regarding sexuality, which has tremendous consequences for politics and society, as Aaron outlines. That being conceded, in my experience, we still live in a highly moralistic era--though many of the specific morals have changed. Adultery may not affect a politician's career, but it will still end most marriages. And there now are hyper-strict rules now about behavior between the sexes, and much of what used to count as friendliness (a pat on the back) or innocent flirting (a wink) are now often considered sexual harassment. And as the one quote above notes, many in our society are highly legalistic and judgmental about how we talk and act about a host of subjects, especially race. Or take the policing of language. At one point, the F word was nearly unspeakable in public--now it appears as the adjective/adverb/noun of choice. At the same time, the N word is basically the new F word, something we whites anyway should not say out loud (I'm not suggesting we should be free to say it out loud, just that we still have language morals, only they've shifted.) So I'm not sure we are any less moral, but we are certainly less concerned about some traditional moral issues and more concerned than ever about others. An interesting exercise would be to list what people are judged for or shamed for today--that would be the beginning of an outline of ethics in "the negative world." I think Christians would agree with some of the new standards, and disagree with others and--hopefully--would frown on judgment and shaming as a solution :-)
Thanks, Aaron, for prodding out thinking!
I am much more cynical. The morality of today is unlike that of the past in that much of it is enforced as a power play to control others, not out of a legitimate belief in the correctness of the morality. E.g., the deathly fear of Nazis around every corner in America while the regime funds actual Nazis in Ukraine.
I think that the reason that the N word is the new F word is that it is not seen as personal morality, but political morality. Thus your example actually fits what Aaron wrote, and the observation that in a revolutionary age, personal morality takes a back seat to having the right views about the revolutionary topics of the times.
That's a good point. Thanks.
Thank you, sir. In most of these cases, I think the new morality is not really more but ideological, which is why it changes all the time. There's nothing to anchor to that won't be up for grabs tomorrow.