You know, one thing that doesn't help marriages in this country is the noxious nature in which sex permeates so much of our society. Things are a little out of control when a son and father cannot watch a ball game without being exposed to unexpected nudity and profanity. Sometimes you CAN'T turn the channel. You don't see it coming. There is not one show on prime time network programing that a person could watch without running the risk of being exposed to profanity, even if it is just in the commercials.

Some do more than just push the edge, they seem to be going out of their way to "define deviancy downward". And that isn't good enough. Like so many other things in this society, the freedom to do what you want and to be what you want to be is not sufficient. It's not enough that the rest of us accept it, we must somehow endorse it as well. Wouldn't that imply an homoginization of ourselves that would be far beyond a "melting pot"?

The whole point of freedom of speech is that if you hear many and varied points of view on any given subject, you are better equppied to make an informed decision. It also implies that one has the right to come to their OWN decision. Every single person agreeing on every little thing was never the intent and is a frightening concept. So why is it so evil to disagree?

If I have given a controversial subject thought and consideration, am I a bad person if I disagree with your assessment? Of course not. But think of the social issue you feel most strongly about. What if I were on the opposite side of that issue? Could we agree to disagree or would you think me less of a person because of my position?

For 5000 years we have needed the family unit because it worked best in an agricultural society. Things didn't change much for people while they were all growing stuff. Most of them didn't travel more than 30 miles from the place they were born in an entire lifetime. They knew that they would pretty much work on the farm and so would their kids and the grandkids, too. Then we had the industrial revolution and things changed. We learned to fight for our rights, to mass produce, to move across the planet and to develop massive appetites for recreational activities. With all of this change occurring exponentially, that family unit is not quite as necessary. So values change. You have no idea where you will end up when your life is over and you can only guess what you will be doing in the meantime. Values change some more. It would just make sense that with all of this change, value systems would be clashing all over the place.

If we could just get away with simple respect for each other, things would be a whole lot easier all the way around. But this is an odd place. We can have a smoking section but not a section for grace when appropriate. For some reason, it has suddenly become politically incorrect to actually expect consideration when it comes to honor and all things decent. At one time, society used to use it's pressure to apply the very values that are being attacked by so many today. And they HAVE the right to attack those values. But that right should end where my rights begin. And I would like the right to through an occasional day without being exposed to gratuitous sex, profanity and violence. How unreasonable is that? I would think that you should have to go out of YOUR WAY to find that stuff. I remember a time when you pretty much did. Damn. I am getting old.