America in 2010: What we are not

Reporter and author David Halberstam, who died in 2009, once said, "America is a generous and strong country. It is fashionable to make fun, but it’s true." You can see this generosity all over the world. In Africa, between our government's aid and private initiatives by people such as Bill and Melinda Gates, we spend more to combat AIDS than any African government does. Even the totally self-indulgent NBA is contributing to fighting malaria. Its Nothing but Nets program provides African families with mosquito netting that cuts malaria cases by 80 percent.

Around the United States, volunteers are working in locations in need of housing, education, and environmental clean-up. This is an important part of the American character. But as we begin the next decade, we should take note of a couple serious flaws in that character. We should face the things that we are not.

(1) We are not a people who play by the rules. Every presidential candidate talks about it; every president refers to it. We are, they say, a people who play by the rules, and as such should be treated fairly. But that is not who we are.

In some very important ways we do abide by the law. After Supreme Court decisions on divisive issues, Americans who may disagree vehemently will still accept the decisions. After elections, we abide by the results.

But in day-to-day matters, we show a blatant disregard for the law. You need go no further to see this than to take a ride. Speed limits are the law, but we do not follow them; worse, we do not tolerate people who do. It is against the law to tailgate, and aggressive driving is a crime. No matter; both are commonplace. People make up their own traffic rules. As a result, we lose 43,000 Americans a year in car wrecks. The number one killer, more even than alcohol, is speed. Fact: if we slow down, we save thousands of lives. But we as a society have made the decision that these deaths serve our freedom to drive how we want. And yet, how often do you see someone speeding, tailgating, and weaving dangerously in and out of traffic only to roll up next to them at the next light? Thousands of lives lost and nothing gained.

People cheat on their income taxes - that is to say, people violate the law to the tune of about $350 billion a year for individuals and maybe another $250 billion for corporations. You’ve heard the arguments. The tax code is unfair. Why shouldn't I get away with things if big corporations and rich people do? My tax money goes to things I oppose. It is merely the law, and we see ourselves above it.

(2) We are not a civil society. Someone asked me to download 'lil Wayne's latest, No Ceilings. I couldn't. It was n-word this and f-bomb that and weapons and weed. Nothing uplifting, nothing positive anywhere on the CD.

Look at the blogosphere. In a typical chat room or blog, there may be an attempt at discussion, but it very quickly deteriorates into personal attacks and obscenity. The subject hardly matters. You can look at a blog on the Chicago Cubs, one you would think would be wholesome and baseball-oriented (though, admittedly, depressing). But quickly you find out what graphic acts fans want to administer to the general manager - and his family! - over some measly trade.

Last week I was being passed on the highway by an elderly gentleman, who was going 60 to my 55 mph. A motorcycle roared up behind him. As soon as he could, the biker whipped around the car, giving him the finger and cursing at him. For what? For driving the way he should. Besides the lawlessness, traffic is another example of the incivility we have become accustomed to.

In 2010 there are two ways we can make our own society better and safer, and it will not cost us a thing. We can make up our minds to obey the law and we can try to treat each other civilly. That’s all. Are we willing to do that?

We Don’t Need Censorship; We Just Need Adults To Be In Charge

The government has no business censoring books, music, or art. But that does not mean we must allow ourselves to be subjected to depravity. Freedom is not a one-way street, as in anyone is free to perpetually offend everyone else. I am a civil libertarian; I am against censorship. But I am not against knocking obscene and insulting music off the airwaves. Rappers and Hip-Hop "artists" are free to spout their misogynist, violent, sub-human noises. We are also free to drive it off the airwaves WITHOUT government censorship. A free society can, without censorship do something about protecting the public airwaves. And they need protecting! We just need adults to take charge.

Let’s take a typical hour in the car, listening to a pop music station, such as WPGC in Washington, DC. Fortunately most of the hour is commercials. Normally, you wouldn’t want that. But in this case it is a relief. Why? There was a song about birthday sex, a song about a large penis (The song production included Beyonce -- I had thought she had some class. I was wrong.), a song with masturbation references, another about sexual positions, and another about nudity and the joys of weed. This was all directed at kids, mostly sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth graders. We should not put up with it. But in today’s over-communicative world, it’s everywhere.

The key here is that for a free society, without government censorship, to work, there has to be something else: adults. For parents, that means turning off the radio. But we know that in this day and age, communications are a step ahead of parents. There are just too many sources, and the kids are too savvy -- they learn early on where the minimize button is.

Something should be done. This content is not OK. It is unhealthy. This isn’t prudishness talking here; it’s decency. In that hour of music there was not one -- not even one! -- positive message. It was filled with sexual content, but no hint of sexuality -- that passion, caring, gentleness, and other traits that separate human intimacy from the animal act. Basically, what rap and hip-hop talk about is what pigs do. That’s as elevated as it gets. And it goes downhill from there. It glorifies pimps and gangs. These are two things that in reality have always -- in EVERY case! -- been destructive. So to see teenage boys cheerfully talking about pimping, or teenage girls playfully trying to make gang signs is more than disturbing. It is a sign of sickness in a society that claims to care about kids.

A free society means we are going to have freak shows. It also means people are free to shake up the system and push envelopes. Freedom does not protect us from shocking behavior. But when Snoop Dog, on national TV, leads a woman on all fours around on a leash, we all know it is wrong. And moms and dads should work to stop it. In fact, anyone with morals should step up.

What can be done to foster a civil society? We are going to need adults in positions of responsibility. Adults would’ve said, "No!" to Snoop Dog and pulled the plug. Adults would’ve said, "We care about kids and we are not going to allow this music (like the hour I described) on the airwaves."

In a society that needs more civility and not less, adults are going to have to act. Not under government coercion, but because they are adults. With the incredible choices we have -- local music, world music, all styles and types, there is no call for adults to choose the type of airwave pollution with NO value. We aren’t talking censorship; we as adults have the power to choose from the myriad exciting, progressive, envelope-pushing musical expressions that are out there. Hear that, radio execs? You can lead the way and it won’t cost a thing.