“From Little Acorns, Giant Oak Trees Grow”

Sydney M. Williams

Thought of the Day

“From Little Acorns, Giant Oak Trees Grow”

March 13, 2012

As a nation, we have lost part of our soul when legislatures feel the necessity to codify behavior into law. It is the little things that individually may seem unimportant, but when viewed collectively determine the kind of society we are.

What brings this to mind was a vote by the New Hampshire House last Wednesday to kill a bill that would have required students to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Students, in my opinion, should stand for the Pledge, not because they are required to do so by law, but out of respect for the nation and those who serve it. Standing should be natural, instinctive and non-controversial. We have reached a sad point if morality, decency and respect must be legislated.

My generation – the ‘50s – rose up in the 1960s against the (outwardly) puritanical lives of our parents and grandparents. The advent of the “pill” in 1960 provided women the opportunity to enjoy sex without the fear of pregnancy. That same year Harvard psychologist, Timothy Leary, began to experiment with Sandoz’s new drug, LSD, which he characterized as “magic mushrooms.” The year before, Ken Kesey published his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, arguing that society is a prison and the only ones free are the insane. Two years later, in 1962, the rock group, the Rolling Stones were formed, and in 1964 the Beatles arrived to tremendous fanfare in the United States and an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. A year later, they were given OBEs by Queen Elizabeth. Hip became “cool”, and so did disrespect toward authority. Vietnam brought out the antimilitarist in us. What had been a fringe cultural became mainstream, and American society was changed forever.

It was truly an Age of Aquarius; of self-expression. Narcissism dislodged humility. The Commandment, Honor thy Father and Mother was replaced by bearded young men and long haired young women dressed in hand painted hippie dresses carrying signs reading Hey! Hey! LBJ, How many kids did you kill today? We gained freedom of expression, but with a focus on “me”; we lost a sense of communal respect and decency. And, in rebellion, we rediscovered conformity. Hippies of that generation were, as Edith Wharton described Undine Spragg in The Custom of the Country, “fiercely independent, yet passionately imitative.”

I have no interest in returning to the 1950s. Civil rights and women’s rights were laudatory goals whose achievements were hastened by the disruptions of the 1960s. But I deplore what we have become – a society without a moral compass, in which respect for others has become secondary to self-aggrandizement.

Of course, the most blatant recent display of uncivilized behavior has been the “Occupy” movement, and the support that such miscreant behavior receives from the political left. As columnist Mark Steyn wrote in November, the “Occupy Oakland” movement “rampaged through the city, shutting down the nation’s fifth-busiest port, forcing stores to close, terrorizing residents…destroying ATMs…” The reaction of the Oakland city council the next day? – They considered a resolution to express support for “Occupy Oakland!”

James Q. Wilson famous “broken window” theory holds that, in cities, when broken windows were immediately repaired the incidence of crime went down. His studies showed that when property was destroyed and restitution was not forthcoming, crime went up. If no one says something is wrong, how do our youth learn?

Social scientist Charles Murray, in an interview in the weekend edition of the Financial Times, responding to a question about the economic relapse of America’s middle class, said “the culprit is entirely cultural – the loss of the Tocquevillian virtues of industriousness, marriage, honesty and religiosity on which the republic was built.” Roger Ailes, chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group, said at a lunch yesterday that America risks becoming a nation of two parties – a government party and a freedom party, with dependency and comfort being hallmarks of the former, and a desire to be free and a willingness to accept responsibility, indicative of the latter.

A lack of respect permeates our culture. We see it in a lack of manners – standing for the elderly on busses and subways, opening doors, the use of “after you”, “please”, “I’m sorry” or “thank you” – words and phrases that risk becoming extinct. We note this lack of respect in the way people dress. Young male students go to school wearing pants that sag, exposing unattractive butts. Girls dress so alluringly that they activate male hormones that need depressing, not activating. Nice restaurants are frequented by men wearing ripped jeans and shirts that would be more appropriate in a log-rolling contest, with women in halters looking as though they’re headed to the beach for a clambake. Visitors to the White House wear torn sweat shirts and jeans. TV shows like CBS’s “Good Christian Bitches” (the last word has now been changed to “Belles”) is not only demeaning to women and Christians, it is hypocritical in that one cannot imagine the middle word being “Muslim.” I have nothing against a show like MTV’s Jersey Shore, other than it reflects poorly on our culture. But if that is what viewers want, so be it. We are what we watch.

Radio show hosts have reached new depths, though with a double standard disappointingly ever present. When Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke a slut, the outrage was palpable. Even the President called her to see if she was OK. And those two “illiberal” liberals, Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem, called for the FCC to suspend the licenses of those radio stations that carry the Rush Limbaugh show. So much for free speech! However, when liberal radio host Ed Schultz called Laura Ingraham a slut last spring, Barbara Walters laughed it off, and no call was made by the President to find our how Ms. Ingraham felt, and neither Ms. Steinem nor Ms. Fonda felt compelled to go to the FCC to register a complaint. Both men were wrong and both apologized. Both should remember that our inherent right of free of speech carries with it a responsibility to be non-inflammatory. The right of free speech does not permit someone to cry “Fire!” in a crowded theater. Decency and thoughtfulness should precede rash calls to judgment. Being respectful, even in disagreement, sends a powerful message.

None of these issues, alone, puts our civilization at risk, but collectively they suggest a slide into darkness. Writing about manners and morality may invoke specters of Victorian England with gloved men in top hats carrying canes, escorting their daintily-shod, petticoat-clad ladies. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Democracy depends on honesty, openness and communication; and a big part of communication is listening. And listening involves respect for the other person.

Disrespect among youth is not what troubles me. Part of growing up involves testing convention. Manifestations range from earrings and dyed hair to language whose purpose is to shock, not inform. It is the lack of manners, common decency and respect we see everyday in the workplace, at home and in politics that is a concern. And, if there is no model or standard of behavior for the young to imitate or aspire to, why should we expect anything else?

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Seemingly small things in the political world also create significant consequences. When Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee last Thursday regarding the possibility of military involvement in Syria, asserted: “…our goal would be to seek international permission. And we would come to the Congress and inform you and determine how best to approach this, whether or not we would want to get permission from Congress.” Had it not been for Senator Jeff Sessions, Mr. Panetta’s remarks might have gone unnoted and uncriticized. Despite the apparent Constitutional breach in Mr. Panetta’s comments, Mr. Sessions’ retort went largely unreported by mainstream media. Our democracy is fragile. It is based on the simple, but elusive concept of freedom. It depends upon a watchful and skeptical press, not the cronyism and mouthpieces we largely have today that simply serve one party or the other, but mostly one party.

We are all fortunate to be in America, not matter how or when we arrived. Assuring America’s free future should be the goal of all of us; achieving that end in the most civilized manner improves all of our lives. The “Golden Rule” of doing unto others what we would have them do unto us should not be codified into law, but it is a reasonable dictate under which to live. There should be no need of a law requiring us to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance. It should be the natural reaction of everyone who respects this nation.