By Bruce Goldfaden
If we were to take an imaginary road trip through the United States' moral and ethical landscape, where do you think we'd end up and see upon arrival? I think we’d end up in Indecency USA with the scenery shaped by the forces that have divided and degraded us.
For example, inside Indecency USA, we’d see millions upon millions of disillusioned and fearful people, pushed to their breaking point with no apparent way forward except to huddle in two groups—50% on one side and 50% on the other—separated by a chasm of political indecency, widening each day, too deep and vast to bridge. Despite the huddles on either side of this chasm—like high school cliques that hesitate to communicate or like people within their own echo chambers hearing only opinions that reinforce their beliefs—no one has remained untouched by our current state of being. Indecency USA is characterized by political indecency—with cultural and psychological indecency playing equally prominent roles—all combining to erode our once-thriving moral and ethical principles of compassion, goodwill, and kindness.
So, in reality, this road trip is not imaginary. This is us: the state of the United States. We're lost physically and spiritually on both sides of the chasm. You could say our political, cultural, and psychological indecency are like the three body parts of a chimera—kī-ˈmir-ə—a mythological fire-breathing creature having a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail. [1]—that we continue to nourish:
our political indecency, the fire-breathing lion’s head represents the attack on our constitutional foundation
our cultural indecency, the goat’s body, a symbol of biblical sacrifice, represents the heartbreaking tragedy of adolescents caught up in the darkest elements of social media
our psychological indecency, the serpent’s tail, represents what some consider to be the subtle and tempting allure of entertainment media violence, including video games, that medical and psychological associations, academics and scientists, joint statements and consensus, research organizations and studies, advocacy groups and nonprofits believe can cause violence in the real-world and in our nation’s public schools.
For now, the omnipresent chimera is consuming our decency: adapted from "decent: marked by moral integrity, kindness, and goodwill” [2]. Will we be left only with indecency?: adapted from "indecent: grossly improper or offensive.” [3] Is this the country we want to leave to our children and their children and their children? We all know that we can do better. There is no choice: We must rise to this challenge and find a better way forward so we end indecency.
Before we continue, let’s take a step back so I can add context around the thoughts above and, really, the entire essay. Looking back at my childhood in the 1950s and 1960s, life seemed slower-paced and grounded in a shared set of standards. While far from perfect, there was a sense of decency that kept us safer and more connected, a stark contrast to the disoriented, divided landscape we face today.
So, my view of things comes from a completely different time frame when we valued school and friends and saying please and thank you and opening the door for others and driving slower and eating dinner with family and those kinds of things. At the same time, of course, I’m aware the 1950s and 1960s weren’t perfect—many groups faced serious struggles and continue to do so—but my focus here is on the standards of decency and respect that I experienced in my life.
Reflecting on the decency of my past, I feel that something is sorely amiss in our domestic reality today. Our country still seems to be wearing the patina of normalcy, but for me, that patina seems to be fading. Would people in a flourishing and shining country act as we do: diminishing anyone who doesn’t agree with a political ideology or religious or social value; tragically manipulating adolescents on social media; and attacking each other verbally and physically while portraying excessive violence on TV and in film and in video games?
And, I’m not alone in these thoughts and questions. A friend confided over lunch that she, too, fears for her family’s future, her husband, daughter, and son, in this increasingly unsteady world. She grew up in the generation after mine, graduating from high school in 1994, 25 years after I graduated in 1969. So, there’s another perspective from a different time in our country yet she senses what I’m sensing: That we’re unsteady. What are you sensing and feeling? Are you afraid? Could our current political, cultural, and psychological indecency neutralize too much of our goodness, transforming us into a state from which we cannot return? The kind we’ve read about or seen on TV in other countries? I don’t know if that state of things could happen here but, man, we just seem so fragmented, and this unease has been going on for a long time, which we'll look at deeper.
We can break free from the power of the chimera's indecency by aligning with a higher purpose, awakening our inner light of truth and compassion, and surrendering to a positive force greater than our individual egos. We can find our way back toward a brighter direction, one where we “[k]eep our face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind [us].” [6] Together, we can begin a journey of healing, awakening from our “...long national nightmare...” [7] to create a dawn filled with good feelings and “good vibrations.” [8]
So, that is the intent of these essays, my attempt to heal our wounds, literally and metaphorically. Our journey together will unfold in five parts: this introduction, the conclusion, and the three parts of the chimera. In Part 2, I discuss our political indecency through the lens of the most disturbing political public opinion survey I've encountered. Part 3 shines a harsh light on our cultural indecency from the perspective of social media and adolescents, including the disturbing emergence of a new term to me: “sextortion.” Part 4 looks at our psychological indecency of violence, real world and entertainment media, including video games, or what one expert calls “murder simulators.” [9]
In Part 5, the conclusion, I'll propose five ideas that I hope you'll find worthy of consideration as we work to slay the chimera of indecency together. Each part will take only 7 to 10 minutes to read. I hope you'll join me for the journey ahead, not to brag about the number of views, but for the information, and what I hope will stimulate a new conversation about where we've been and where we're going and where we can choose to land positively if we make a new effort to do so.
As we move through this series, you may begin to realize, as I have, that huddling on opposites of the chasm is not keeping anyone safe. The chimera doesn’t care who you vote for; the chimera only thrives on our division, feeding on a sense of moral superiority that sacrifices the humanity of those you believe are on the other side. This sanctimonious pursuit of moral superiority has become the very indecency each side claims to be against. Meanwhile, the two other types of indecency, cultural and psychological, also flourish. We are all responsible.
I have pored over every word, every sentence, every paragraph to ensure there is nothing that could be remotely criticized as partisan. If any thought strikes you as partisan, please know such a conclusion was not my intention. I have worked days and nights and, sometimes, in the middle of the night, waking up with ideas about what to say or what not to say. I learned in my first marketing communications role that there are many ways to convey an idea, but only one way that is best, and that is why I’m a stickler for the precise communication of ideas supported by the correct words. While the goal is neutrality, I am taking a stand on political, cultural, and psychological indecency. This is simply unacceptable. We should not tolerate living in Indecency USA.
That is my intention for this essay: to express thoughts in the best way not as a partisan, but as an observer and as dispassionately as possible, given the subject matter. I’ll let you determine if I’ve accomplished the goal of finding that neutral ground calmly, ideally a ground of unity through this series of five blog posts, something, anything in the direction of positive energy to give us emotional and physical relief. Aren’t we tired of all of the negativity?
And, so, our road trip through Indecency USA begins. The chimera of our political, cultural, and psychological indecency is hovering around us, the omnipresent negative energy attempting to strip us permanently of the essential moral and ethical principles of compassion, goodwill, and kindness.
Next week: part 2: political indecency
References
[1] Merriam-Webster. "chimera." Merriam-Webster.com. Adapted. Accessed August 20, 2024. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chimera.
[2] Merriam-Webster. "decent." Merriam-Webster.com. Accessed August 20, 2024. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decent.
[3] Merriam-Webster. "indecent." Merriam-Webster.com. Accessed August 20, 2024. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indecent.
[4] U.S. Senate. “Have You No Sense of Decency?” Senate Historical Office. June 9, 1954. Accessed August 20, 2024. https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/mccarthy-hearings/have-you-no-sense-of-decency.htm.
[5] Durant, Will. The Story of Civilization: The Age of Reason Begins. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1961.
[6] Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. 1891–1892 edition. Philadelphia: David McKay, 1892. (Quote adapted by author).
[7] Ford, Gerald R. "Remarks Upon Taking the Oath of Office as President." August 9, 1974. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. Accessed August 14, 2024.
[8] The Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations," written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, produced by Brian Wilson, released as a single by Capitol Records, 1966. © Capitol Records, Inc. 1966. All rights reserved. (Referenced for the phrase "good vibrations" only).
[9] Grossman, Dave, Lt. Col. Army (ret.). "Videogames as ‘Murder Simulators’." Variety. Last modified January 18, 2013. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://variety.com/2013/voices/opinion/grossman-2640.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Bruce Goldfaden is the founder of LSV Communications, a digital marketing agency structured on the principle of value proposition messaging to differentiate a company from competitors. He is the author of The Man of Many Colors, a parable about recognizing one's individual value to recognize this value in others to live by the Golden Rule, the correct code of conduct. The Man of Many Colors is available on amazon.com.
Copyright © 2024 Bruce Goldfaden and LSV Communications LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this essay may be reproduced or redistributed in any form or by any means—except through sharing via a link to this web page or for brief quotations in a review—without the express written permission of Bruce Goldfaden and LSV Communications LLC.
Comments