November 6, 2004

• MORAL VALUES

  Election exit polls indicated that the most important factor for many voters was "Moral Values" but the pollsters didn't get further definitions.
  I think most Americans tend to think of morals as individual behavior rather than collective social behavior, and base their moral criteria on whatever they learned in Sunday School. They (most of them anyway) don't see "war" as immoral; certainly not on a par with homosexuality, for example.
  Morals are developed by a society in a very complex fashion, a couple of examples:
  Pre-marital sex: Moral or Immoral? Society condemned it very strongly for three quarters of a century after it became the norm (According to Kinsey, Mr Ford's auto was the turning point in 1915). Now unmarried couples living together is not particularly frowned upon and is often noted in the media. Young couples expect to have sex before marriage (it seems even before steady dating nowadays). The attitude change here was the result of overwhelming rejection of the value as a sort of "parental rejection" augmented by the invention of the birth control pill and, as mentioned, the automobile.
  Homosexuality: Not yet nearly as widely accepted as pre-marital sex, and facing an uphill battle. The moral attitudinal change necessary here is probably the result of slacking religious controls (All Christian denominations as well as most other religions basically condemn homosexual practice- Episcopalians not withstanding) and the rise of the idea of tolerance as a stronger moral value in America.
  The idea that people are born Gay is probably a misreading of genetics. There have been homophobic and homophillic societies throughout history (e.g. the Hebrews and the Greeks in classic times) The Hebrews had almost no homosexual behavior, the Greek culture was partially based on it (e.g. the Olympic Games) Surely there were not that many more "natural Gays" in Greek society.
  The inclusion of anti-Gay marriage amendments on the ballots of several states (including Ohio) certainly worked in favor of Bush, even though his attitude toward Gay marriage was substantially the same as Kerry's.
  A discussion of moral values generally is "spirited" as definitions are changeing and these values are very much a part of our deepest beliefs.
  They mould our personalities and our culture. Which do you think are changing, and why?

  • 3:36 pm
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