I could have named this post “when is enough, enough?” It seems to me that more than ever, we are living in an era when permisiveness is the norm, & I’m not just talking about sexual permisiveness, but a whole range of things that each & every day challenge every one of us to accept or get out of the way.
Do you remember years ago the story about the frog being put into the pot of boiling water? (I have since heard that scientifically, this is not accurate but it serves as an analogy for the point I’m trying highlight!) Let me refresh your memory. The story goes that if you boil some water & place a frog into the pot, the frog will react by jumping straight out, however the same frog is placed in a pot of cold water, & the heat is gradually increased to boiling, the frog will remain there until it dies, oblivious to its dangerous circumstances.
The other day, my wife was in a local video store & the store owner was arguing with his wife that he wanted to put on an M/A movie on the “in store” monitor. As their discussion went on, one of the arguments that the wife put up was “you never know when there is some prude in the store who will object & report us!”
The other night I was watching “the chasers war on everything”. I found myself more & more uncomfortable as I watched them do what they do, & continually push the boundaries of peoples tolerance. I’m the first to admit that some of it is just hilarious but then there is a whole range of material that is not acceptable by any standard that I have.
What about hoons on the road? Just recently in our area a young local tragically died as a passenger in a car that was allegedly not conforming to road rules. How many times have you seen something that has made you shake your head in disbelief at the road risks that some people are prepared to take with their own lives & that of other road users?
One of the problems is that freedom of expression seems to have reached such new heights that there is no longer any distinct boundary around the every day confines of most peoples lives. What is really confusing is that many people seem to have substituted this kind of reckless expression as a type of freedom, & yet from where I stand it seems to be a freedom that is only freedom for those expressing it, whilst the people that it affects pay a price. So you get people viewing pornography online at the expense of the people that it enslaves. You get a group of young people beating the shite out of a guy that spoke a few words in defence of another guy who was being verbally abused by them, & they thought it was worth videoing for posterity. You get a consumer driven culture fractured & broken like none before it in history, coz the “gotta get more, gotta do more, gotta be more” culture will only get you so far if you don’t have the strength character that can maintain its self esteem without all of the trappings of modern life.
I have to admit, I’m a little lost with this stuff. I mean, you can object, but then you could spend the rest of your life objecting & not make any difference to anyones life whatsoever (including your own!)
So, is there anything you could add to this list? How do you respond when all around seems objectionable? How do you maintain the rage but not lose sight of the big picture of your life?
MM

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