Conflicting Cultural Forces

VISIT ANY TOWN in the united states of more than, say, twenty thousand people,  watch the local news on television for a few nights, maybe read the local newspaper for a few days, and tune in to a couple of local radio stations, paying particular attention to the local news.

You will not go very long, most probably no more than twenty four hours, without hearing about some horrible outrageous local sex crime, like, sixty six year old man accused of making child pornography videos, ten year old girl found raped repeatedly by neighbor, local high school physical education coach charged in having sex with a minor, and on, and on...

You get the impression that sex crimes are common in america, that jerry sandusky might have been the tip of a titanic ice berg. And, naturally, you wonder why.

One place to start is by asking the question: what are the most powerful, culture shaping influences in our society? What attitudes, institutions, habits, patterns of behavior are preeminent?

If your answer to this question doesn't include capitalism and christianity, you're living in a fantasy world. Because of the dominant influence of traditional christianity in america, america is among the most "prudish" sexually suppressed countries in the world. Sex is a sin, in the bible, to be practiced only upon special, rare occasion.

People in europe and throughout the world ridicule americans for their sexual hangups.

On the other hand, because of the strength of the free market, and the free market's exploitation of human nature, sex is the most common commodity in america. Sex sells more in the united states than every other good, product, or service, combined, times ten.

That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the central fact remains; sex sells big in america. So we have a highly anti - sex culture in which sex is a primary theme of mainstream culture. We have clashing, contradictory cultures, both thriving.

Do we have, by some remote chance, a bit of a, shall we say, "schizophrenic" culture at work here?

In europe, the battle has long since been waged, christianity is on the way out, and sex reigns supreme. The smart money says the same thing will eventuate, eventually, in america.

Bb

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