The difference between the Britain of half a century ago and today is that general belief in the moral and social responsibility (then called “respectability”) of ordinary people in the street was axiomatic and almost invariably justified. When, at the age of seven in the late 1950s, I started to walk the mile or so from home to my London day school, my mother gave me the simple instruction: “If you get lost or find yourself in any kind of trouble, ask a grown-up for help.”
All my friends were given the same advice. On the few occasions when we did go astray, we were looked after (and if necessary admonished) by strangers with the same care as we received from neighbours or teachers. It is difficult to imagine responsible parents giving similar guidance to their children today. (Charles Jackson, Hyssington, Montgomery,UK in the Daily Telegraph)
I would never belittle the issue of child abuse, which is yet another example of exploitation and power-play that Epicureans through the centuries have deplored. But the almost unique British preoccupation with it doesn’t appear to prevent it. I can’t believe it is a curse unique to the UK. The fact is that a case of child abuse can be milked for weeks by the media to increase the audience. In the last three months, for instance, there has barely been a day when some case or other has not been headlines. World news is ignored (foreign correspondents are expensive) while the media go crazy week after week about some case of child abuse or pornography. Cheap “news” gathering, and effective.
You now have to be careful, as a man, about walking down the street hand-in-hand with your grand-daughter, so anxious about child safety have the public been made. Children will be growing up without ever having been hugged by any adult other than their mothers. I am sure that psychologists will say that this is bad for children, who will grow up with skewed ideas about intimacy and love. Epicurus would be appalled. On the other hand Murdoch and his cynical sidekicks go on making money. Where did a sense of proportion and common sense vanish to?
The principal culprit is the Murdoch media and other exploiters of the prurient tendencies of the public. And they are not the only ones making money out of it.
Why is Murdoch not in prison? He presided over blatant illegality among his employees at the News of the World, a Federal offense. He established the climate of “anything goes, concentrate on the sex and make money”. Other CEOs would have had to pay the price, but he is protected for political reasons. People rightly call for the bankers responsible for the financial melt-down to be hauled into Court. But to that list should be added Murdoch.
It has been a sad failure of the Obama government that the Justice Department has been neutered and totally ineffectual, both on the matter of company crime and anti-trust. What is the point of electing prople who offer us no protection?
I have concentrated on the UK, but America has also changed. When I was young I hitch-hiked through 48 of the 50 States. Aside from a 20 minute wait on the New Jersey Turnpike (it was illegal- the police politely moved me on), I never had a single problem in months. Almost as many women as men offered me lifts and I was offered lunch, and, on two occasions, money to help me on my way. And I successfully hitch- hiked by air. Americans then were proud of their country and wanted visitors to like it. If there was fear of strangers I never spotted it.
Now no one would dream of hitch-hiking in America, and many drivers only drive with a gun in the car. This might seem pathetic and weird, but they have been made afraid by the media. Thus, a right of passage for (admittedly mainly male) youngsters had been eliminated. The interest and joy of meeting strangers of all ages, and understanding their perspectives on life, has been made more difficult. And how many Americans today have been to 48 of the 50 States and returned bowled over by the kindness and hospitality of strangers? I rest my case.
The pulverizing of all those communities which instill trust in its people and socialize children into patterns of behavior that make life livable–i.e., towns, villages, neighborhoods, extended families–they are nearly gone.
Economic and political philosophies that value only money and power, have reduced us to atomized individuals facing corporations and governments of overwhelming power. It seems to me that it will take a very long time to rebuild communities.
What an excellent summing up, Carmen!
I read a revent article by a very right-wing individual, attacking liberals for having no empathy with Tea Party causes, brushing them off as crazies.
If you support corporation rule, making money as your only criterion, wars, militarized police, the death penalty, privatizing social security and eliminating the social safety net, it is not very realistic to expect sympathy for your views from those who believe in an equall playing field and a decent life for everyone, not just a lucky few.
From Dan:
I don’t read the UK press articles re pedophilia, but they sure must sell newspapers. It is an uncomfortable subject. Three guys whom I know have been accused, two by daughter and one by wife, of molestation. Different outcomes. It is also true that priests and teachers are in positions which they can abuse, and some do. Complicated issue, but maybe media sensationism, by raising awareness, leads to both more false accusations and to increased useful awareness of the potential problem.