Every moral code throughout history has taught that certain behaviors are moral, and others are not, save that of America today. In America, there are many behaviors that are immoral if one person does them, but perfectly acceptable if someone else does.
It is immoral to look down at any religion except Christianity, Judaism, and Mormonism.
Racism is terrible unless it is against white people.
Groping women is sexual assault. Groping men is a compliment.
White people who commit crimes are criminals. African Americans who commit crimes are victims of police brutality.
If a straight person celebrates their sexuality in public, they are a pervert. If a gay person celebrates their sexuality in public, they are a hero.
If a man hits a woman, it is abuse. Women can beat the holy hell out of men, and the guy probably deserved it.
The message we are sending is that behaviors are not moral or immoral, but rather people are. White people are immoral, and as a consequence, behaviors that are perfectly acceptable for ethnic minorities are unacceptable when white people do them. Men are immoral, and as a consequence, many things women can do, men cannot. Straight people are immoral, and as a consequence, behaviors we allow gay people to follow in public are not OK when straight people do them. If you are Islamic, you can wear your religion on your sleeve, but you had better not do that if you are a Christian, because Christians are immoral.
Achievements too are gauged not by what is done, but by who achieved it. If a woman accomplishes something, it is an accomplishment. If a man accomplishes the same thing, it is privilege. If an ethnic minority accomplishes something, it was done in the face of overwhelming obstacles. If a white person accomplishes something, it was privilege. If a gay person accomplishes something, it is an extraordinary feat of perseverance. If a straight person accomplishes something, it is privilege.
Martin Luther King Junior dreamt of a world where race does not matter. We have created a world where nothing but race matters. The feminists of my mother’s generation fought for equality. The feminists of my daughter’s generation just hate men.
Questioning the teachings in the Bible is intelligent. Questioning the teachings in the Koran is Islamaphobia.
I could list examples of double standards all day long. Our society is full of them. What should seem obvious to all of us, but somehow does not, is the inherent immorality of a society that judges behaviors based on the people exhibiting them, rather than gauging individual people based on the behaviors they exhibit. We have made the absence of racism racist, and the absence of sexism sexist. Racism and sexism, in the meantime, are acts of heroism as long as they are directed against the right people.
How does a nation build a value system without values?
Sexual assault allegations are coming out left and right. If grabbing someone’s butt is sexual assault, I have been sexually assaulted more times than I care to count, but as a man, I do not get to be a victim (and would not want to be one even if I could). I also had a friend’s aunt come on to me when I was twelve, and had a female boss come on to me when I was sixteen. I had a female swim instructor in the Marine Corps try to order me to do some swim qualification when I was not scheduled to be in a pool, and did not have a swimsuit. Her solution was that I not wear a swimsuit. My solution was to qualify later when I did have a swimsuit. We were the only two people in the pool area, and she almost made stripping an order before she backed down. In the Army, I had a group of girls who did not want to use the stairs to get to the women’s bathroom (which was on another floor) go into the men’s room. When they heard the showers running they opened the door to the open shower area and walked in, laughing as I tried to cover myself. If a man did any of those things, it would be the end of their career, and might even lead to jail time. Girls do it? It’s funny.
Double standards.
We have a very real problem in this country. While it might be politically correct to judge behaviors based on the people who display them, rather than judging people based on the behaviors they exhibit, it is not moral to do so. It is in fact decidedly immoral. Much of our societal morality is based on this kind of thinking, and as a result, we are not a moral society. We are wicked.
We are no longer descending into the abyss or moral depravity, but are rather so deeply in it that we no longer believe in such things as ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ with regard to what people do. Instead, we gauge people based on skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and other factors we should by now be over. The only difference between today and Jim Crow is that today we do it to try to create some cosmic sense of ‘justice’. In order to make this twisted sense of ‘justice’ possible, any semblance of actual justice goes out the window, turning us into exactly the kind of evil place we pretend to be against.
Every moral code throughout history has taught that certain behaviors are moral, and others are not, save that of America today. Actually – that’s not true. Every moral code throughout history has taught that certain behaviors are moral, and others are not, without exception. The problem with America is not that our moral code is different; it is that we no longer have a moral code at all. All we have are double-standards. Let that sink in for a bit, and then tell me how our society is supposed to survive without changing course.
Beautifully stated – and perfectly true. I believe it is a function of viewing the world through a lens which does not see individuals – only ‘groups’.
I understand it is easier to herd people once they are firmly put in ‘herds’.