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OBSCENITY

5 April 2005

There are days when I feel like I just want to put my head under a pillow and scream.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that

The Venus de Milo had better wear a top and Michelangelo's David should put on some pants if they're going to be seen at a yard art business.

Bartholomew County officials told the business near Interstate 65 that it must move cement copies of the classical statues — and about 10 others — out of public view because they are obscene under Indiana law.

Are we in the process of retreating to our puritanical roots?  Are we becoming so prudish that we can't even look at classic works of art without seeing obscenity? 

I suppose I should have seen the writing on the wall the day that the statues on the rotunda of the Capitol were draped to prevent a bare breast from shocking the tiny tots (tiny tots who may have breastfed, I might add).

As someone asked, are little boys going to be required to wear a blindfold when they urinate now? 

The excessive emphasis on weeding out any hint of anything that somebody might find the least bit prurient has escalated beyond all reasonable boundries.  Any hint of nudity must be fought at all costs.

You know what I think is obscene?  I think it's obscene that we have killed tens of thousands of foreign citizens and our own young people serving in the military in a war that we now agree was started for no direct reason, but that the government feels is OK because in the long run we got rid of a bad guy.  Being President means never having to say you're sorry.

I think it's obscene that we have invited the anger and scorn of countries around the world for the sake of getting rid of a guy who "tried to kill my Dad."  I think it's obscene that we have gone from being admired around the world to being the bullies of the world.

I think it's obscene that we now admit that all of the intelligence gathering information was wrong, and we have no apologies to make for destroying a country because our guys relied on information from one guy who was known to be unreliable, because the man in the White House wanted so badly to get the guy his Daddy wasn't able to get.

Why aren't there religious groups in this country clamoring about the obscenity of that?   Because they're too busy trying to cover up classic statues and look for hidden "agendas" in cartoon characters.

I think it's obscene that the Boy Scouts of American can brush off the arrest of a serial killer and a pedophile in its ranks while at the same time condemning all gay people as unworthy to be around young boys.  I also think it's obscene that we continue to support this bastion of testosterone which is teaching our boys and young men that it's OK to discriminate against people we don't like.

Why aren't religious groups clamoring about the obscenity of discrimination?  Because so many of them are doing it too.

It's wonderful that though countries may fight countries and religions fight religions and ideologies fight ideologies, that when you come right down to it there is only one common enemy that all countries, religions and ideologies can unite in condemning:  the gay community.

I find that obscene.

I find it obscene that children are developing sexually transmitted diseases and giving birth to babies because there are adults who feel that if they simply withhold information about birth control from pubescent children whose hormones are racing that they will not touch each other.  I think it's obscene that they are not given the information and the tools to protect themselves when hormones get out of control.

I find it obscene that we have had death watches for two weeks now, that major networks couldn't find anything else to report on but the impending death of Terry Schiavo and then the Pope.

I find this obscene.

I find it obscene that public figures are canonized upon their death, conveniently overlooking the harm they may have caused in their lifetime.  We saw it with Ronald Reagan.  We are seeing it with the Pope.  I recommend reading this.  Not to take away any good that either man accomplished in his life, but it's good to keep a perspective on reality, which the media, in its 24/7 coverage, seems unable to do.

It seems that there is so much more serious in the world to be upset about, to find "obscene," that trying to cover up classic works of art is the least of our worries.  But maybe if we devote enough attention to such frivolous "obscenities" we can feel good about ourselves and not have to deal with the real obscenities in the world today.

Mood
 

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Now that the puppies are gone, we're back to normal around here -- sigh!

 
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