Want To Grow Up? All You Need is Sex

That's the message we're hearing from the intellectuals and experts these days, as evidenced by this Reuters story about the relaxation of social standards as it relates to nudity.

"I do think that general attitudes about nudity are becoming more relaxed, but these changes take time, which is why there's still mixed responses," said Paul Levinson, communication and media professor at Fordham University.

"We as a society are finally growing up and it's a healthy thing," he said.

Oh, thank you, Professor Levinson! What a relief to know that I'm expressing my maturity by clicking on pictures of nude celebrities! And it's such a good thing when porn stars are regularly dignified as true entertainment professionals on nearly every talk show and reality show. It shows how there's still hope for our generation. If we can just continue to lower our standards over time, there's no limit to how healthy we can be.

I actually agree with Levinson on one point, though:

"There's no doubt about it. The Web for the last 10 years, has made more nudity available," Levinson said. "I predict in the next few years, the FCC will be put in its proper place and nudity will be the norm," he said.

Nudity will be the norm. And families wishing to avoid the filth will have to actively opt out of it. Isn't technology great? Hmm, maybe the Amish have a point.

Jennifer Garner is a Model Parent

Why is it that Hollywood, moral depravity and detachment from reality go hand in hand? Our latest example? Jennifer Garner, about whom I had a completely neutral opinion until I read this article.

How's this for priorities?

"When Violet was born I had to remind myself that even though I'd worked so hard on acting and with such single-mindedness, I should not try to devote that much effort to her.

"It wouldn't necessarily be good for her."

Does anyone see anything wrong with this? Is it any wonder we're ending up with Paris Hiltons and Britney Spearses when these poor children have such noble and giving parents to fall back on? Oh, that's just fine, because they have a troop of nannies to rely on. And parents who play better role models on TV than they do in real life.

Oh, and this takes the cake:

"Since I became a mother, I cry more because I care about things more. I can't watch a movie where something happens to a child. And I've always cared about global warming and breast cancer, but now there seems to be an urgency about them."

Ooh, Jennifer Garner's so caring, I can just feel her heart bleed. She can feel guilty jetting around the country spewing CO2 into the atmosphere. She can be afraid of breast cancer. She can't bear to watch a fabricated movie where a child is hurt. But she's just fine with short-changing her own kids so she can build herself a bigger name in Hollywood.

Thank goodness nobody aspires to live like the Hollywood elites do.

Standing Up for Morality? Prepare to be Attacked

It's impossible to espouse any moral views anymore without being slammed for doing so. The latest victim of moral intolerance: Marine Gen. Peter Pace. Says the news article,

...Marine Gen. Peter Pace had likened homosexuality to adultery and said the military should not condone it by allowing gays to serve openly in the military.

"I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts," Pace said in the interview. "I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way."

The response was quick and harsh:

"General Pace's comments are outrageous, insensitive and disrespectful to the 65,000 lesbian and gay troops now serving in our armed forces," the advocacy group Servicemembers Legal Defense Network said in a statement on its Web site.

I guess it's okay to have certain moral standards, as long as you don't voice your opinion. My only criticism is that he left out premarital sex and pornography – both of which can also lead to broken families and lost souls.

By the way – with a don't-ask-don't-tell policy, how do they figure that there are 65,000 homosexuals in the military? Sounds like fuzzy math...

A Quantum Leap in Lowering Standards

Normally, when people talk about the way things "used to be," it's in reference to something at least 10 years in the past. "In my day, we wouldn't dream of showing our midriff." Or, "Twenty years ago, we hadn't even heard of those things."

Today, we may speak in those same terms. Except that now, we're referring to the last 2-5 years. I think we're witnessing a quantum leap downward in standards of decency.

What got me thinking about this is the whole Britney Spears thing. I'm not one to peddle prurience, but if you're in any way connected to any media outlet, you know that Britney has been photographed multiple times sans underwear.

That in itself, in my opinion, is far from newsworthy. In fact, have deep disrespect for those who produce and distribute such pathetic gossip. But several factors reveal that this is more than a story. It's a symptom of an even steeper slide into the moral morass.

1) Britney isn't the first celebrity to be photographed going commando, though she's likely the most famous – claiming legions of millennials who see her actions and accept them as a new standard.

2) If you and I are at least minimally aware of her knickerless notoriety, then surely the pop princess is informed of her exposure. Heck, Rosie O'Donnell made an appeal on the View to please cover up. Does that matter to Britney? Apparently not, which implies a conscious decision to let it "air out" in full view of the world.

3) The nature of the blogosphere exalts this behavior, giving it voice where even five years ago it wouldn't be seen by more than a handful of perverts. Thanks to today's instantly available celebrity gossip, depravity is given coverage, discussion and, ultimately, acceptance.

I'm sure that going commando is nothing new. But broadcasting it is. Britney is a pioneer of sorts. She's blazing new trails into the jungles of depravity. And likely starting a fashion trend in the process. I predict that five years from now, panties will be passe. And in the warmer climates (which, as everyone knows, will be everywhere), there will be new trendsetters getting chewed out by Rosie for not wearing pants. Just you wait and see.