CRASS-O-METER

Last week’s unending Don Imus marathon might have actually been worthwhile, if it leads to a real discussion about our national sense of decency. Let’s face it, things ain’t been right since the 50’s.

Our gains in civil rights have been equaled only by our losses in civility. Advances in personal freedom have been negated by retreats from personal responsibility. Social graces - good manners - as foolish as they may sometimes appear, are part of the glue that holds society together. As late as the 70’s, Mary Richards called her boss “Mr. Grant,” not because she was a woman, but because he was the boss, and also because he was older. It was a small sign of respect, but it set the tone for the whole workplace.

People didn’t swear in public, not in “mixed” company anyway, and certainly not on the air. Now, every character on every sit-com, child or grown-up, is free to say, "I don't like this friggin' crap. This sucks!" Bill Maher, a very smart, politically savvy guy, makes an important contribution to the national conversation with his show. But I confess, I cringe whenever there is a woman on the panel and he refers to some cowardly politician as a “pussy.”

We have to decide, as a nation, what kind of world we want to live in. Today’s young people, though smart as ever and technologically eons ahead of their Baby Boomer grandparents, don’t know which fork to use, or how to hold it when the do use it. Their command of English is marginal at best. Every moment is, ". . . all like, totally awesome, like, you know, dude, like, totally."

Are these things important? Perhaps not, in the great sweep of history, but they make all the difference in day-to-day life, and history is made one day at a time.

Maybe all we need is a slight adjustment of our national crass-o-meter, so that the bullshit woofer is low but the civility tweeter is high. If enough people will simply say enough is enough, maybe we can get back to a place where discussion is possible, it just isn’t so fucking crude.

a foot on either side