FW: RE: A New Twist

["Mike Lawyer" <mike_l@moscow.com>]

Melinda,

It looks like you've done a good job of proving my point. As you noted, even
the Puritans had problems with people pushing the envelope. If fornication
was the most common sexual offense in the 17th century, you can be pretty
sure there weren't many worse offences. In our modern society where
fornication is common, just look at how gross things have become (Of course
you're playing backgammon and I'm playing checkers so I'm pretty sure you
won't agree that things are all that bad).

I read an interesting message in my fortune cookie the other day. It said,
"The philosophy of one century is the common sense of the next."

If people had any internal morality, we wouldn't need silly laws like making
women wear their clothing in public. You're right it is a silly law, but the
fact that a few women don't seem to have the moral wherewithal to cloth
themselves properly and a bunch of other women think that's perfectly okay,
proves there is a problem (again that checkers and backgammon thing).

Mike Lawyer



Mike writes:

>The result is that because the bubble is slowly pushed out of shape (with
>everyone denying the changes) society as a whole gets more and >more
>immoral and indecent.

And when exactly was that bubble shapely, Mike?  Back when it was illegal
for a person of Chinese descent to live within 5 miles of Moscow's city
center (one of the very first ordinances penned in our town)?  Back when
women couldn't vote or hold property in their own names?  Back when
segregation and lynching held sway to keep Jewish and black eople "under
>control" and Catholics could be excluded from public office  When domestic
>violence was a "family matter" that police didn't interfere in?  When
>interracial marriage was against the law and marital rape wasn't?  When gay
>men could be pre-emptively imprisoned in mental hospitals *in case* they
>might commit a crime?  Or maybe back in Puritan days, when "fornication was
>by far the most common sexual offence to come before the Plymouth courts.
>Between 1633 and 1691, sixty nine cases of fornication were presented . . .
>. including] 'carnal  copulation,' 'uncleans,' and births of illegitimate
children with fornication."
<http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/users/deetz/Plymouth/Lauria1.html#V>

You won't catch me denying that things have changed--but don't try to
convince me that we should go back.  I know better.  I'm driving my own
pickup now, and Big Daddy's just going to have to get used to it.

Melynda Huskey




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