The Sexual Culture of Politicians Vs The (Very Permissive) Sexual Culture Of The People…
It’s fascinating to listen to the news broadcasters taking some very high moral ground this week, as they report lurid stories of alleged sexual abuse of both men and women by Members of Parliament. Everyone agrees that this is shock-horror stuff, posture amazement, and insist that it must stop. It’s almost like watching one of the old interviews with Mary Whitehouse
Whatever happened to the whole “let’s ditch morality” thing, and “no more hang-ups about sex” – whatever happened to sexual freedom and liberalism?
Comment:
Will it be possible to change the culture in Westminster, but not in the rest of the country? Should we really expect the politicians to live by a higher standard of sexual morality than that taken for granted in the wider (very) sexually permissive society, UK-wide?
Oh, and wouldn’t this be the ideal time for the Bishops to be speaking out – sort of “We [or, more accurately, God] told you that sexual permissiveness brings nothing but misery” – wouldn’t that be something for the population of the UK to hear and ponder?
Comments (19)
The mystery of Nobby’s comments going into moderation has been solved. He’s been here before and identified as a pest i.e. a troll, so he’s now been moved on from moderation to join the list of the blacklisted. It was his contribution to this thread that really sealed his fate. I’ll now go through his previous comments and delete most, if not all of them.
Nobby, do you think I’m downright stupid? Don’t answer that.
On topic: it amazes me that in all the interviews on TV news programmes about this topic, not one person has questioned the permissive society and the “anything goes” culture that has resulted from it. It’s as if these (mostly) male offenders suddenly woke up one day and decided to sexually “abuse” colleagues, nothing to do with the “anything goes” culture prevalent in society, in workplaces and especially in media circles for the past blankety blank, at least since the sixties, years. Or am I misreading the situation?
To clarify, I don’t think it’s right that the alleged victims of this sort of abuse are having to suffer these approaches, but I can’t see how anyone can be genuinely surprised. I mean, we’d be surprised to bits if we saw someone smoking in a restaurant because the culture quickly changed from tolerating smoking, even promoting it, to condemning it, after a period of preparation by discussion, health reports etc and then a change in the law. But how can we be surprised at sexual misconduct, certainly of the “milder” variety in the workplace, given the permissive culture in wider society?
Hello, hello… is there anyone out there (especially anyone who agrees with me?!)
Yes, I agree totally that the permissive culture is to blame for these harassment situations. You can’t make a society sexually permissive and expect everyone to act purer than snow!
“The widespread permissive culture” is the elephant in the room that nobody in the media will talk about, LOL! That’s the reason for the giving in to concupiscence, which practising the Catholic Faith helps people to overcome! They’re never going to admit that!
This will roll and roll, with more and more people exposed as predators, and then the media will lose interest They never get to the roots of the issues, all it is is superficial coverage.
Margaret Mary,
You are right about the elephant in the room. This whole crisis in the Church and the world really is about impurity, IMHO. Sexual sin more than any other, darkens the soul, makes people spiritually blind.
I think the wonderful sermons of St Alphonsus Liguori should be on every Catholic’s bookshelf. This one is titled Hell’s Widest Gate: Impurity
http://www.onesaint.org/uploads/1/1/9/4/11942290/alphonsushellswidestgate-impurityetc..pdf
Michaela,
Thank you for posting that link to one of St Alphonsus’ sermons on purity – terrific.
I had delayed posting a thread on this topic, lest it drew crude comments, so thank you for encouraging the very opposite. I’ve noticed that there is a definite lack of Catholicity in the matter of purity of speech and modesty of dress in many, if not most Catholics today, so that sermon is well timed. Thank you again. Crudity is never funny – especially when coming from a Catholic.
Michaela,
That is some sermon! It really does send shivers down the spine.
St Alphonsus knew human nature. He quotes exactly what people say: “The impure say, moreover, “God has compassion on us who are subject to this vice, because He knows that we are flesh.” That is exactly what people say, we are only human, we are weak, we can’t help it, and so on.
Then he points out that it was sexual sins that brought down “the most horrible chastisements” from God to earth.
It’s such an important sermon yet when do you hear priests preaching about purity these days? I know the priesthood is hugely decadent, but you’d think some priest somewhere would preach on this, yet I only hear people from all over the country saying they never heard the subject mentioned at all.
As for these politicians and celebrities, well, they are reaping what they have sown, and I’m not exactly cut up with sympathy for any of them.
Michaela,
I’m looking forward to reading that whole sermon – so far I’ve just got down to the second part, about Confession and the need for divine grace to overcome sexual sins. I think all priests should have to read that sermon, from what I’ve read so far, as it would be bound to inspire some of them to preach on this all important matter of purity, IMHO.
It`s changed days in politics from the times of people like Michael Foot who turned up for work in a donkey jacket and Harold Wilson with his mac and pipe. Now it`s the blow-dried, tinted hair: the curled beard to match the few strands left on the head and the pink ties and shirts. And the men are just as bad.
Frankier,
“And the men are just as bad” … Very funny!
Now, perhaps some serious thoughts on the topic – have you read the sermon of St Alphonsus posted by Michaela? Or even some of it?
Frankier,
I’ve just realised that you are the only male contributor to this thread! The rest of our male bloggers must be terrified to say a word! Can’t blame them, really – my married male friends often tell me that they feel they can’t do right for doing wrong most of the time…
https://www.joshreads.com/images/14/09/i140924lockhorns.jpg
Editor,
I have a map of the United States – it’s actual size. One mile= 1 mile. So when people ask me where I live, I say “E5.”
I can’t believe the way this news is being reported and the way there is so much high moral ground filled with the very same people who are sexualising society, including children in nursery schools, like there’s no tomorrow!
They steep us in sexual images in advertisements, dramas, soaps etc and then act amazed when they see this same licentious behaviour acted out in the workplace!
I’m sorry, but since the whole feminine movement participated in this sexualisation of society, calling it “freedom” for supposedly enslaved (to the kitchen sink!) women, I can’t take these moaning women seriously. Obviously, I’m not defending serious assaults, but the kind of stuff being reported as if it was a major incident (hand on knee, e.g.) amounts to nonsense.
I look forward to reading the sermon from St Alphonsus. Maybe we should send a copy to Westminster! LOL!
Fidelis,
“They steep us in sexual images in advertisements, dramas, soaps etc and then act amazed when they see this same licentious behaviour acted out in the workplace!
I couldn’t agree more – you are completely correct.
I agree with everything said so far. I can’t believe the fuss about something the media has been pushing down our throats for years now, “free sex” it used to be called. The only voice of reason I’ve heard on this is Julia Hartley-Brewer who rubbished the idea that she was a victim just because Michael Fallon MP touched her knee fifteen years ago. It’s completely mad, as she says, to try to make something out of that and she is to be commended for refusing to play that game.
She’s also a keen Brexiteer, so she’s a good egg all round, LOL!
Thanks to everyone for very thoughtful comments so far.
I thought you all might want to sign this petition, objecting to GPs being forced to ask us to state our “sexual orientation” – my GP won’t need to ask, as I’ve had a couple of conversations with him in which I’ve made clear my thoughts on the various “orientations” but were I forced to fill in the responses as given on the link, I’d be blocking out “straight” and replacing it with “normal” – then await a visit from the cops!
PS – am I the only woman in the entire UK who is not being persistently, or at least regularly, sexually harassed? 😀 I thought I’d slip in that light-hearted remark before it becomes illegal to do so…
If anything, this problem speaks to the dire necessity of the Social Reign of Christ the King and the restoration of Holy Mother Church. If the general populace is lost in paganism and sin, how are government officials, who presumably hail from said populace, going to be any better? Especially when they get into office and discover the narcotic of power?
On the other hand, if the general populace is well-formed in the Catholic Faith, then odds are that government officials will also be well-formed, and thus virtuous – though they will hopefully excel at leadership and administration.
Meanwhile, like Josephine, I think Fidelis has put his finger on the pulse:
“They steep us in sexual images in advertisements, dramas, soaps etc and then act amazed when they see this same licentious behaviour acted out in the workplace!”
The media (TV, radio, newsprint, and most recently, internet) have had an IV hooked up to Western Civilization for generations, dripping their daily dose of satanic poison into our veins. Freedom! Liberation! Equality! Money! Sex! I’m OK, You’re OK! Down with authority! Down with religion! It’s all about YOU! etc.
As for the bishops speaking out – you mean, we have bishops? You mean, we have bishops who speak the language of Faith?
RCA Victor,
Well said. I’m open mouthed watching this stuff on the news; it’s as if we’ve all been living in the kind of society that the campaigning (against explicit TV) Mary Whitehouse tried (and failed) to achieve.
The sheer extent of the hypocrisy is breathtaking.
Yesterday, I emailed the following letter to The Scotsman Newspaper:
Dear Sir,
In all the newspaper articles, TV and radio news broadcasts and discussions on the Westminster and Holyrood so-called sexual harassment scandals, I’ve yet to find anyone mention the Elephant in the Room.
There’s plenty of talk about the “culture” at Westminster, and the “culture “ in the workplace which allows men in power to abuse women, but not a word about the culture in wider society that means we can’t see an advertisement for toothpaste or cars or anything else without the product being sexualised. We have film and TV dramas with highly sexualised characters and content and the “s” word itself (once sparingly used in the context of marital intimacy) is now an adjective used to describe all sorts of unlikely nouns. Who can forget that “sexed up” dodgy dossier and its role in the Iraq War?
Why then, the amazement that what was deliberately introduced into the culture as “liberating” and “empowering” (especially women – think: The Pill) to free ourselves from previously inhibiting social mores, so that sexual behaviour was no big deal; why the astonishment when that alleged empowerment manifests itself by its roots: selfish, immoral and licentious gratification.
Am I alone in NOT being the slightest bit surprised at the “sexual harassment” apparently now endemic in our society?
Signed
Editor
Catholic Truth
Perhaps we could all remember to pray for the family of Carl Sargeant, the Welsh politician who has today taken his own life, after being sacked following allegations of non-specific sexual harassment by three anonymous women.
It is manifestly unjust that he (and others) should be sacked without knowing the identity of their accuser(s) and the precise allegations against them. Lives are being turned upside down – and in this case, lost – as a result of this frenzy at Westminster, and in the other parliaments of the UK.
I’ve also been hearing today about a young political activist who has been accused of sexual misconduct, again anonymously, although friends tell me that the likely suspect is a woman in the “woman scorned” category who told him quite some time ago that she would have her revenge no matter how long it takes. Could be that “woman scorned” or A.N. Other – who knows? And that’s the problem with this scandal.
So, there are clearly all sorts of considerations, possible motivations, possible liars, all in the mix – and so my own default position is that (perhaps very young girls, new to the workplace excepted) any female who can’t handle an annoying or persistent male, should be firmly tied to her kitchen sink and not allowed out without a chaperone.
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