In my last post I introduced the metaphor of playground arguments as representative of cultural conversations over moral and ethical boundaries in our pluralistic American society. People holding diverse value systems do not always agree over playground rules and boundaries.
One group insists, Fair! Another cries, Foul!
I posed the question: Who makes the rules on a pluralistic playground?
Cultures with one common religious or belief system have an unspoken understanding and agreement of what is “fair” and what is “foul.” Since that is not the case in twenty-first century America, we must somehow decide where moral boundaries should be drawn.
The variety of views and voices in the US defies easy categorization. Two or more interests may align over one particular issue and then vigorously oppose each other in a different discussion. The permutations are endless. With that caveat, let’s consider two of the most prominent sources of influence in our culture today.
Entertainers and journalists externalize their visions of cultural norms on television, in movie theaters, on the radio and in news broadcasts.
The not-so-subtle agendas of actors, producers and journalists (the other entertainment industry) regularly define and re-define our ethical standards. And we listen to them.
Entertainers are like the popular, fun-loving or creative people on a playground who gain influence with their parties and personalities. They do not necessarily tell others what to do or think, but people tend to follow and imitate them because, well, because they’re cool.
According to a Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation news release,
“Today, 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) to using entertainment media across a typical day (more than 53 hours a week).”
Compare the hours spent in media consumption with hours spent in school, church, or even in family conversation, and it is no contest. Many Americans, whether they know it or not, set their moral compasses to the behavioral norms of sitcoms, talk shows and movies.
Does a movie set, a stage or a microphone grant the speaker moral authority?
Politicians write laws establishing legal boundaries.
These are the playground leaders, the team captains who choose players, organize teams and make the rules. Team captains can lead well, or they can behave like bullies. (Vote wisely.)
Politicians have the muscle to write and enforce laws, and they increasingly use their clout to resolve playground arguments legislatively. James Davidson Hunter observes in his book To Change the World that because of our growing lack of cultural consensus we are experiencing “the politicization of nearly everything.”
“Politicization is most visibly manifested in the role that ideology has come to play in public life; the well-established predisposition to interpret all of public life through the filter of partisan beliefs, values, ideas, and attachments…in response to a thinning consensus of substantive beliefs and dispositions in the larger culture.” To Change the World, p. 103
Should moral and ethical norms be legislated in the political sphere?
There are other voices in our lives, of course. Academia, literature, art, families, ethnic communities, and religion also speak up with force, but they tend to reach smaller subsets of people. Entertainers and politicians reach us all. In fact, it is almost impossible to avoid their influence.
Who or what really influences your moral and ethical decisions? How do you think the value systems of average Americans are formed?
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge…The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.” Psalm 19: 1-2, 7
Next post (or two): How should Christians speak into this cultural conversation?