It’s a common belief of American Christians: If we just elect the right people to power, we can reverse the moral decline of the country. Unfortunately, Jesus isn’t available (he wasn’t even interested in running for office when he was here the first time), and nobody else seems to be able to pull it off.
Case in point: George Bush rode into Washington on a promise to restore family values to America. Ironically, he’s now the one responsible for a court decision that will allow “indecent and profane language” on network TV. An article by James Poniewozik in last week’s Time explains why:
The court argued, among other things, that the FCC’s enforcement was “arbitrary and capricious.” But the reason that stood out most was the court’s assessment of the national indecency climate: “In recent times, even the top leaders of our government have used variants of these expletives in a manner that no reasonable person would believe referenced ‘sexual or excretory organs or activities'”–the definition of indecency that the FCC and the courts have used. The decision cited Bush’s remark to British Prime Minister Tony Blair last summer, in front of a live mike, that Syria needed to “get Hizballah to stop doing this s___,” as well as Cheney’s hearty invitation to Senator Patrick Leahy, “Go f___ yourself.” (The court could have cited Bush’s remark, later reported by TIME, from March 2002 when war in Iraq was allegedly still a last resort: “F___ Saddam. We’re taking him out.”)The fact that Bush sometimes curses may seem irrelevant, but the “community standard” is one of the most important factors in legally determining indecency. What’s good for Dubya, the court ruled, is good for the debutante. And while the ruling immediately applied to “fleeting” profanities, it could have broad implications for the FCC’s ability to limit naughty talk on broadcast TV and radio in general.
Poniewozik can’t resist tossing in a little zinger toward the end of the piece:
Maybe this situation will finally point out what a swindle it is to argue that electing one man can somehow change the moral character of a nation. Pop culture is king in America, and it laughs at the feeble efforts of mere politicians to change it. This Administration can hold as many prayer breakfasts and cover as much bare-breasted statuary as it wants, it has still presided over the society that produced Joe Millionaire, the Saw movies and 50 Cent.
The problem with relying on earthly power to do God’s work is that no one has enough of it to change things for very long. The Moral Majority thought they had it for a decade. Then William Jefferson Clinton was inaugurated, and within 48 hours he had repealed both of the policies (dealing with abortion and homosexuals in the military) that had taken the religious right ten years to achieve.