Missing the Golden Age?

Corruption can only be defined by those who dictate the social norms. One person’s corruption could very well be another person’s idea of opportunity. When it comes to the idea of whether or not we as a society are becoming morally corrupt on a scale larger than preceding generations that can only be determined on an individual basis. Who has the authority to decide what is morally corrupt? John Ashcroft, Rush Limbaugh, the late Jesse Helms and Jerry Falwell, all believed they were the moral authority when it came to issues relating to social mores and social standards, but you would be hard pressed to find a majority of Generation X’ers or members of Generation Y who would agree with them. Does this mean we are morally corrupt, is the Golden Age of America a bygone era, have we lost our sense of moral duty in this country? The clear and simple answer is that we are no worse off morally today than we were fifty or one hundred years ago.

To back up this claim let us first look at a social taboo that people know about, have encountered, and are fearful of, gangs. One hundred years ago, gangs ran rampant in the slums of New York, Chicago, and just about every other major metropolitan area in this country. Fifty years ago, returning WWII vets formed motorcycle gangs such as the Hell’s Angels, the Mongols, and the Gypsy Jokers. These people are from a generation that many would nostalgically view as a Golden Era, but most tend to leave out these miscreants when they reflect on their “Happy Days” memories. Drugs, prostitution, rackets, you name it, and these gangs had their hands in them. Today things are, and are not much different.
Bloods, Crips, and MS-13 are all gangs that represent the exact same thing their “Hell’s Angel” forefathers embodied. They have the same rackets, use the same type of prostitution rings, and sell the same drugs plus more. Because we live in a world that has much more media exposure, these gangs can now be seen on A & E or the Discovery Channel in a documentary. It would be hard to argue that they are more or less violent than their predecessors, the official numbers of gang related deaths are presumptive at best before 1990. One may try to argue that the gangs of yesteryear and the gangs of today contrast in their racial makeup and they would be wrong. Other than the motorcycle gangs, most urban gangs were made up of minorities. In the 1900’s gang members were Irish, Italian, and African American, today, they are still minorities, but now their makeup consists of Russian, Vietnamese, Meso-American, and so on.
Gangs are not of course the only indicator of our social fabric. The upper echelon of society can also be a litmus test as to where we are morally in this country. Fifty or a hundred years ago, were the people at the top of America’s stratified social layer any more or less moral than those who occupy these roles now? Paris Hilton has released a sex tape, been sent to jail, and has bared enough to make a pimp blush on her reality shows. She isn’t the only socialite either, Hollywood stars blanket the news with drunk driving arrest, gaffes in speech that require weeks of damage control, and as much drug use as a methadone clinic. All that would make one believe that the moral fabric in this country is torn beyond repair, or is it?
The difference between now and the “Golden Age” is simply the cover up. Fifty or one hundred ago this news never would have made it out because there was enough hush money to do just that, hush. Nowadays with tabloid money in the game, the National Enquirer or TMZ can double the amount of hush money that used to be paid out, and therefore the stories are released. We know more about our socialites now than our previous generations did, but this doesn’t mean they are any more moral than the celebrities and socialites of today. Mae West was a foul mouth performer, burlesque houses dotted communities, but were not talked about, and if I had a nickel for every time a senator was caught with a drugged up hooker I wouldn’t have to be taking classes in college. Rock Hudson was a closet homosexual who was adored by women who had no idea of his orientation. He was a victim of the press release and of the fact that the story was more valuable to someone released than quieted, but also keep in mind this came later in his life and career.
So far we have looked at the upper and lower layers of American society, but what about the middle class? This class is the largest of all and therefore would probably be the best example of where we are morally in this country. To make my point I am going to go a different direction out of necessity. The upper and lower classes of society have their representatives, but what about the middle class? Who represents John and Jane Q? Nobody does. So that is why I am reasserting the idea that we are no worse or better morally in this country than we were fifty or a hundred years ago. I am middle class America, and I am teaching my kids the same things that my parents taught me, and the same things my grandparents taught them. Be respectful of others, give people the benefit of the doubt, and do unto others as you would have done to you. This is what makes up the social fabric of a society, this dictates what we are willing to accept as an acceptable level of behavior and norms, and this is what will define each succeeding generation, no matter which circumstances may change in the future.