By Luke Nolan, Staff Writer
There is a massive problem today, the problem of behavior.
Recent events have brought to light the failures of some prominent men in society, from Harvey Weinstein, George Takei, and Kevin Spacey, to Al Franken, Roy Moore, and John Conyers. The blame is also on those who took hush money to preserve their own careers and the reputation of the abusers.
This reflects a serious problem in today’s culture. It now requires an honest look at what is permeating throughout society. People need to owe-up to the crimes committed and the mistakes they have made, starting with accepting the punishment they deserve.
The realms of Hollywood and politics have never really been beacons of morality. For some, it is hard to be surprised that these abuses occur in Hollywood, an industry which promotes sex completely devoid of consequences and reality, creating a sense of entitlement in the men who produce and consume film. It is not surprising, therefore, to see this sort of behavior with recent movie releases being 50 Shades Darker and Call Me By Your Name, each normalizing abuse and sexual fantasies devoid from reality.
One of the main causes of this crisis is the tendency among people to misconstrue power in such a way that it serves their own pleasures and desires, while ignoring the needs of those around them. It is pride, the lust to dominate, which drives libidinous men in power to feel entitled to engage in depraved and perverted sexual fantasies with women, regardless of whether consent was given. This, of course, applies to the abuse of men as well, by people like George Takei and Kevin Spacey.
This obsession with sex, fueled by Hollywood and politics, is what created this mess in the first place. Sex was intended, I believe, to be strictly private. It was not to be brought up on a stage or a screen to be scrutinized or ogled at by the masses. It is meant, properly understood, to be an intimate act in which a couple’s relationship would grow and possibly blossom in the rearing of children. We have drifted a long way from this, reducing sex to nothing more than a form of entertainment or a spectacle.
Given the public’s obsession with sex, it might be wise to reconsider the path that we are on. We could continue on this path, to attempt to get used to the abuses, perhaps even glorify them, as we have already seen in certain movies. Or, perhaps, we could do something radically different. We could choose to not glorify abuse and abnormal fantasies. Rather, we should recognize what the true purpose of sex is and embrace it in that way, to promote some degree of intimacy and privacy.
