2008-09-21
Freedom anyone?
The longer I live in the Midwest, the more I appreciate Hugh Hefner. He apparently started the playboy thing precisely to get rid of his own puritan upbringing; he has also been very vocal in showing that puritanism is as prevalent on the left (especially withing feminism and identity politics) as on the right. Indeed I was reminded of this last week with the editorial of the New York Times against an effort by many college presidents to discuss the lowering of the drinking age. No matter how one cuts it, armed or not with studies and statistics, it is always very sad to see a supposedly liberal newspaper advocate removing the freedom of adults. Indeed, this is what the legal constraint on drinking age is all about. Why can't adult males and females be given the responsibility of choosing when and how to drink---and accept the responsibility that comes with that freedom? After all, as it is commonly mentioned, those same people are considered adults when it comes to paying taxes, going to war, voting, reproductive choice, owning automatic guns---and they can even be put to death for serious crimes. Are any of these rights, responsibilities, and penalties lighter than drinking? Of course not. So let's stop this nonsense and acknowledge that maintaining the drinking age at 21 is nothing more than perpetuating a puritan, prohibitionist stance that has certainly failed as a means to prevent drinking by young adults---binge or otherwise.
As a university professor myself, I completely understand the college presidents who want to engage the nation in a debate about this topic. Anyone who teaches undergraduates these days, notices that these young adults are so very often not treated as such---which leads obviously to a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is about time that eighteen year-olds be treated as adults, with all the freedom and responsibility that we grant our (older) selves.
Mind you, it is true that when it comes to drinking, the USA is not at all the land of the free, even for adults older than 21. While adults (18 year-olds included) have the right to carry all sorts of loaded guns in cities, even recently with much support from the Democratic party, I am still not free to buy beer in a supermarket on Sunday in Indiana---as in many other states in the US. Freedom fries, anyone?
In the meantime, on this quiet Sunday evening, the city zen is on the pleasure of a slowly sipped Burgundy and Billie Holiday (below): "ain't nobody's business if I do"...
As a university professor myself, I completely understand the college presidents who want to engage the nation in a debate about this topic. Anyone who teaches undergraduates these days, notices that these young adults are so very often not treated as such---which leads obviously to a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is about time that eighteen year-olds be treated as adults, with all the freedom and responsibility that we grant our (older) selves.
Mind you, it is true that when it comes to drinking, the USA is not at all the land of the free, even for adults older than 21. While adults (18 year-olds included) have the right to carry all sorts of loaded guns in cities, even recently with much support from the Democratic party, I am still not free to buy beer in a supermarket on Sunday in Indiana---as in many other states in the US. Freedom fries, anyone?
In the meantime, on this quiet Sunday evening, the city zen is on the pleasure of a slowly sipped Burgundy and Billie Holiday (below): "ain't nobody's business if I do"...
Labels: billie holiday, freedom, puritanism
2007-08-30
Sexcrime
This whole thing about Larry Craig's sexcrime (see e.g. Men’s Room Chronicles - New York Times) makes me feel very alien in the US. It is true that I never understood why walls in US restrooms do not go all the way to the ground and doors have gaps---that lack of privacy has always annoyed me, as well as other Europeans from non-puritan countries living in the US. But this whole Larry Craig thing, besides being a learning experience into what goes on in restrooms, makes me see now how this annoying lack of privacy in public restrooms actually leads to the sordid behavior that it was probably designed to prevent in the first place. The semiotics of foot and hand signals is fascinating... And I used to think that it was just some fat guy sticking his foot in my stall for lack of space in their quarters, now I know better---dude get your foot out of my space!
But what really makes me feel very alien in the US is that I do not hear anyone question why in the hell are police officers hanging out in restrooms to catch this sort of activity? Aren't there better ways to spend tax payers money? Aren't there more important crime-prevention needs to attend to? I mean, sure, I'd prefer this stuff not to happen in public restrooms, but it seems to occur, after all, between consenting adults. I don't know, the whole thing is very sordid, both for the actions themselves, but also because of what is effectively a sexpolice force that could be used for doing more useful things. Ultimately, are they also going to police public workplaces where sex occurs---where it is illicit by the public nature of those places? TV is full of examples of people having sex in hospitals (i.e. Scrubs), law offices (i.e. Ally Mcbeal), universities, etc. Is the sexpolice only in public restrooms because they are same-sex public spaces?
Where have all the American Libertarians gone? In the meantime, here is some sexcrime:
But what really makes me feel very alien in the US is that I do not hear anyone question why in the hell are police officers hanging out in restrooms to catch this sort of activity? Aren't there better ways to spend tax payers money? Aren't there more important crime-prevention needs to attend to? I mean, sure, I'd prefer this stuff not to happen in public restrooms, but it seems to occur, after all, between consenting adults. I don't know, the whole thing is very sordid, both for the actions themselves, but also because of what is effectively a sexpolice force that could be used for doing more useful things. Ultimately, are they also going to police public workplaces where sex occurs---where it is illicit by the public nature of those places? TV is full of examples of people having sex in hospitals (i.e. Scrubs), law offices (i.e. Ally Mcbeal), universities, etc. Is the sexpolice only in public restrooms because they are same-sex public spaces?
Where have all the American Libertarians gone? In the meantime, here is some sexcrime:
The Eurythmics - Sexcrime (1984)
Labels: police, puritanism, sexcrime
