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vided ever more thrill ing and risqué
romance and love stories (though
many would be considered tame by
modero standards).
But the looser life-styles adopted
by growing numbers were not with–
out grave social conseq uences.
A startl ing fu ll-page advertise–
ment in ext ra large type in a Jead–
ing U.S. magazine in 1930 by the
Met ropolitan Li fe lnsurance Com–
pany warned : "Mank ind's most
dangerous enemy is syphil is.... l t
is estimated ... one out of
ten ... in the United States and
Canada have or at sorne time have
had syphilis"
(Collier's,
J une 28,
1930, page 5).
Many were ignorant that syphi lis
was "the great imitator." T he ki ller
disease mimicked many other dis–
eases of the skin, heart, eyes, lu ngs
and nervous system. In certain gen–
eral hospitals, said the
Co/lier's
ad,
as high as 30 percent of all patients
were found to be sutfer ing di rectly
or indirectly from syphilis.
But this plague was only an
int roduction to greater social dis–
ease epidemics to come in following
decades.
The Missing Morality Link
1n the 1930s economic depression
descended on the world . T he Great
Deprcssion was caused by human
greed for profits at the expense of
others, for gain beyond that which
was honestly produced and earned.
World War
li
intervened and
temporarily lifted sorne nations
from economic depression. But the
curse of war ri pped men from their
families, and wives for the firs t
time in great numbers flocked to
work outside the home to aid the
war elfort. A post World War )(
pattern was set for unprecedented
numbers of mothers to leave their
homes and children for jobs and
careers, leaving more and more
children lacking in proper maternal
instruction and discipline.
In 1948 and 1953, Alfred Kinsey
created a wi d e stir when he
revealed his stud ies of the sexual
behavior of American males and
females. These studies, based on
thousands of personal interviews,
showed wide variation existed in
human sexual behavior. But what
many took it to mean was since so
many are doing t raditionaJly for-
February 1984
bidden sexual acts, one need not
fcel abnormal if engaging in them.
By the 1940s, Jeaders of public
educat ion in many schools in the
West were highly influenced by the
teachings of John Dewey. Dewey,
himself influenced by evolutionary
biology and psychological thought,
rejected the idea of "ethical abso–
lutes." He taught modero man could
find meaning and goals in life
through scientific experimentation
and human experience, that we did
not need to look to past experience.
In addition, Sigmund Freud's
Smid, University of Southern Cali–
fornia chancellor, said befare a
gathering in Pasadena, California,
"Today we are paying for support
of schools which act ... as if there
were no God."
In the September 24, 1963 issue
of the mass-circulation American
magazine
Look.
the edi tors pub–
lished the results of their extensive
research on American morali ty.
They concluded:
" Rarely will two Americans
agree on who is immoral or what is
the moral thing todo. We are adrift
DIVORCE RATE
&
ILLEGmMATEBIRTHS IN THEU.S.
1.0
20cn
J:
li:
18
iii
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..J
16
e(
u.
o
....
14
~
o
a:
12
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e(
en
10
e(
tn
l:
8
~
iii
w
6
!e
~
4
E
~
_,
2
::!
YEAR1930 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 8082
+
Source:
World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1983.
*
Source: Netionel Center for Heelth Stetistics.
ideas that physical or corporal pun–
ishment may result in damaging
sexual or neurotic feelings had
much influence in chi ld rearing
theory. T he writings of Benjamín
Spock encouraged millions of par–
ents to allow more permissive
behavior in their chi ldren (which
writings Mr. Spock recently has
been reconsidering).
·
Alarming Moral Vacuum
Is it any wonder that by the late
1950s juvenile cr ime, family break–
down, desertion, illegitimacy, vene–
real disease, disrespect for authori–
ty and lack of sense of responsibili–
ty for one's actions mounted?
In 1959, Rufus B. von Klein-
without answers. . . . No single
author ity rules our conduct. ...
We are free to be prejudiced or
promiscuous, to cheat or chisel."
T he
Look
editors said the Uni ted
States was in the midst of a moral
crisis because many no Ionger were
certain of what is r ight and what is
wrong.
Churc hmen of that decade also
confessed that religion in general
had been overcome with permis–
siveness. "We churchmen a re
gifted at turning wine into
water- watering down rel igion,"
said Yale's Chaplain Henry Sloan
Coffin.
The mid-1960s saw the birth of
situation ethics, where various lib-
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