By Connie Kaplan, RegainAmerica Staff Writer, April 25, 2007

Once all of society's boundaries have fallen, what is left?

The road to cultural decay is lined with comedic intentions. Progressing down this road, one is kept laughing and distracted and entertained, so much so that, it is not until the end of the road is reached that one realizes that he is not after all happy with where the road has led.

Before I proceed further, let me assure you that I am by no means a “prude” or unusually “uptight” or a “rabid right winger” or any other perjorative names which may be springing to the reader’s lips by virtue of the above paragraph. I enjoy comedy, be it gentle, or ribald, as much as anyone. I do not cringe at the “F” word and often say it myself.

It’s just that we must wonder where we will ultimately wind up what with the incredibly laissez-faire cultural attitudes which are currently flowing throughout the America of today. Indeed, in 2007 America, the general consensus seems to be that of “Anything Goes”, with the only limitation seeming to be imposed, oddly enough, from the strain of exaggerated “political correctness” which currently grips the country.

“Laissez faire”?

Yes, we have turned 180 degrees from where we used to be – so much so that there is no other word in the English language for it.

In 1951, the publication of J.D. Salinger's novel “The Catcher in the Rye” caused a general uproar.  Among other things students were told not to read the book and many schools banned it outright.  Reasons given for this included the fact that the novel (told from the point of a view of a “non-conformist” teen-ager), included “offensive language” and adult themes such as “alcohol abuse” and “prostitution”.

Offensive language, alcohol abuse and prostitution.  What caused a public uproar in 1951 is these days just an afternoon re-run of “NYPD Blue”.

Let’s take a look at Lenny Bruce. For those of you too young to remember, Lenny Bruce was a revered and brilliant comedian who died of an apparent drug overdose in 1966.  He was 40 years old.

Bruce relied on an “in your face” style and used a lot of obscenity. Lots of obscenity.

In 1961, Bruce was arrested – not reprimanded, not cited, not fired – ARRESTED, for obscenity at a performance in San Francisco (not exactly a conservative mid-western town even in 1961) for, among other things, saying a naughty three-syllable word that begins with a “c” and ends with an “er”. He was acquitted after a jury trial but, his appearances were frequently monitored by law enforcement and future arrests ensued. He was also banned outright from several U.S. cities. In 1964, Bruce was tried and found guilty of obscenity. In 2003, Bruce received a posthumous pardon from the governor of New York.  And in 2004, Bruce was voted No. 3 of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time by Comedy Central behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin, both of whom cited Bruce as an influence upon them.

Jackie Mason. Also a revered comedian. Jackie Mason is 70 years young and has been performing as a comedian for almost that long. But back in 1962, Mason ran into problems when he allegedly gave Ed Sullian the finger on a live telecast of Sullivan’s weekly variety show (Mason claimed that Sullivan had misunderstood his gesture.)

The alleged “finger” cost Mason his contract with Sullivan.  He was thereafter barred from Sullivan's show, and a pall was cast over his career for some years to come.

Okay, granted that the America of the 50's and 60's was unquestionably what we would call today “uptight”.  Moralistic.  Principled.  Even (gasp!) Conservative.

But . . . . .was being uptight and conservative and moralistic and principled something that was necessarily bad. . . . .for America?

And then more years went by, and the flower children arrived and Woodstock and everything went all groovy.

In the new world of peace and love (and drugs, lots and lots of drugs) everyone started to mellow. Richard Pryor and George Carlin hit the road in the 70’s and 80’s and their sold-out shows featured PLENTY of material that made the comedians of the 50's and 60's sound almost "G" rated.  Attitudes had also softened with regard to"The Catcher in the Rye", and some schools began to let it be assigned reading for the upper grades.

And then thirty more years passed and we came to 2007.

In 2007, more than one political pundit has opined that the war on drugs has been lost.

In 2007, “The Catcher in the Rye” is now deemed an American classic and is required reading in a lot of schools.

If Lenny Bruce were alive in 2007, he would be commanding sell-outs at top venues like George Carlin and the late Richard Pryor.

In the year 2007, obscenities in comedy are no longer an issue – in fact, when it comes to comedy, or entertainment in general, ANYTHING GOES.

Witness the “F” word filled monologues of Eddie Murphy and Lewis Black.

Witness performer Andrew Dice Clay whose entire persona is that of an obscenity spouting mysoginist.

Witness Shock Jock Howard Stern who, in 2007, landed as No. 7 on the Forbes 100 Richest Celebrities list with 302 million dollars including a 225 million dollar bonus.

That would be the Howard Stern whose radio and TV broadcasts, books, movies run the gamut between the merely scatological and the hauntingly depraved. Stern and his producers have been candid about finding no person or topic off limits and, indeed have fearlessly lampooned perhaps the last segment of society marginally protected by the boundaries of simple human decency, that is to say, the mentally and physically disabled. (Oddly enough, the “politically correct” zealots appear to have been relatively silent when it comes to Stern and his shows.)

In the year 2007, the entertainment industry features such luminaries as Howard Stern and the moguls that run the “gangsta” and “rap” music world wherein the various multi-millionaire “artists” rap about violence towards women and law enforcement and other hateful things. The obscenities that once caused Lenny Bruce to be arrested are no longer shocking, simply part of the general scene – along with the rappers’ use of the reprehensible “n” word, the “h” word and the “b” word.

The America of 2007 has obviously rejected the rigid, and admittedly prudish standards of America of the 1950’s and 1960’s with regard to issues such as obscenity and what is permissible in the field of entertainment.

And that’s fine.

But where are going with this?

How much farther can we go down before we hit rock bottom?

Once EVERYTHING becomes acceptable and the boundaries cease to be – so too, will our society.

Rap star Cameron Giles, known professionally as “Cam’ron” or “Killa Cam”, and a multi-millionaire who is idolized by millions of young people, got shot in front of members of his entourage two years ago – but to this day neither he, nor anyone in his entourage, have cooperated with police.

When asked why, Giles replied “Because with the type of business I’m in, it would definitely hurt my business. And the way that I was raised, I just don’t do that. I was raised differently, not to tell. . . .[and] it’s also a code of ethics.”

When asked if there is any situation where he thinks it is okay to talk to the police, Giles replies “Yeah, definitely. Say ‘Hello, how you feel, everything alright? Period.’”

Say goodnight, Gracie.

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