My, how things have changed!(decline of modern society) (Column) (Brief Article)

• Author: Kreyche, Gerald F.

THE FRENCH have a saying that "The more things change, the more they remain the same." Yet, in our personal and everyday world, things do change--some for the best, some for the worse. For example, aging is irreversible and brings with it the illnesses waiting in the wings, but benefits often attend this phenomenon as well. Generally, we become more understanding and patient.

Then, too, as the saying goes, if you aren't a liberal by the age of 21, there is something wrong with your heart. However, if you aren't a conservative by the age of 30, there is something wrong with your head.

Many popular songs of an era ago virtually have been put under lock and key. Much of this repression was caused by political correctness, an increase in crime, or feminist sensitivities. A once popular dance song, "My Wild Irish Rose," is passe as its lyrics express the desire to "take the bloom off my Wild Irish Rose." The Rosemary Clooney rendition of "C'monna My House" is another example, as she sings of bribing someone (a child?) by saying, "I'm gonna give you candy . . . and I love your hair." Nowadays, this might be regarded as an invitation to introducing one to crack or suggesting pedophiliac intentions. For obvious reasons, Arthur Godfrey's "I Don't Want Her, You Can Have Her, She's Too Fat for Me" would be hard-pressed to be accepted today. The same would apply to "Mr. Five by Five" in our diet-conscious society.

Somehow, though, despite the protest of sensitivity violation in such songs, gangsta rap, which can extol cop killing or women beatings or rape, continues to capture a significant share of the music market. A knock-down discussion about this among former director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy William Bennett and issue ally C. DeLores Tucker, chairwoman of the National Political Congress of Black Women, and executives from the Time-Warner music companies was published in the June 12, 1995, issue of The New Yorker. The latter appealed to the right of free speech and piously affirmed that they had no right to serve as censors when it came to offensive lyrics. Bennett and Tucker charged that such music promoted violence, especially in society's young people. Gangsta rap continues, apparently thriving on the publicity.

On a less earth-shaking topic, it used to be that the waiting room in a doctor's office had a picture of a capped and uniformed nurse holding her finger to pursed lips. The message intended was that quiet should...