Sarge Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 http://washtimes.com/national/20070308-123726-1902r.htm Most Americans think culture is becoming more immoral, and they view the media -- both entertainment and news -- as prime culprits, according to a new survey. If the media continue to "singularly promote" secular values while undermining orthodox faith and values, it will be very difficult to reverse America's moral decline, said the National Cultural Values Survey, released yesterday by the Culture and Media Institute (CMI) of the Media Research Center. "Americans who care about the nation's moral condition should insist that the media strive to more fairly represent all views, including those of the orthodox," the report stated. The survey of 2,000 American adults shows that the nation's culture war is grounded in disagreements over religious issues, such as God's role in life and whether religious belief is essential for a good and moral life, CMI Director Robert H. Knight said. About 31 percent of Americans, regardless of political stripe, are "orthodox" -- faithful Bible-believers who strive to live by "God's teachings and principles," see "a clear set of right and wrong behaviors" in every issue and believe government should be allowed to follow religious principles. Seventeen percent of Americans, again regardless of political affiliation, are at the "progressive" end of the religious spectrum -- many believe in God, but they strongly disagree that religion is "the most important factor" in forming their values or that religion is "the most essential ingredient" of a good, moral life. Progressives don't want the government to follow religious principles and don't believe that people "should always live by God's teachings and principles." The largest group of Americans -- 46 percent who described themselves as "independents" -- do not fully identify with either of the other groups. However, they tend to align with the orthodox regarding belief in God, sexual morality and spiritual issues. They reject, for instance, progressive efforts to replace "Merry Christmas" with "Happy Holidays" -- but side with progressives about using personal principles, not "God's teachings," to make certain moral decisions. The culture war, according to the CMI report, occurs because the "morally absolutist" orthodox Americans are fighting to uphold values such as honesty, personal responsibility, sexual restraint and "classical character virtues." Progressives, with their secular views and "situational ethics," collide with the orthodox over some of these issues, and both groups work to attract independents to their side, the report stated. This makes independents the main battlefield in the culture war, it added. Surprisingly, all three religious groups are likely to see the media as negative influences on America's moral culture. Separately, author and Hoover Institution fellow Dinesh D'Souza argues in his new book, "The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11," that the "cultural left" in America is the primary cause of Islamic anger toward America. The cultural left, which includes members of both major political parties and their allies in the press, academia and the nonprofit sector, has "fostered a decadent American culture that angers and repulses traditional societies, especially those in the Islamic world, that are being overwhelmed with this culture," Mr. D'Souza writes on his Web site. "What angers religious Muslims is not the American Constitution but the scandalous sexual mores they see on American movies and television," he writes. "What disgusts them are not free elections but the sights of hundreds of homosexuals kissing each other and taking marriage vows. The person that horrifies them the most is not [free market philosopher] John Locke but Hillary Clinton." One solution, Mr. D'Souza says, is for cultural conservatives to join with Muslims and others in condemning the global moral degeneracy that is produced by liberal values and work to halt the spread of such things. "As conservatives, we should export our America ... and stop exporting the cultural left's America," he says. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 paragraphs are your friend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 paragraphs are your friend Hey man, straight from the Moonies page Edit A little easier on the eyes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 thanks ""What angers religious Muslims is not the American Constitution but the scandalous sexual mores they see on American movies and television," he writes. "What disgusts them are not free elections but the sights of hundreds of homosexuals kissing each other and taking marriage vows. The person that horrifies them the most is not [free market philosopher] John Locke but Hillary Clinton."" Arab TV has the same garbage MTV has, but then again MTV sucks pretty bad, so maybe that's why they're pissed. Although, if that was the real reason the Netherlands would have been nuked by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCsportsfan53 Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 "What angers religious Muslims is not the American Constitution but the scandalous sexual mores they see on American movies and television," he writes. "What disgusts them are not free elections but the sights of hundreds of homosexuals kissing each other and taking marriage vows. The person that horrifies them the most is not [free market philosopher] John Locke but Hillary Clinton." This guy is brilliant, I think he's totally right. In fact, I think we should all convert to orthodox Islam so that they won't dislike us anymore. The paper this article is printed on isn't worthy of being used to wipe an ass :2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canethang 305 Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 This guy is brilliant, I think he's totally right. In fact, I think we should all convert to orthodox Islam so that they won't dislike us anymore. Didn't Osama's main mouthpiece say on one of those tapes Dubya needed to convert to Islam and repent his sins against Islam so he wouldn't burn in hell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfitzo53 Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Blame September 11th on gays and Hillary Clinton? No wonder you liked this article, Sarge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Pablo Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 I've read enough Dinesh D'Souza to know he's a joke. He says things with no backing. I'm sure that Israel and Iraq have absolutely nothing to do with Arab hatred for the US. Let's just pretend that folks in the Middle East didn't hate us in the 1970s when the Brady Bunch and Happy Days were the most risque programs on television. One of the things that I would think America prides itself on is freedom. If the non-secularists get the media to succumb to their doctrine of morality, how is anyone truly free? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCsportsfan53 Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Didn't Osama's main mouthpiece say on one of those tapes Dubya needed to convert to Islam and repent his sins against Islam so he wouldn't burn in hell? Exactly. So like this guy says, we should stop doing the things that FREDDOM allows us to CHOOSE to do because it upsets the Muslims. Freedom of Religion needs to be ammended IMMEDIATELY and the country needs to be force converted to Islam. It's the only possible answer to the completely black and white, right or wrong question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergasun Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Our media is driven by the single 13-24 demographics group... maybe if we stopped letting our children watch so much damn TV.... Seriously, if parents didn't by their kids the best music, didn't let them see new movies, and didn't let them have so much disposable income, the "media" would die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Two interesting facts: 1. Dinesh D'Sousa was the guy who gave Ann Coulter her first entry into the rightwing thinktank world. Ms. Coulter laughingly told me personally about how she was going to hypnotize him with her tall blondeness and climb right over him into the corridors of conservative power. And so she did. 2. I assume you already know that the "Media Research Center" that did this study is a far right propaganda joint funded by Richard Mellon Scaife. But perhaps you didn't know that the group's founder and president is Brent Bozell, the a former bigwig at the National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC) and the nephew of William F. Buckley, the dean of American conservatism? I'm sure this survey was "fair and balanced" *snicker* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 By the way, this crappy article is exactly why the Washington Times is not considered a reputable newspaper. Not because of the conservative bias of their editorial page, but because of this nonsense. They hype up a survey by a right wing outfit as though it were an objective scientific study, and then for a countervailing view.... they quote Dinesh D'Souza. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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