Spend any evening watching TV and you'll hear things that used to be considered TMI - Too much information. Is nothing sacred anymore?Do we have no secrets?
When I was growing up, which was not long after dinosaurs roamed the earth, there would have been a collective gasp, a public uprising, and possibly a Congressional investigation if TV stations (there were only three of them) aired some of the commercials we see today. But today's society has become a tell-all world where things like erectile dysfunction, birth control, and genital herpes are part of every day TV programming. Is it just me or do the ads for Cialis seem just a bit voyeuristic? It's clear these two middle aged folks are headed for some hot sex, but wait...the faucet erupts (how symbolic is that!). But we know they'll get back to "business" when the time is right..wink, wink. As a kid growing up in the 50's and 60's I can't even begin to fathom the idea of sitting through a commercial like that with my parents in the same room. Of course the one with those wild and crazy middle aged guys jamming to Viva Viagra is just stupid and deserves no further reference.
If you want to take a walk down memory lane and see how things have changed, consider this. I remember sitcoms like the Dick Van Dyke show (circa 1961) where Rob and Laura, the main characters, slept in separate twin beds even though they were married. At that time, to show a man and a woman in the same bed, was beyond the boundaries of decency and good taste. My husband, who is a year older than I am, clearly remembers when commercials for the Platex Living Bra started to show up on TV. As an adolescent boy, this was exciting stuff and almost as good as National Geographic pictures of bare breasted tribal women.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a shriveled up old prune and I think that on some level, all this openness can be a healthy thing. But I have to wonder what we will define as acceptable limits of decency and good taste in the future. Twenty years ago, there was no way a commercial like the one for the latest Miracle Bra would have made it to the airwaves. Now, if you've ever seen the annual lingerie show by Victoria's Secret, you'll know that not much is secret anymore. Talking so openly about something as personal as erectile dysfunction was simply unheard of. Now we have former Senators and professional athletes sharing their stories with us any time of the day or night. Call me crazy, but I really don't need to know that sort of thing about Bob Dole or anyone else for that matter. I guess it's all relative though. My mother-in-law blames the demise of mankind on Dr. Ruth, that spunky little doctor who first started encouraging us all to talk openly about sex.
I suppose it's all of this is part of any societal evolution and as the walls of inhibition fall and social mores shift, behaviors change. It happens to every generation. My grandparents were shocked by the gyrations of Elvis. My parents saw things change with the counter culture of the 60's and again with the 70's. I suppose it's my turn now to be dismayed by what I see around me. As I look at the faces of the children coming up in today's world, though, I fear for their innocence. And I can't help but wonder where we are all headed as a society. Where do we go from here when the actions of a sitting President can redefine the definition of sex and intimacy has become it's own multi-billion dollar industry?
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Carol, I agree! When Bob Dole went on TV as the poster guy for erectile disfunction, that was enough for me!
Hi Constance,
How are things in H'ville! I think the definition of a traditional family is definately being re-worked. But, if things keep going the way they have been, we may see a return to your great-grandmother's days when extended families continued to live together. Children already live at home longer than they used to and if the housing market doesn't straighten out, we may all be in one big house again!
But to answer your question about real estate on golf courses....it really comes down to price these days. I can't say that homes on golf courses are selling any faster or slower than houses that aren't. Typically homes like that are in a higher price bracket and therefore, are on the market longer. We have a home for sale that sits right on the golf course, with year round mountain views, across the street from the Horsepasture river. But at $579,900, there haven't been a lot of lookers.