The Case for Shame
I spent several long hours on the road yesterday, driving to a pre-construction meeting some 300 miles from my office to a job site near the southeast corner of Arizona bordering New (and old) Mexico. Bill Bennett, Laura Ingraham, Rush and Hannity kept me company. As I drove, I wondered how Dave Carter manages to do this every day. The back gets stiff, the legs get restless and the mind drifts. If it weren’t for those 44 oz. Diet Dews keeping me alert (and beckoning the occasional stop), I’d probably seize up or fall asleep and drive off the road.
Yesterday’s conservative topic du jour was the “Romney Kills Woman With Cancer” advertisement. All agreed that this was a serially dishonest, slanderous, horrific attack; a low blow of unfathomable depth. If such an allegation were made during our founders’ day, the sides would pick seconds and decide between swords or pistols. But that is not what we do today. So the real question of the day was, what do we do? What should the reaction be to this shocking affront?
Someone suggested marching Ann Romney in front of the cameras to counter by cooing about Mitt’s abiding comfort during her own bout with cancer. An inside campaign spokeswoman suggested that if the stricken woman had lived in Massachusetts, she would have had insurance (this particular comment nearly caused mass seizures among the talking heads).
There was no consensus; should we aggressively counter this slander or ignore it? Does addressing it serve the opponent’s purpose and deflect the political conversation away from Obama’s record? Does ignoring it somehow validate the claims? There was enough consternation among the talkerati to fill the new Cowboy Stadium.
And then I stumbled on the answer: bring back shame.
Shame – you remember it, right? Shame was the general contempt heaped upon those who lacked judgment, made poor choices or lacked character. Remember when you were a kid and the junior high school assistant principal dished out giant portions of it every day? “Is that how your parents taught you to act? You should be ashamed of yourself.”
We used to get it all the time. Uncle Bill, who could never keep a job, showed up once or twice a year with a big smile to drink and party, but it always ended in whispered requests for help (that is, money), which was given, but not nearly enough. Silent, furrowed brows of shame were cast upon him, but the words were never said.
Addictions were shameful. Divorce – a shame. Children out of wedlock? A shame. Public assistance and unemployment – a shame.
There was lots of shame going around in those days. Everyone saw it and felt it. It was even a little shameful to be poor, which we were, but this shame could be compensated for with hard work. Any work was good work. Dirt -- on clothes, under fingernails, behind ears -- was shameful unless earned in a hard day’s work. Life, even among those of us struggling to get by, who lived in the projects or in a cold flat tenement, was about the maintenance of pride and dignity -- and avoiding shame. We were guided by a simple rule: always do the best you can and you will never be ashamed.
In the past 50 years, the left has been attempting to purge shame from American life. There is no better evidence of this than this latest anti-Romney ad. So let’s point out the obvious regarding this ad: It is shameful. Those who had a hand in it are worthy of contempt. They showed a reckless lack of good judgment. They showed a complete lack of character. What kind of people would assemble such an egregious cascade of lies and slander? Are these the kinds of people you want at the wheel of federal authority?
- Comment (27)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (3)
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
Comments:
Jul '11
Re: The Case for Shame
Perfect Doug. You have your finger on the the pulse of the Democrat progressive leadership. Shame is a powerful emotion and only sociopaths and people with personality disorders cannot feel it. Sadly, those are the folks in charge now.
Jun '12
Re: The Case for Shame
I think your prescription is correct, but it will be hard to implement. The purge of shame has been very wide ranging, the schools, the arts, and much of the medical establishment will resist the reintroduction of shame. Like fear, when properly placed, shame is a wonderful tool to keep the individual in check.
Jul '11
Re: The Case for Shame
SWBart, you are right in the resistance to implementing it(including touchy feeley fruit loop doctors ) but without shame society breaks down. Maybe a national shame in movement. What do we want, Shame. When do we want it, Now!
May '10
Re: The Case for Shame
Serious question: Do you think anyone other than the Obama acolytes and other strains of True Believers actually believes anything that comes out of this administration? They have lied so blatantly so often I cannot understand why anyone pays attention.
May '10
Re: The Case for Shame
Romney should use this line of attack. In person, in ads, and in the debates. In essence he would be shaming Obama. A modern-day "have you no sense of decency, sir?"
Shame, while not fun, can be a powerful force to encourage good and to keep people accountable. I was born in the 60's. My birth mother came to a tiny town across the state from where she lived and gave birth to me in a Catholic hospital. She then put me up for adoption through Catholic Family Services. Maybe she would do the same today. But I bet the shame heaped upon unwed mothers in that era played a role in her doing the right thing. And I will be forever grateful that I was not raised by a single mom with serial live-in boyfriends.
You are right. We need more shame today. And we can start with shaming Barack Obama.
Aug '11
Re: The Case for Shame
Rush claims that the left is so laser beam focussed on keeping power that anything goes. Lies can be justified and maintained if there is the slightest hint of truth or deniability. Campaign finance laws can be finessed. And if if you get caught, just find a sympathetic judge to throw out the case or challenge the law. In the meantime, time flies and you're back in power! Dirty? Yes. But sometimes effective. I say call them out for their shameful behavior. Romney doesn't have to do it personally. Surrogates can. But hit back. Dismiss the charges quickly, then ask the question: are people this unethical, underhanded and dishonest the ones you want running our country?
Aug '11
Re: The Case for Shame
concerned citizen
And I will be forever grateful that I was not raised by a single mom with serial live-in boyfriends.
The right thing is not always the easiest thing, the most convenient or the least expensive or painful. It can be hard. Giving up a child - what a sacrifice! People with character know that it's not just about them and that sometimes we are faced with a Hobson's choice. But still, there is the right decision and the selfish decision. Government interference in these debates is not helpful. My sister was conceived out of wedlock while my parents were teens. They married when my father turned 18 and could consent. They remained married for 49 years interrupted by my mother's death. I was born 12 months after my sister. My father was then 19, my mother 20. Families like ours are rare today, non-existent even. Abortion and hyperextended adolescence have changed everything. Now children remain on a parents health insurance until 27. College grads find little opportunity. Adulthood has been permanently deferred.
Edited on August 10, 2012 at 10:50pmAug '11
Re: The Case for Shame
Here's to a big serving of SHAME to Huntsman for crashing the Dems party!
May '10
Re: The Case for Shame
It looks like both Romney and the American Crossroads SuperPAC are doing this. Yes!
Mar '12
Re: The Case for Shame
The Dems are pathological liars. They have lied about so many things that they are no longer able to recognize the lie when they utter it. They are however able to recognize the politically correct position whenever they see / hear / feel it.
God save us from the Democrats, hopefully at the next national election.
Apr '11
Re: The Case for Shame
Doug: "What kind of people would assemble such an egregious cascade of lies and slander? Are these the kinds of people you want at the wheel of federal authority?"
They're already at the wheels, of course. Witness one Atty Gen. Holder...speaking, oddly enough, even detailing the individuals killed, at the memorial for the victims of the Sikh temple shooting.
Brian Terry, meanwhile, is already being forgotten. A shame.
Edited on August 11, 2012 at 12:03amFeb '12
Re: The Case for Shame
That nun sure looks familiar. How did one little old nun teach a class of 50 kids and never raise a hand to any of us? Shame. The thought that I would do something that would bring shame on me and my family was a strong inhibitor. Shame gives you a conscience. When done properly it only takes one episode of shaming to prevent you from repeating a bad behavior. Just watching a classmate get the shame treatment worked. The nuns were masters of it, and I am grateful for the lessons they instilled.
May '11
Re: The Case for Shame
Donald Todd: The Dems are pathological liars. They have lied about so many things that they are no longer able to recognize the lie when they utter it. They are however able to recognize the politically correct position whenever they see / hear / feel it.
God save us from the Democrats, hopefully at the next national election. · 43 minutes ago
They say the EXACT same thing about Republicans/Conservatives.
Apr '12
Re: The Case for Shame
Do left wing supporters even understand the concept of shame? They like to pull down the barriers such as using the F bomb in previously prestigious magazines like the New Yorker, as Emily posted earlier.
So what is wrong with a little "spin" to create a narrative about Romney. See how easy that is to say? What do they teach at journalism school.
it was good to see that many journalists did actually get fact checkers to look at the story and even though it must have been awful to point out the lie, they did. Hurray for them.
I may even watch Piers Morgan tonight.
Mar '11
Re: The Case for Shame
Actually, I don't think they're trying to eliminate shame as much as they're turning it on it's head. They are, as the Bible put it, substituting vice for virtue, and virtue for vice. The left wants shame. But they want to define what shame is. And if they win, things like religious faith will be shameful. We're already seeing this. Oppose redefining marriage? Shame on you. You're a H8ter. Oppose growth of government? Shame on you. Why do you want to let your fellow citizens suffer when government dollars could help.
Mar '11
Re: The Case for Shame
Doug Kimball
Here's to a big serving of SHAME to Huntsman for crashing the Dems party!
· 1 hour ago
Huntsman's daughter says he isn't speaking there. Mike Flynn at Breitbart might have egg on his face on this one.
Feb '12
Re: The Case for Shame
How do you implement shame into a culture where Snooki and Kim Kardashian are now rolemodels, Bill Mahr is funny(?), and a president can engage in intimate sexual behavior in the oval office of the White House with someone who is not his wife with little consequence?
May '10
Re: The Case for Shame
Exactly, Douglas. It is the nature of evil to assume the form of good. Liberalism is a corrupt moral system. It is far worse than merely a strategy of government.
Apr '12
Re: The Case for Shame
I think that's Mother Angelica, founder of EWTN-- the one that "talked" a bunch of flippin' Mafia big-wigs into doing the physical labor, and buying all the supplies, to make a Marian shrine at her first chapter house. (from memory-- she didn't actually say that's what they were, but the implication was highly amusing)
These days, things like criminals doing good deeds or former adulterers donating to marriage preservation groups is considered the one sin that is still recognized-- hypocrisy.
Aug '12
Re: The Case for Shame
I'll third what Douglas said. No shame in putting carbon credits ahead of people. No shame in calling an unborn baby a fetus and treating him as some sort of "growth".
The picture of the nun reminded me of Dana Carvey's SNL Church Lady. She was a useful character to twist shame, blaming satan on something people should be held responsible. She was cool when she could dance or play the drums, and the penalty for an offense was her smirk (and a wink).