One of the major issues of modern society is the trend, pointed out by this post on The Other McCain, to treat any appetite, specifically any sexual appetite, as sacred. From bizarre heterosexual fetishes, to homosexuality, to the elimination of age of consent laws – if you desire to do it, apparently it’s your human right to do it. The only caveat currently being preserved by society is the requirement for “consent” – but as the crusades by sex offenders like the Free Kate movement illustrates, the boundary of “consent” is very rapidly going to become a blurred line, and then likely to be obliterated entirely so that creepy old men can “marry” eight-year-olds, the way they do in Islamic nations.
It’s a natural consequence of the, “If it feels good (for me, at this moment right now), then do it!” mentality. Future consequences, and ripple-effect consequences in the broader society, not only must not be considered, but any question of considering those is “hate!”
It is an utterly ridiculous position to take, of course, and one that is not applied consistently – how could it be? Try applying the measure of “If a person desires to do that, it’s their right to do that, and only an intolerant hateful bigot would criticize them for doing that!” mentality to another sin: gluttony. I assure you, every overweight person has an innate, natural desire to eat. And yet instead of organizing society in a futile attempt to get rid of the negative consequences of unrestrained appetite for food, the leaders of society focus on restraining that natural appetite into healthy channels* – eating healthily rather than encouraging people in their desire to binge on beer, donuts, and pizza. Beer, donuts, pizza, etc., all taste very good and give a great deal of pleasure – in the moment. But the downstream effects of being a glutton are quite negative for the individual, and that has negative ripple effects throughout society in turn.
(*Note I didn’t say that they know what they’re talking about. Mostly they’re spouting ridiculous nonsense that is contradicted by actual biochemistry. “Fat free” is NOT healthy, and neither are refined carbs like all that pasta and whole grain bread they keep pushing. But that’s beside the current point – at least they’re trying. I’m sure most of them are sincere. They’re just sincerely incorrect.)
Indeed, there’s another human appetite that gets short shrift in society – anger. Who doesn’t enjoy a good, self-righteous, towering rage? But people who over-indulge that vice become internet trolls, race hucksters, or feminists. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) Anger management is a good thing, right? But isn’t “anger management” the art of controlling one’s innate desire to indulge in rage and violence? “You’re repressed! You’ve got hang-ups, man! Let it all hang out!” Um, no. Society does not arrange itself in an attempt to twist reality into a form in which negative effects of anger will be eliminated.
The fundamental lie at the bottom of this is an old one: do whatever you want, and you’ll be happy. “Happiness lies in getting everything you desire.” How many people have fallen for that, and become incredibly unhappy, even after achieving what they thought would make them happy? The answer has been around for just as long: it’s not about getting whatever you want. It’s about wanting the right things, so that you can be happy even in the midst of struggling to achieve them – and when you do finally overcome the challenges, you find that the destination was everything that was promised.
But wanting the right things is difficult. You have to consider carefully which things are right; sometimes it can be hard to tell. But as far as the basic appetites of the human animal go, well, people have been working on that for a long time, and the answers are there. They’re just not easy. And for some people – the homosexual, the pedophile, the fetishist, the glutton, the hot-tempered – it’s harder than for others. But that’s never an excuse to stop trying. The function of the ideal is to inspire those who fall short to keep reaching. Eliminating the ideal will not magically grant to those who are falling short the satisfaction of having overcome difficulty and achieved a worthwhile state of self-control. The modern attempt to do so is like having a race, and then giving everyone a first prize medal before they’ve barely started running – even to the guy sitting on a park bench at the starting line!
Something Fishy 