Years ago when Playboy first hit the news stands those found with the rag in their possession used the canard that they bought it for the articles and they hardly ever looked at the pictures; if you believe that, not that anyone ever did, you probably didn't have the cash to buy a copy because you were spending all your money on lake front property out in the middle of the Arizona desert.
Hugh Hefner was a genius, or maybe just a great con-man, at raising pornography to the level of acceptability to the main stream of the culture. Where you use to find National Geographic on the coffee table, Hefner was able to convince everyone Playboy was suppose to replaced it. Women were buying it as a birthday presents for their husbands and saw it as a way to build their sexual relationship with their husbands and not as a slut-sheet that demeaned women. I am not sure who got liberated with that move.
Whether or not you found Playboy to be a magazine filled with great articles or not, is not the question that needs to be dealt with. The real issue here is why someone like Hefner, with an obvious talent to get a message to the masses, would choose to use his talents to appeal to the purulent interest of humankind instead of furthering causes that would bring benefit to the human race. Please don't post that you think Playboy has benefited man. Lets just assume that Playboy is just a trash rag and nothing more; just for the sake of argument.
Instead of dwelling on the negative with a litany of all the dirt bags who have become rich and famous by appealing to the baser elements of man I would like to close with a top ten list of things that need to be accomplished that would benefit all men everywhere for all time.
10. Put government on the side of the people;not a government that is responsive to special interest groups with big pockets. I put this at number 10 because I don't see much hope in government or politicians; otherwise this isn't going to happen,ever. Smart people don't put their trust in government. Politicians are only responsive to what we demand, they will never do the right thing if left on their own.
9. Make politicians responsible for their decisions; both criminally and civilly. No way should a politician be able to get away with activity that would put the average Joe behind bars.
8. Someone needs to start a movement to convince the masses that personal responsibility pays bigger dividends than government welfare. When has government ever preformed on its promises?
7. Where is the magazine "Popular Civility?" Who is the Hugh Hefner that can make civility popular again? Our culture is not only rude, it is crude.
6. We have become a society of fear; we are afraid of what we eat, what we drink, where we live, our neighbors,our cars, our kids, our environment, and almost anything else you can name. What happened to virtues like bravery? Where is the person who can inspire the public to regain their confidence to live without fear?
5. What happen to virtues like pride and personal responsibility? When did we loose the shame of taking a handout? Who is that can make eating beans more respectable than standing in a welfare line?
4. When will someone put meaning back into words. Our language is now filled with euphemisms to take the sting out of reality. A bum/hobo is now a homeless person. There was a time when a bum was honest enough to admit what he is, a bum. Today a homeless person is a product of society and has the right to defecate on the street with impunity. Words have meaning for a reason; so that we can understand who we are.
3. Years ago in a movie "Dirty Harry" said a most profound thing; "a man has to know his limitations." Mankind needs to come to grips with his limitations; we do not have the wisdom to make everything right. There will always be pain, suffering and most of it will be caused by man against man hate, greed, and envy. Where is the person that can teach us what we really are, teach us what our real limitation are; depraved and without conscience.With that truth in mind we might decide to change who we are.
2.Who can teach us about priorities and how to live by them? We are a society that demands government healthcare because it is too expensive; but we don't have second thoughts about spending $130 a month on a cell phone, $60 a month for internet connection and over $100 for cable TV service. I use think this was because we have become an entitlement society, and we are but; I really believe we need to learn how to prioritize our lives first.
1. What happen to truth? The reality that 2 + 2 = 4. Not only do we not accept the reality that there is truth, we have no truth in and of ourselves. When was the last time you felt comfortable in trusting someone to tell you the truth? When is the last time you listen to the news and believed what the commentator said? Politicians? Lets don't even go there, they have been lying for centuries. It has gotten so bad most of us shouldn't be trusting ourselves. The truth is that most people will lie when telling the truth is easier.
That's my list and I am sticking to it. We are a culture that is in trouble and we need people who will stand in the gap and promote goodness and mercy; and at the same time refuse to capitulate or tolerate anything less. We have given us our resolve to demand what is right and to refuse to accept what is wrong. We need a Hugh Hefner who knows the difference between right and wrong, truth and lies; and is willing to use his/her talents to promote it.
