Gore Vidal:Tertiary Curmudgeon

There is much to admire about Gore Vidal as a writer and commentator on the political excesses of our way-of-life; that is not to say, our culture. He lived through a lot of it, knew many players personally and was an astute, if somewhat narrow observer. Now ,unfortunately, he seems to have gone all silly on us. His defense of Roman Polanski's rape conviction as Hollywood style anti-Semitism and the victim as a Lolita style hooker, is crap. His cavalier dismissal of the loading of a kid with 'ludes prior to anal rape suggests the phrase 'tertiary curmudgeon' may now be appropriate when applied to Mr. Vidal. The kid was 13, the mark 45, and everybody knew about jail-bait even in those be-knighted climes. Give it up, Gore. Kids were off limit then, same as now. Same reasons. We don't care about Errol Flynn's nice legs getting him acquitted, either.

A short history lesson is indicated here. Rock 'n Roll, once the 'smutty' amusement of black adults, in juke joints and late night parties, morphed into mainstream when the market was ripe. Teen demographics regarding numbers and affluence and the vehicle for delivery, television, encouraged a handful of execs and promoters, rife with lechery and venality, to exploit them for fun and profit back in the fifties. Six decades later, the rift is so great between the generations that the typical 12 year old is bored with viewing the 40th 'facial'. (If you don't know what that is, ask your kid, if you dare to.)

Kids today have total access to the most depraved portrayal of grown-up life imaginable. Surf the web for an idle hour and you'll will find the collective efforts of a zillion pornographers pumping grown-up versions of grown-up actions that must fill the wide-eyed youngsters with a most garbled idea of what we do nonstop in our intimate lives. License without responsibility is a sure recipe for disaster in any aspect of life. This is particularly true when it kindles premature appetite in undeveloped youngsters trying to understand the world.

Porn is such a bad teacher for the young because, as most women but not enough men know, the porn mantra is always, "Women never say no!". This is the worst lesson for young girls who must be taught they are charged with the dispensing of favors and boys with saying "Please", or a hundred million versions thereof.

Kids learn about, take an interest in, and explore their sexuality in fits and starts, much as they approach life's other mysteries. This is where they differ from adults who are more focused, more driven and more singular in their desires and urges. That is why the young are always at a disadvantage and must be protected.

If the current adult generation is unable to get down in the trenches with the young and cobble together at least the beginning of honest and open sexual dialogue; at the very least they can make sure the erotic education the kids get elsewhere, is realistic. Maybe, someday, a generation of grown-ups will appear who have left childhood behind and are qualified for mature relationships. These folks will surely eschew personal youth worship and mimicry. This presupposes adults who don't lust after the young because they are mature people who have peers who are interesting, finished products without residual wishful desires left unsatisfied in adolescence.

If we sincerely want to purge society of predatory grown-ups lusting after or hustling the kiddies, a lot needs doing. A good start would be to let kids be kids. What happens between kids, then stays between kids. No Humbert Humberts, whisky priests or randy school m'arms anywhere around them. But how to do it? How to raise a new generation of mature adults who got the kid stuff out of their systems when they were themselves, kids. It won't be easy but we can't afford another badly brought up generation. It's got to stop.

Someplace in time an Opaque Curtain was lowered between humans, their sexual selves, the greater society and nature. I suspect it was about the time the revealed religions came to power in the West. Any progress in improving the situation will surely cause organized religions, all of them, to fight to the death to retain control of peoples' sex lives, especially of the young. It's been their stock in trade from the onset. The strong, tradition enhanced arm of Law Enforcement is equally problematic. But still, it's worth doing. Nature went to a lot of trouble to invest our lives with the potential for ecstasy. Show some gratitude!

Don't be surprised if the doomsters prove right and our way of life becomes threatened, to see an unholy alliance between a home grown 'Taliban' of righteous-do-gooders and the overseas variety joining forces to save us all from ourselves. Not sure that scenario isn't the most chilling prospect ever imagined.