As a college student, I have to say, one of the most intriguing behaviors I have noticed among my comrades is their rather libertarian philosophy. By libertarian, I mean specifically the social ethos that preaches, “If it feels good, do it.” I am curious: Where did this philosophy come from? I think past generations bullied people who lived by the creed we hold dear; in fact, they created a name for them: hippies. And what were the hippies but a group of cultural rebels, openly revolting against the conservative Christian traditions and norms of their parents with a jovial hedonism? It seems, then, our most cherished philosophy blossomed from the seeds of rebellion. What can account for this pattern?
Martin Luther once equated human nature to being like a drunken peasant trying to sit straight on a horse. The peasant slumps over from side to side, unable to keep a fixed position; as soon as he falls on one side of the horse, someone sets him upright only to see him fall on the other side. In the illustration, we are the drunken peasant, easily slipping from one extreme behavior to the other, one extreme philosophy to the other, never able to maintain a steady course between the two. Once we slip into a harmful behavior or habit, we overcompensate in our correction and fall into another harmful pattern of behavior, just as the peasant seesaws from one side of the horse to the other.
I find this insight to be truly illuminating in trying to understand how our laissez-faire social ethics originated. If all of human history is like a Newton’s cradle, then it makes sense to think this current libertarianism is a reaction to the previous fascism. I do not mean political fascism, but social and sexual fascism: the kind that forbids more forms of entertainment and leisure than it accepts. I use the term “fascism” loosely. It makes sense to think a child who was scolded and punished for immorality would, in turn, be a much more affirming and accepting parent, if only to spare his or her own child from the trauma he or she once endured.
It certainly is the case that current behavioral and ethical norms are radically different from less than a hundred years ago. For millennials today, the Protestant ethic has become just that: an ethic for Protestants. Today we say, “Do as you please,” whereas yesterday we said, “Don’t as you please.” A good deal of baby boomers loathed the paralyzing restrictions of their parents, and so they removed all restrictions for their children. And as Luther said, the peasant flops from one side of his horse to another.
Is this pattern beneficial, harmful, good or bad? Let’s just say I have my reservations. As a Christian, I am skeptical of the present mood. By affirming what our parents and grandparents would have condemned, we are — by definition — deconstructing what they built. Whether we are right in dismantling what they championed is another discussion, but this process will certainly produce serious consequences.
Never before has a culture focused so intensely on the rights of individuals to essentially do whatever they please with whomever they please at whatever age or with whatever consequence. We go to great lengths to point out our parents’ and grandparents’ flaws. They had many, as we all do, but at least they had more to live for than simply one’s own pleasure. They believed in God, the sacredness of a marriage and the primacy of the nation.
We might scoff at the faults of our ancestors, but what do we have to offer? “If it feels good, do it?” What type of deep, meaningful and satisfying cultural creed is that? Maybe we’ve taken Luther’s illustration a little too seriously — the drunken part, that is.
Scott Stimson is a UF English sophomore. His column appears on Wednesdays.
