| I met Ben Shapiro last year when we both spoke on Capitol Hill at an event sponsored by Accuracy in Academia. For those who don?t know, Ben is an underachiever. At 21, he is a Harvard Law Student, a nationally syndicated columnist, and now the author of his second book, Porn Generation. I didn?t think that Ben could juggle his responsibilities as a first-year law student and write a second book as well-researched and provocative as his first book, Brainwashed (which catapulted to # 4 on Amazon.com last summer). I was wrong. With the publication of Porn Generation, Ben is now, in my opinion, among the three most notable writers in America in terms of his willingness and effectiveness in combating the dangerous effects of moral relativism upon our nation?s youth. Like those other two writers -David Limbaugh and Michelle Malkin - he writes both with skill and courageous compassion. That is why he is being so viciously attacked for his efforts. There is no better indication that he - like Limbaugh and Malkin - is doing God?s work in an increasingly godless society. My reaction to Porn Generation was different than the reaction I experienced reading Ben?s first book. That?s because there is less humor to be found in this second, and, probably, more important, book. In the book?s opening pages, Ben sets a serious tone, talking about Moynihan?s concept of ?defining deviancy down? and incorporating a discussion of Wolfe?s I Am Charlotte Simmons. In the second chapter, Ben observes that ?(t)he ?have sex as soon as you?re ready? logic also means that having sex becomes a mark of maturity. Those who are more mature and mentally prepared will have sex younger. Those who wait until marriage to have sex, conversely, must be immature social outcasts or for some reason unprepared.? This emphasis on the sexualization of children is the most consistent and important theme in the book. Shapiro?s logical clarity is also reminiscent of Peter Kreeft?s indispensable work, How to Win the Culture War. To those who read my column, it will come as no surprise that my favorite chapter in Porn Generation is the third chapter, entitled ?Campus Carnality.? As I read this chapter, I was reminded of an exercise I once used in my ?Introduction to Criminal Justice? class. The exercise involved having students give a brief description of the most serious crime or deviant act they had ever committed. I would then read some of the accounts (which were all typed and turned in anonymously) and give the students some break downs afterwards-such as the percentage of felons in the class, and so on. I noticed that in between the time I began using this exercise (in 1993) and the time I stopped (in 2003) there was a marked increase in reports of bizarre sexual conduct. For example, students began to write occasionally about group sex. Others wrote about posing nude for internet sites. One of my students even dropped out of school to become a Playboy Centerfold in 1996. Another wrote about how she ran out of money on Spring Break and slept with another college student for $40 just so she could have money to stay and get drunk on the last night of her vacation. Ben correctly puts a fair share of the blame for college students? increasing sexual deviance upon college professors and administrators. He talks about college classes where students take pictures of their own genitals and others that challenge the notion that ?voyeurism, bestiality, sadism, and masochism? are perverse. Were this book to end after the third chapter, it would already be a wise investment for the parents of college-bound high school students. Porn Generation also deserves credit for criticizing some of the ?cultural icons? who have profited immensely from the corruption of our children and our culture. For example, Shapiro describes Madonna as ?a fabulously successful musician, a failed actress, and a cultural icon.? He goes on to say that ?She is also a whore, selling her promiscuity for power and financial gain.? And that ?She isn?t just any whore either. She?s a whore with a microphone.? Good job, Ben! I agree. Shapiro takes a break from blasting Madonna in order to thank John Kerry for pointing out the social utility and value of rap music during his failed bid for the presidency in 2004. He sounds a lot like Ann Coulter as he mocks Kerry by sarcastically suggesting that, ?Petey Pablo is the black Byron. Terror Squad is the urban Tennyson. Cassidy and R. Kelly are the Walt Whitmans of da ?hood. The importance of these lyrics is surpassed only by Winston Churchill?s ?Iron Curtain? speech in the pantheon of important social statements of the last century. Censorship of this sparkling artistry would be the equivalent of banning Renoir.? Sarcasm aside, Shapiro is careful to link the content of rap lyrics to the current condition of the porn generation. He observes: Continued... |