Something about our new anonymous world has brought out the worst in all of us. We neither impose nor honor limits. The raunchy fare of late-night TV is now commonplace at prime time. The scatological has become pathological.
Wednesday night I caught Keith Olbermann on MSNBC talking about President George W. Bush's reported fondness for bathroom jokes. I'm no prude when it comes to jokes, but I'm way past potty humor. Olbermann apologized to viewers who might be offended, saying that he was merely repeating what already had been reported by U.S. News and World Report.
Two thoughts: one, he didn't have to relay it; two, he didn't have to then expand the report to show Bush wearing expressions in photographs that could be suggestive of a potty joke's punch line. Olbermann and a comedic sidekick provided captions and commentary.
It's hard to describe how bad it was. There's a time and place for irreverent humor, but coming up with clever new ways to describe flatulence and relating it to the president isn't, as my mother used to say, cute or funny.
It's dumb.
I don't mean that fools shouldn't be exposed, or that corrupt politicians or racists or what have you should be protected. The vast array of media options also allows citizens greater access to useful information. That goes in the ``wondrous" column. But somewhere in this increasingly unprivate world, we have to develop a personal ethics that respects the privacy of others and, above all, their humanity.
If not, our choices for future leaders will be either Mr. Narcissist or Ms. Perfect. One knows only what he wants; the other knows nothing at all.