A Lighthouse in Need of a New Keeper

Matthew Swanson
IB Extended Essay: Peace and Conflict
Candidate Number: 001134-060
Word Count: 3454

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Abstract
A defining feature of humanity is a moral code that, as history progresses, ebbs
and flows in accordance to the societal standards of the time. A glance into Americas
past reveals a time of moral abundance where ethics and values were of the utmost regard
and looked upon as mandates of public behavior. This pleasant image contrasts starkly
with the morally decadent society of the present. Several sources and first-hand accounts
point out one element of American culture as the culprit for the terrible decline in
national morality the media. Therefore, how has modern society lapsed in terms of
morality when compared to the past, due to the effects of an increasingly radical media?
In order to establish a solution to this crisis, several sources must be taken into
account. Comparisons of past advertisements, magazines, television shows and even
commercials must be made to determine specific changes and ensure a wide base of
comparison. After examining all the resources at hand, a conclusion can be safely made
but is tough to implement. If the morality of America is a lighthouse, then it desperately
needs a new keeper. The difficult call is deciding who can fill the shoes of the old keeper.
This comes down to the government, religion, and the family. These three institutions
ought to trump the media in matters of morality, but have failed to do so. This in mind,
Americans must look to themselves and their trusted establishments for moral guidance
instead of corrupt influences like the media.

Word Count: 251

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Past

Present

Hope for the Future

Bibliography

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A Lighthouse in Need of a New Keeper

Morality, as defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, descriptively
refers to a code of conduct put forth by a society, group, religion, individual or a code of
conduct that, given specified conditions, would be put forward by all rational persons.
Therefore, humanity defines morality (Bernard 1). Complications occur, however as the
media begins to define what is morally right and wrong in society. This can be seen most
drastically when comparing the immediate past, 1950-1990, to the present, 1990-today. In
society, the media serves as a Lighthouse of Morality; one which guides people in the
ways it sees fit. This truth necessitates the safeguarding of societal virtue for fear of
corruption by an increasingly radical media. The generally wholesome, or at least less
morally corrosive nature of the media in the second half of the twentieth century serves
as a moral example for the increasingly radical media of the new millennium. The
sexually promiscuous acts and deeds that would be considered outrageously vulgar in the
past have come to be regarded as morally permissible (considered acceptable by the
moral standards of society), creating conflict with moral watch-guard groups such as
Morality In Media, Inc. and the Culture and Media Institute (Haven 1 & CMI 1). This
clash in ethical doctrine elicits the question: How has modern society lapsed in terms of
morality when compared to the past, due to the effects of an increasingly radical media?
If humanity defines morality, then the media and its radical behavior shouldnt
affect the morality of the general public. However, the public eye looks upon the media
as an example, adding a paradox to the situation. Does each individual determine his or

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her own morality, or is it a consensual ideal to which all must adhere? For this reason, it
becomes necessary to hold todays media to a moral standard. From this another problem
arises. How can a group or an individual tell another person what is moral if individuals
define their own morality? This can be called a Catch 22, or a lose-lose situation. On one
hand, individuals define morality for themselves, which could lead to some peoples
morals allowing much more than others, which would elicit multiple standards of virtue,
which eliminates the idea of defining ones own morality. On the other hand, if the media
continues regulating societal morals through poor examples of virtue, then the caliber of
society will crumble leaving nothing but immoral scoundrels.
Perceptions of morality change from a religious, self-righteous, or personal belief
to a structured and socially influenced phenomenon in which the mentality of the group
defines that of the individual. These intriguing factors related to the topic of morality,
especially those in the media have prompted the study, investigation, and writings of
universities, concerned citizens, and philosophers alike. Some examples include
journalists from On The Horizon journal, members of Morality In Media, Inc., as well as
Joseph Haven who writes about Moral Philosophy (Scott 1, Malpass 1, Haven 1).
Of the many tangents the subject of morality could create, the course of this
assessment lies in the realm of media and the subsequent moral example the media
presents to the public through advertisements and articles. America, the land of free
speech and even freer opinion, has a difficult time placing censors or even suggesting
against crude messages in media advertisements. This situation desperately requires a
remedy, one that can effectively handle the low moral standards of the current media as
well as provide wholesome values for society to follow. Examples of wholesome values

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can be seen in the perfect-family-TV-shows of the 1950s where suggestive themes and
foul language earned harsh punishment and general disgust. This resolution will maintain
the purity of the Moral Lighthouse.
Past
In the 1950s and the following decades, the symbolic Moral Lighthouse of the
media was still new and somewhat a mystery. Its clean new walls and pure, albeit dim,
light reached the select few that had the means to purchase a television. The radio already
existed, but it was mainly informational and contained few advertisements with immoral
appeals due to the inability to utilize visual beauty as a means of attraction to the product.
At this time, the advertisements are just as good as the actual shows themselves! claims
Ben Anton of Content For Reprint, a website with articles about things We Knew and
Loved (Anton 1). This statement demonstrates how the commercial market of the mid20th century differs from todays. The focus on somewhat lengthy (sometimes up to a
minute and a half) commercials that conveyed a catchy jingle about the product kept
commercials wholesome. A perfect example of wholesome advertising is the Pepsodent
commercial that played in the 1950s. The advert contained a jingle about the whitening
effects of the product while showing cartoon people gleefully walking the streets with
their freshly brushed teeth visible in a huge smile. While television was still simple and
basic, the lighthouse had quite a narrow, dim beam of light projecting from it due to the
limited number of citizens the media was capable of reaching. However, because of the
weak light, any corrupting influences the media had, although not many existed at that
time, wouldnt reach the large-scale population that the media of today would reach.

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Fortunately, media at that time needed few if any parameters. Although
impressionable, society from 1950-1990 learned its morals from the family or religious
institutes, not from a screen or poster. This method of acquiring and apportioning moral
quality to sources allowed for the production of a generation that could endure an assault
of loosely-moralled advertisements without much ado. However, the generation that
follows had and still has more difficulty in maintaining an ethical stance in life due to the
increasingly radical media.
Lonnette Harrell of Associated Content, a website that claims to have
information from the source about a variety of topics, wrote an article comparing the
morals of the 1950s to today. Being a child of the 50s herself, Mrs. Harrell gives a firsthand account of the shows and activities that went on at that time.
Almost without exception, every show presented an ethical or moral
challenge to one of the main characters. As they tried to work through their
various dilemmas, we also learned valuable lessons along with them. Right
and wrong was clearly defined. The concept of "situational ethics" had
never been imagined. As a child, I was not only entertained, but also
learned character building concepts that were embraced by most of society
at that time. (Harrell 1)
Lonnette presents several excellent points in this excerpt from her article. The television
shows of her youth present ethical or moral challenges that were resolved by the
protagonist by the end of the show. The conclusion reached by the character taught all the
viewers the moral answer to the presented situation at which point the audience gained a
tidbit of moral advice. However, the moral morsels gained from these shows add up after
watching two or three shows a day for 10 years as a youth.
However, television wasnt the only way the lighthouse projected itself in the past
several decades; print media, like newspapers and magazines, also contributed to the air

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of moral decency prevalent in that time period. This form of media ushered forth a
method of influence that reached a different audience than television could.
Mademoiselle, a magazine directed towards women, started in 1935 but gained notoriety
in the 50s and 60s, claims to deliver information for women by women. They promoted
moral approaches to sexuality, responsible housekeeping, as well as being a good mother.
They not only promoted such actions, but gave advice on how to go about doing them as
to facilitate the realization of a more ethical society. Mademoiselle (in its early stages)
wasnt the only wholesome magazine; others such as Good Housekeeping, LIFE, and
National Geographic kept it clean throughout the middle decades of the 20th century,
showing the ability of the media to provide a good example to society. These moral
guides of the 1950s-80s permitted families to rely partially on the media for the proper
upbringing of their children, doing the rest themselves. However, things would change in
the decades to come.
Present
As society progresses, much like the empires of Rome and Greece, avarice, sloth,
and apathy for ethics lead to moral degradation on personal, local, and national levels.
The decades following the 1950s showed the world that the pure light of the American
Lighthouse of Morality could, and had been corrupted by the radical behaviors of
media in attempts to snatch hold of the attentions of American teens and young adults. A
red filter slowly started to form over the light that many Americans had come to trust in
the 50s. However, this filter was no rosy lens through which America saw purity and
morality; it was a blood-red film of sexual passion and corruption that slowly sought to
abase American morality. Ironically, the corruption of the media after the 1950s occurred

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in almost perfect symmetry with the ethical fueling that took place only a decade before.
TV advertisements, magazines, and picture media played key roles in corrupting the loyal
followers their wholesome values had recently gained them. The increase in radical
advertisement stemmed from a desensitized audience, causing advertisers to raise the
bar and use more radical and often more raunchy material to feature their product.
Unfortunately, the methods utilized by advertisers to grab the attention of Americas
consumers resulted in the moral decadence the nation is currently experiencing.
This snatching process included diverging from traditional methods of
advertisement and putting forth material designed to grab the eye, if only for a moment,
but often resulting in a lasting impression of scandalous behaviors. For example, a 1986
Mercury commercial featuring the song Do Ya Think Im Sexy? by Rod Stewart was
one of the first car commercials to utilize a sexy woman and a provocative song to
advertise an automobile (Jalopnik 1). Although the first, this would not be the last effort
in the automobile industry to approach marketing from a sexual perspective. Thus, the
commercial television industry contributed to moral decay through the use of sexy
advertisements designed to link car-buying with a sensual experience. Regrettably, the
television industry underwent a change from the Leave It to Beaver era to a Jackass or
Real World one somewhere between 1960 and 2000. A possible explanation could be the
creation of MTV in 1981; the Parents Television Council certainly believes so. Founded
in 1995, this branch of the Media Research Center maintains that the decency was
declining on most prime-time television programming (PTC 1). They also have a plan to
abate the moral decline happening in society. However, morally devoid television is only
one of the contributors to a decline in the values of Americans.

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Magazines have also undergone a change from their purest form as seen in the
1950s. The changes have occurred mainly in advertisements and cover pages, and less in
actual content, like television. Magazines, like Mademoiselle and Good Housekeeping,
that advocated wholesome material and the maintenance of morals have been all but
eliminated as America seems to grow out of their content. The problem with new-age
print media is the inclusion of lewd advertisement. For example, the Paco Rabanne
advertisements make excellently inconspicuous use of an extremely ambiguous dialogue
between an artist and his lover to subtly advertise their line of cologne for men. As
described in The Erotic History of Advertising, by Tom Reichert, the point of this style of
advertising is to create an air of mystery, or ambiguity where, as the slogan puts it, what
is remembered is up to you. This feeling of sensuality and intrigue hooks readers and
keeps them guessing as to the physical appearance, attitude, and even gender of the
mysterious lover. These types of adverts created a mini-sensation in the early 1980s,
which is upsetting because of the tendency of fragrance companies to attract readers and
consumers with sexuality (Reichert 1). This tendency is exemplified by products such as
Britney Spears fragrance, Fantasy. These sorts of items prove that a decay is indeed in
effect because scents like cinnamon and vanilla extract have been long since outshined by
fragrances of fantasy.
Morality in the United States of America perhaps reached an all time low in the
90s when William Kilpatrick wrote his Experiments in Moral Education. He describes
how decision-making as a method of teaching is incredibly destructive to society and
the generations influenced by its teachings. This technique involves allowing moral
reasoning and self-discovery to guide the education of youth. Kilpatrick writes about how

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the implementing of this process in the 1960s set America up for the moral failure it is
experiencing currently. He also claims that sex education classes arent doing their jobs.
According to Kilpatrick, if the sex education classes properly informed and warned
students about sex, so much could be avoided. He even goes as far to say that the classes
might be contributing to the problems that theyre supposed to be solving (Kilpatrick
1). Shortly after this realization about Americas education system, the author moves on
to talk about how, from the 60s to the 90s, a huge moral decline has occurred. He proves
this with statistics. Between 1960 and 1990 the United States saw a 560% increase in
violent crimes, a 419% increase in illegitimate births, and a quadrupling in divorce rates.
Compared to other developed countries the United States has the highest divorce rate, the
highest teen pregnancy rate, the highest abortion rate, the highest percentage of violent
deaths among youth (Kilpatrick 1). These are undeniable facts and prove that an
extremely serious situation is ensuing. Although his lecture seems grim, William
Kilpatrick concludes his piece by saying that society historically tends to learn from its
mistakes, at least to some extent. Furthermore, America even might have benefited from a
prolonged exposure to such problems because various promising solutions and remedies
have begun to form.

Hope for the Future

The blood-red film of fiery passion has been getting increasingly corrupt and
widespread for decades. The Moral Lighthouse is in desperate need of a new keeper
and the current generation doesnt look particularly up to the task. However, a little
inspiration goes a long way, and if hope for the future is to be had, then support must be

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drummed up for the cause of national morality. With a larger backing and more
campaigners, nation-wide awareness could be raised as to the current issue of societal
values, or lack thereof. In essence, the beam of the lighthouse urgently needs remodeling.
As a start, the red, corrupting lens needs to be removed; but because an immediate
solution is improbable, a lessening will suffice as well. Secondly, the massive ray of
influence must me diminished as well. Both of these aspects, in order to have an
acceptable lighthouse, must have an inverse relationship. If one is large the other must be
small. For example, if a dark, corrupting influence has overcome the beam, as long as the
light reaches a small audience all is well. Similarly, if the light is unusually pure, then the
ray of influence can be unusually large because the message being communicated is rich
in morality. The problem arises in situations like both the past and the present. The past
had a pure light, but very little influence. Contrastingly, the present puts forth an
extremely corrupt light to a very large audience. A lighthouse keeper that understands the
correct balance or corruption and influence would be immeasurably valuable in this
circumstance. The current generation has the challenge of learning how to do just that,
balance things out. This has been a problem in the past, but with some motivation and
support, I believe it a challenge that can be conquered.
As it stands, it would appear the American society has entered a vicious cycle of
perverting advertisement, adapting, and getting bored; only to repeat the process. This
seems an inescapable inevitability, but there remains hope for the morality of the melting
pot of the world. Certain measures need to be taken into account in order to salvage its
dignity and integrity. Several groups have already gone ahead and made significant
progress in purifying the moral palates of Americans. Often specializing in youth, the

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Parents Television Council (PTC 1) endeavors to cleanse TVs violent and sexual
programs from primetime slots to prevent, or at the very least discourage, younger
viewers from being corrupted by their influence. This is but one of many watch-guard
groups that have surfaced in light of the immoral behavior exhibited in the past decade
(PTC 1). Morality in Media serves as another reminder to society that it needs to stay in
line. Although the group gives society a warning, the media (as the name suggests) is
more strictly dealt with, through lawsuits and other political actions that elicit moral
reforms. In compliance with their motto, they certainly are promoting a decent society
through law. Most recently, the organization is taking on CNBCs family hour special,
Porn: A Business of Pleasure. Taking a purely legal approach, they presume to enforce
obscenity and pornography laws that the industry has bureaucratically side-stepped. They
do this under constant jeers from high-ups in the porn industry about being un-American
(MIM 1). Here enters the disparaging part of standing up for whats right. What a sad
situation it is when protesting something so obviously immoral and degrading to other
human beings can be seen as acting contrastingly to the beliefs of a nation. Herein lies the
problem with national morality. There is, however, a remedy. It can be found in a
coordination of the various moral organizations and watch-guard groups to form a
standard to which society must adhere.
Despite being a solution, this suggestion comes with a lot of baggage that makes
it unfeasible. As previously mentioned, comments about UN-Americanism often closely
follow any mention of censorship. These are truly unnerving comments because of the
implications they are putting forth. Imagine a country where the establishing of moral
standards and values is openly criticized. In this same country, the people thriving are

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those that exploit the letter of the law to permit their organizations to profit and succeed.
This is the path down which America is heading, unless something is done to change the
trajectory of society.
America has forgotten or blurred the definitions of several terms critical to
understanding morality. Ethics and values have subtle but important differences that seem
to be overlooked. The difference is the corruptibleness of each term. Ethics can never be
tainted because they imply a purity of morals. Values, however, can be either good or
bad. Someone that views immoral acts as permissible is said to be lacking in ethics and
having bad values. This difference needs to be taken into consideration because in
society, such subtleties allow loopholes in the pursuit of true morals.
C.S. Lewis, in his book, Mere Christianity, writes about the morals of not just
Christians, but all of humanity. He asserts that all humans are all subject to various laws,
those of chemistry and physics, but also those of nature. The law of nature, he continues
to say, is the only of the aforementioned laws that humans can choose to disobey. The
Law of Nature, the Law of Right and Wrong, or the Law of Human Nature (all the same
law) says that mankind all understands the basic principles of right and wrong. It is
therefore dreadful to do something wrong because, inherently, one knows it is so. The
only way to avoid the shame of breaking a law followed by all humanity is to make an
excuse why the current situation is special and allows for a loophole in the rules. This
mechanism has become the golden rule of modern society as ethics become more and
more relative to the individual (Lewis 2-5 ).
Sadly, this problem isnt one that has an immediate solution. However, with
cooperation and organization of multiple parties and groups, this dream of a moral

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society can become a reality. The most crucial element is enforcement. With no set
method of enforcing standards, little can be accomplished. Therefore, to reinforce the
various principles set down by the watch guard groups and the government itself, a
punishment would be in order. For such a minor infraction a fine will suffice, like a
parking citation, or disturbing the peace, this would discourage violators from doing so
again, but would mainly be against companies or publication firms for sullying society
with crude images or diction. As it stands, the nation is at a moral crossroads. There are
two paths but only one decision to be made. Look at the situation and do the right thing;
give the lighthouse a new keeper, the country is counting on it.

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Bibliography

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Enterprises, Inc., Web. 10 Jan 2009. <http://www.moralityinmedia.org/>.
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Lewis, C.S. Mere Christianity. 2nd. London: 1955. 2-6. Print.
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<www.aef.com/on_campus/classroom/book>.

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