Natural Law and the Minnesota Vikings

I never thought I'd have the occasion to use that headline, but Jonathan Watson has given me the perfect opportunity with his response to my earlier post on the Vikings' "love boat" exploits:

Natural law is ineradicable. The disgust and / or horror caused by descriptions of such events is an innate reaction, which I would argue is true to our status as created beings. It fades because individuals are taught in this culture that it is "natural" for people to engage in such actions, and proceed to argue themselves out of their own feelings on the matter. The media, sensing the loss of interest, quickly drops the topic and seeks other fascinations (the opposite of the early media's yellow journalism and muckraking, I would add).

The "poor role model for children" argument is consistently raised when public figures engage in sexual misconduct, and I suggest that it is through the inability to describe the reaction I previously noted. As you mentioned, religious, moral / theological, and / or philosophical language (in no particular order) provides the best mode to convey such feelings, and the majority of the public has lost the ability to communicate effectively in this manner. Therefore, "for the children" being a common argument for engaging in all sorts of activity (including, but by no means limited to, abortion), it seems to be used as the base mode of verbal expression.

Watson also recommends Kathryn Jean Lopez's timely article on Outrage on NRO.

Rob