This series of eight provocative essays examines why Americans have
a penchant for going to extremes in their arts, popular culture,
politics, social movements, and other aspects of life. Robert
Schmuhl considers historical examples (the hunting of the buffalo
in the West, Prohibition, business ventures in the Gilded Age) but
concentrates on contemporary subjects, including the emphasis on
what shocks the audience as entertainment today, tensions among
specific groups, the decline of private life, and the excesses of
news media coverage in the O.J. Simpson and Bill Clinton/Monica
Lewinsky stories. Indecent Liberties explores the dangers and
consequences of carrying fundamental American freedoms too far. In
this environment, achieving a public good can get lost in a frenzy
of private gain or a worthwhile idea can be pushed to
unrecognizable boundaries, producing the opposite of its intended
effect. When an attitude of "anything goes" takes hold, a sense of
limits gets lost, and it is different to achieve harmony or a
center that holds. Especially as we face a new century with talk of
"hyperdemocracy" and "hypercommunications" common in intellectual
circles, Indecent Liberties argues that seeking equilibrium should
be a central objective for all Americans. To go to wretched excess
can lead to "indecent liberties" and wretched results that throw
the country off balance and endanger the future. This book asks
questions about today and yesterday that require answers for
tomorrow. This insightful analysis of a distinct American
characteristic is for every reader concerned with America's
penchant for going to extremes in ways that produce debatable, even
deplorable, consequences.
General
| Imprint: |
University of Notre Dame Press
|
| Country of origin: |
United States |
| Release date: |
August 2000 |
| First published: |
July 2000 |
| Authors: |
Robert Schmuhl
|
| Dimensions: |
216 x 140 x 9mm (L x W x T) |
| Format: |
Paperback
|
| Pages: |
160 |
| ISBN-13: |
978-0-268-03157-2 |
| Categories: |
Books
|
| LSN: |
0-268-03157-6 |
| Barcode: |
9780268031572 |
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