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<DIV>>From: "Carl Remick" <CARLREMICK@HOTMAIL.COM></DIV>
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<DIV>> Nope, no argument here -- American life is coarse beyond
description. <BR>> However, I put 100 percent of the blame on
capitalism. It's the plutocrats <BR>> who've expunged the grace,
style and wit from this society in their <BR>> incessant efforts to turn
everything possible into a commodity.<BR>> <BR>> Carl<BR>> </DIV>
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<DIV>I concur. In the past this vulgairty has been mitigated in
other Western capitalist societies with a stronger social democratic
tradition and a decent public broadcasting system. </DIV>
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<DIV>Joseph </DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Well, I suppose someone should pipe up for
"vulgar" expression. I mean, what exactly are we talking about here? Rap?
Death metal? Kittens in jars? Murray's piece has been written a thousand times
before by other cultural reactionaries, from those who railed against ragtime
music and early jazz to those who bewailed the "dark" and "violent" influence
of film noir in the 1940s to those in Congress who attacked comic books in the
1950s. Every generation sees something vulgar in the culture, and I'm sure in
2035 there'll be a form of dress or music that will rattle the elders of that
time. Does this mean that there is *no* vulgarity in the current scene? Of
course not. There's all manner of crap and trash to choose from. But for
Murray to go on about tatoos and nose rings (how very lower class) is really
quite ridiculous.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>DP</FONT></DIV>
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