I think of Norman Rockwell paintings.
A work of fiction that does not(nor ever did)have any bearing on reality.
A work of fiction that does not(nor ever did)have any bearing on reality.
What do you think when you hear the phrase "traditional values"?
- Thread starter Karthak
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Interestingly enough, when I hear "traditional values" I think of this.
(I have to link the MST3K version of the film, because I'd rather not be held responsible for heads exploding in rage from watching an un-riffed version.)
When the white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant heterosexual man "ruled the world". Everyone and everything around him existed to be exploited at his leisure, and he could justify anything he wanted to do by saying it was "God's will". When America's role models were Ward and June Cleaver- the hard-working, all-knowing husband who laid down the law in his "castle", and the obedient and dedicated wife who sought no identity of her own beyond "home maker".
tl;dr version:
(I have to link the MST3K version of the film, because I'd rather not be held responsible for heads exploding in rage from watching an un-riffed version.)
When the white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant heterosexual man "ruled the world". Everyone and everything around him existed to be exploited at his leisure, and he could justify anything he wanted to do by saying it was "God's will". When America's role models were Ward and June Cleaver- the hard-working, all-knowing husband who laid down the law in his "castle", and the obedient and dedicated wife who sought no identity of her own beyond "home maker".
tl;dr version:
Diddy_Mao said:
It's kinda that people who tend to use the phrase to describe what they stand for are often anti-sex, anti-gay, anti-certain races, or anti-religious-views-that-aren't-theirs.Thunderous Cacophony said:
It tends to be assosiated with bigotry, in other words.
There are many good things about traditional values, as there are many bad things, but just trying to preserve 50's views on sexuality, religion and race is unfair on many minorities, and usually when I hear the phrase it's used to justify denying rights from someone.
There is nothing wrong with preserving values like helping the community etc, but if what you're defending is worth preserving you should be able to give reasons beyond 'it's traditional'.
I usually just assume there's an election coming up and the Tories are lagging in the polls. Or think of this man:
The phrase itself could mean positive things too: helping your neighbors, being courteous to women, greeting people properly etc.
Sadly, the context which it is most often used in makes it go down there with phrases like "back in the good old times" and "when I was young": outdated things of the past used by people afraid of change to convince themselves of their importance. The baby boomers might call themselves the most important generation that ever lived, but we're now starting to see the cost of their hysterical consumption: natural resource shortage, shifting focus in global politics, overpopulation, the race to reach the american standard of living.
There were no "good old times". There aren't even "good times". There are just times, and as Bob Dylan put it, Times They Are A Changin'.
Sadly, the context which it is most often used in makes it go down there with phrases like "back in the good old times" and "when I was young": outdated things of the past used by people afraid of change to convince themselves of their importance. The baby boomers might call themselves the most important generation that ever lived, but we're now starting to see the cost of their hysterical consumption: natural resource shortage, shifting focus in global politics, overpopulation, the race to reach the american standard of living.
There were no "good old times". There aren't even "good times". There are just times, and as Bob Dylan put it, Times They Are A Changin'.
Ditto. More specifically, selling something to old people who will be blinded by nostalgia.Kevin Puszert said:
Closemindedness & superstition that gives conservative folks who don't like change a shield of safety they can hide behind as they try to bleach & stain grey morality into black & white morals.
I think of my parents.
Two "born-again evangelical" christians with a severe case of Soviet nostalgia and constantly talking about how "teh gays will bring about the apocalypse!!!"
Yep, that's about it, I guess.
Two "born-again evangelical" christians with a severe case of Soviet nostalgia and constantly talking about how "teh gays will bring about the apocalypse!!!"
Yep, that's about it, I guess.
That phrase is something I recognize only from news articles about American politics, and is always a statement to build flimsy groundwork to lay some bigoted opinion on to.
Depends on the situation, most of the time, I generally associate it with the various hysterical "Teh Immigrants are TAKIN' MUH JURB!!!" or "I don't want to catch teh gay!" news stories they run. But if it's during an ad break, it generally means that someone is trying to sell canned soup.
The simplest answer is that it makes me think of Orwell's 1984. Where lovely little nonsense phrases were made up to help twist ideas and the truth.
Traditional values, traditional marriage and other similar malarkey are used to create a false sense of nostalgia for the "good old days" which were not really all that fucking good. Most of the time, the people who spout those words know that they do not mean shit. Everyone knows that marriage is administered by the state and always has been. But the "traditional values" spouters follow a fiction that religion owns that institution. It's a propaganda tool. It's always been a propaganda tool. It's just with the internet making info easier than ever to share it's easier for us to smell the bullshit.
Traditional values, traditional marriage and other similar malarkey are used to create a false sense of nostalgia for the "good old days" which were not really all that fucking good. Most of the time, the people who spout those words know that they do not mean shit. Everyone knows that marriage is administered by the state and always has been. But the "traditional values" spouters follow a fiction that religion owns that institution. It's a propaganda tool. It's always been a propaganda tool. It's just with the internet making info easier than ever to share it's easier for us to smell the bullshit.
My answer is a combination of what most people already said.
"Dead people's baggage"
"sex-negative attitude"
"Afraid of change"
"the religious right's understanding of what is and isn't right"
These, for me, all hit the mark precisely.
It seems to be a phrase used as a yardstick to show how everyone else fails to measure up.
"Dead people's baggage"
"sex-negative attitude"
"Afraid of change"
"the religious right's understanding of what is and isn't right"
These, for me, all hit the mark precisely.
It seems to be a phrase used as a yardstick to show how everyone else fails to measure up.
