Why have Americans become socially rigid in recent times?

Question

I used to watch an American show called "Family Feud" & the host Richard Dawson used to kiss all the female contestants on the show, like it was a habit & none of the women seemed to mind it as well (except maybe for a very conservative or religious few).

But if TODAY, a TV host went about kissing his female contestants, immediately he would be fired from the spot & derided by the media.

Why is this so? What happened to America? Why are we going back into the old times again?

Answer 1

It may SEEM like Americans are becoming more and more rigid, but I don't think that is what is actually happening.

Consider swimwear. Only a century ago, showing more than an ankle was indecent. Now, you're lucky if much is covered at all.

And though there aren't as many smoochy game show hosts, there is certainly no dearth of racy material, even on public TV. If someone had tried to pen a 'South Park' episode a hundred years ago, they probably would have been run out of town on a rail.

I have no doubt that there are elements in American society who even now prefer the 'no ankles' standard of decency and would like to enforce it on everyone else. The only reason you hear them at all is because of the massive proliferation of information-spreading technology we have these days.

But this is a sword that cuts both ways. Read some common blogs, hang out at the 'just uploaded' section of YouTube (before all the really controversial stuff gets deleted by staff). I'm sure you'll see plenty that will be not only not-rigid, but outright decadent and anarchic.

Americans are a diverse people. They generally like it that way (generally).

Answer 2

We're not going back into the old times. The old times were when Richard Dawson used to kiss all the female contestants. You're right that if he kissed one today, he'd be fired for insensitivity or some other such trendy leftist women's lib term. It wouldn't be politically correct. But that's because we're now in the new times, not going back into the old times again.

Answer 3

I don't think that is true that a TV host would be fired for kissing his contestants. Kissing contestants was Richard Dawson's trademark. If everyone did it they would be emulating him and not being original.

I do agree with you, though, that America is going backwards. Consider that religion has become connected with politics. We are being judged by hypocrites and religious conformists, telling us how to live our lives.

Answer 4

America has, for some reason, an inability to shake the Victorian influence from its culture. I think it is a control issue born of our wild days as a frontier nation. A period of time that comprises the bulk of our existence as a nation. Also we tended to be the dumping ground for every intolerant, strict, conformist religious group on the planet except Islam and that is now creeping in.

Answer 5

As a whole, Americans are afraid. We have seen so many hings on the news that have been blown out of porportion and that makes us very rigid socially because we are rigid in other aspects of life as well.

Answer 6

Because our expectations of each other are so high. We also think we are better than everyone else. Both these things lead to anger hate, ridgidness twards our fellow human beings. We think our opinion is the only opinion that matters and we dont want to hear what anyone else has to say.

Answer 7

Too many people today have become fear-ridden as a result of a fear-based, fear-instilling administration. That is why I prefer Europe-everyone kisses...men to women, women to men, women to women, men to the men, etc.

Answer 8

Backlash to the Baby Boomers but they say you can find anything on the Internet if you know the ropes!!