But that's not going to work. It will take decades to reverse the mean and profane trend. Certainly, laws cracking down on the entertainment industry, or any nasty expressions of popular culture, do not have the power to save us from ourselves, nor should they. This is a problem for hearts and minds, not cops and courts. Elected officials, clergy, civic and business leaders, anyone with access to the bully pulpit, should continue to pound it.
Shame is good.
But this goes deep into your house and mine. We've lived at the edge of the cesspool for a while now. If we want a saner society, we're going to have to start with what we can influence, which is ourselves and those around us. This might call for a healthy dose of cultural intolerance. But we know there's a line.