America's Victim Culture Is Overly Moralistic (From America's Victims: Opposing Viewpoints, P 36-43, 1996, David Bender, Bruno Leone, et al, eds. -- See NCJ-165502)

• NCJ Number: 165506
• Author(s): C Edgley; D Brissett
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 8 pages
• Sale Source: Greenhaven Press
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Opposing Viewpoints Series

Annotation

The authors contend that attempts by some individuals to control the behavior of others are unnecessary and do not represent an effective way of restoring community morality to American society, and they advocate a return to the social virtues of tolerating others and minding one's own business.

Abstract

While a certain amount of meddling seems endemic to human association, the historical record indicates that meddling used to be perpetrated almost exclusively in terms of widely agreed on precepts of public morality and public duty. In contemporary society, meddling ranges from simple nosiness or eavesdropping to outright interference in other people's lives. Not all meddling is bad, and the consequences of some meddling can be positive. In the context of meddling, a distinction should be made between privacy and secrecy. In addition, a proper account of the meddling impulse should recognize that meddling is often accompanied by a certain moral indignation. More forbearance in social relationships is recommended since the righteous attitude that often accompanies an absolutist stance toward other people's lives seems to be associated with insensitivity and rudeness. 1 illustration