Educated: Williams College, University of Texas (Ph.D.), Harvard Law
Profile: Ex-drug czar, ex-education secretary; epitome of beefy chic; hero of intellectual Republicans, but decided against running for president; author of “The Book of Virtues,” which has, he says, sold 1.8 million copies so far; crusader against trashy culture and for high academic standards.
BENNETT: I’m worried because of the barbarism that the culture can lead to. If you look at some rap videos, they’re barbarous–like portraying the slaying of Nicole Simpsons. We know what happens to children with a steady diet of this sort of thing, particularly when they aren’t offered–as an alternative–things which are good, positive and uplifting. We’ve seen a phenomenal increase in social pathologies–crime, broken families and so on. There are a lot of things going on here, but one of them is a culture that’s become increasingly trashy.
Sure, America’s very mixed bag. They’re some very good things on TV and some real dopey things. It’s not bad TV that bothers me so much, but when schools stoop to the level of TV that’s something else. I put the major onus for improvement not on TV or movies but on the educational institutions. It’s the widespread doubt on the part of the “aristocracy” about things moral which makes our predictment so precarious. Moreover, this is a mass culture. Many kids plug into it without adult mediation and get corrupted at a very early age.
No; you have to reinvent parents. At a time when some people are saying that the decline of parents is inevitable, we’ve never needed parents more.
Yes, there’s always been vulgarity. But look at the lyrics of Elvis and Buddy Holly and compare them with the lyrics of today. Now we’re got songs about murdering people, torturing them, busting them up–come on, this isn’t difficult.
Sure; there’s a fight going on for the culture. The game isn’t up by any means. What you have is a popular culture which is at odds with what a lot of Americans say they believe. Something’s going on in this country. I wouldn’t call it another Great Awakening, but something like that is going on. Our regeneration, if it comes, will come from within.
