The votes have been cast, the oracles consulted and this week's Watcher's Council results are history.
This week’s winner is Bookworm Room for Our de-aspirational society; or a society aiming for victimization and tawdriness, an insightful look at how our society has changed as its goals and role models have changed:
Any0ne over thirty (or, maybe, forty) will no doubt agree with me that our popular culture has changed dramatically in terms of the goals it sets for young people. Certainly there is nothing today that compares to The Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conservation, a guidebook written by Jesuit scholars back in the late 16th century that George Washington studied with regularity and reverence. Fast forward approximately one and a half centuries, and you have Harry Truman, reading over and over again a book entitled Great Men and Famous Women. These were aspirational books that had as their purpose teaching young people to abide by moral principles and to think big, whether in personal interactions or in lifetime goals.
Literature generally, right up until my childhood, aimed high. Every American child, myself included, must have read Parson Weems’ highly fictionalized The Life of Washington. If you read that, you knew that you too could be president if you were incredibly hard-working, brave and honest.{....}
Books nowadays are another story entirely. Every week, after a trip to the library, I sort through the books my 13 year old daughter wants to check out, and am horrified by what our nice suburban library has on the teen shelf. The most innocuous books merely give the teenage protagonists permission to be whiny, self-absorbed and manipulative. No matter the issue, the answer is “feelings, nothing more than feelings….” The more troubling books seek to inform the children’s sexuality, whether by encouraging early sexual behavior or by messing with gender constructs. And while there are a few uplifting books hidden amongst this pile of dreck, the vast majority of offerings are remarkably self-involved and devoid of any antiquated notions such as generosity of spirit, self-sacrifice, bravery, or core moral absolutes.
Our non-Council winner was American Front with One Of Many American Military Heroes, an inspiring story that shows why the US Marine Corps, who had their birthday this week have been inspiring their fellow Americans and making our country's enemies tremble and soil themselves these past 235 years.
Semper Fi indeed!
Here are this week's full results:
Council Winners
- *First place with 2 1/3 votes! – Bookworm Room-Our de-aspirational society; or a society aiming for victimization and tawdriness
- Second place with 1 2/3 votes – GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD-Reach Out!
- Third place *t* with 1 1/3 votes -Mere Rhetoric- J Street Co-Founder Daniel Levy: Israel’s Creation “An Act That Was Wrong” Third place *t* with 1 1/3 vote – Simply Jews – The unbearable dilemma of an “anti-Zionist”
- Fourth place with 1 vote -Right Truth- Tipping Point – My Head is Exploding
- Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote – Joshuapundit – The TSA Goes Berserk
- Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote – The Colossus of Rhodey – “Because of Olbermann’s (short) suspension …”
- Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – The Glittering Eye – Will the Deficit Panel Report Be DOA?
- Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – VA Right – It’s the Way Earmarks Are Used the Makes Them Evil
Non-Council Winners
- First place with 2 votes! – American Front - One Of Many American Military Heroes submitted by Bookworm Room
- Second place *t* with 1 1/3 votes – Gates Of Vienna – Bring In The Grandmothers submitted by Joshuapundit
- Second place *t* with 1 1/3 votes – Iowahawk – Comply With Me submitted by The Watcher
- Third place with 1 vote -New Zeal – Comrade Atkins Admits Communist Infiltration of Democratic Party submitted by Snapped Shot
- Fourth place with *t* 2/3 votes - The List -Open letter to the NFL: Why we can’t neglect prostate cancer submitted by Rhymes With Right
- Fourth place *t* with 2/3 votes - Shadow Government -In Response To Stephen Walt submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
- Fourth place *t* with 2/3 votes - The Passing Parade -PUNCTUATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS submitted by Simply Jews
- Fifth place *t* with 1/3 votes - The American – Is Economics A Science? submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
- Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote -Planet Moron – Maybe we Need Another Midterm Election submitted by The Glittering Eye
- Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote -The Other McCain – Europe In Crisis submitted by VA Right
- Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote – Ed Lasky/American Thinker – Soros’s Next Target: Your State submitted by The Razor
Congratulations to the winners, and to all the participants.
See you next week!
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