There is a culture war in this country.
I still believe that the majority (over 50 percent) is moral. The problem is that there is a large minority (near 50 percent) that is a-moral or immoral. The source of the problem is Hollywood. They belong to the latter group and they have an undue influence on society, because of the constitutional guarantee to freedom of speech. That enables them put out this garbage which is fueled by the demands of a public clamoring for even more.
The Torah world need to lobby congress together with other religious groups including Christians and Catholics, to insist that Hollywood's claim that they are merely exercising their right to free speech is not free speech at all. Producing smut is akin to yelling "Fire" in a crowded theater. Free speech that incites a riot ceases to be free speech and causes damgage which impinges on the rights of others. This is not what the founding fathers intended. The "Fire" that Hollywood is "yelling" is an increasing level of smut which they claim is free speech protected by the constitution. It is time to reverse the trend.
It is our duty as citizens of this country to try and maintain some semblance of decency in our standards of behavior and in the kind of entertainment that is in the public square.
And the obligation is not only the domain of Centrists, but of Charedim as well. Just because they are able to insulate themselves does not meant they can ignore it. Because no matter how insulated they are, it creeps in. Agudah, Mizrachi, the OU, Edah, Chasidim, Misnagdim... All should join together to protest the ever increasing lowering of decency standards that Hollywood is foisting upon us. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
