When Elvis first appeared on television on the Ed Sullivan show, the cameras would only show him from the shoulders up. Compare that with MTV, where little is left to the imagination. When Clark Gable uttered a mild oath in Gone With the Wind, it was a nationwide sensation. Today obscenities spew forth from our televisions. Little children use words that would make sailors blush. When film star Ingrid Bergman abandoned her husband to live with Roberto Rossalini, her film career in this country plummeted. Today, such behavior would not cause a ripple. What is it that makes you blush?

Part of the problem is that we no longer have models of morality to inspire us. The philosopher Frederick Nietzsche once summed up morals and ethics in the question "Who are your heroes?" There aren't very many heroes of morality around anymore. As Mark Twain said, "It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare."