The uproar over the sordid sexual assault case of Jane Doe at Cornell University is raging all over the country. The left has latched on to this cause, framing it as one more example of the patriarchy’s oppression. Women are once again victims of a system that refuses to believe in them.
What allegedly happened at Cornell University was horrible by any standard. However, given the facts everyone knows but refuses to act on, no one should be surprised that it happened.
The facts are simple.
Everyone knows that the sixties unleashed a sexual revolution in which consensual sexual acts became common and even expected. The barriers that once existed between the sexes were thrown down. The unintended consequences of sexual activity were largely eliminated with birth control and procured abortion.
Everyone knows that universities are open places of sexual encounter and promiscuity on a massive scale. A hookup culture is part of the “university experience” for both men and women. This demeaning activity has been going on for decades. University party culture glories in mixing sexual activity, drugs and alcohol. Indeed, these very ingredients came together at Cornell and are at the center of the controversy.
Everyone knows that atmospheres of drunkenness and promiscuity are a hotbed for the worst abuses and moral disasters. The unbridled passions of young people are extremely intense, violent and powerful, and can be very difficult to control. Consensual easily becomes non-consensual, with a large grey area in between. The unintended consequences of these abuses are abortion, heartbreak, loneliness, anxiety and disillusionment.
Everyone knows that nothing is being done to diminish the opportunities for these encounters, which can breed such abuse. Indeed, men and women frequently attend these party occasions where anything could happen, and few safeguards are in place.
Everyone knows that no one will ever protest the rampant promiscuity at Cornell and most other universities today. No leftist students will deny the “right” to consensual sexual activity.
The present uproar does not question sexual liberation. It focuses only on the consent to the act. It is silent on the more important point of whether the sexual act outside of marriage should or should not be practiced. Instead, the debate wallows in the mire, discussing at what point of drunkenness or druggedness consent remains possible. The far more important truth, whether people should ever reach the degrading state when the light of reason is abandoned, is conveniently forgotten.
Everyone knows all these shameful things have been happening on campus for decades with little public outcry or administrative intervention.
Indeed, only when these acts fit a narrative does indignation become politically correct. Protesters do not protest the passions but the patriarchy. They do not seek to protect students from sexual encounters but only to make these safer. In the Cornell case, it is an opportunity to attack fraternities that represent a male establishment that must be overthrown.
Thus, this degradation of students and moral rot will continue until someone dares to propose a different path.
Everyone knows there is only one real solution to this problem, one that can be summarized in a single word: purity.
Purity is an explosive, taboo word for postmodern ears. It was discarded in the sixties as an obstacle to self-gratification. Many students today deem purity an unattainable goal since they are so used to giving in to every demand of their passions.
However, when purity becomes the desired goal, this massive culture of debauchery becomes impossible. The opportunity for abuse is vastly diminished. The problem is solved at its root: the morally proper control of unbridled passions.
Purity brings with it a sense of order, honor, innocence and peace. The person is directed to the pursuit of a higher ideal more attuned to the higher aspirations of the soul, not the lower appetites of the flesh. Such considerations would return the university to the study of the good, the true and the beautiful, which should be its objects.
Everyone knows this purity solution would require returning to moral safeguards that once protected young men and women from their unchecked passions. However, such noble measures would increase individual happiness, security and the personal development that comes from acting according to one’s nature. It would create a society where people think beyond themselves and welcome families and children again.
Everyone knows that this is not an easy task for fallen human nature. It takes supernatural help from God and His grace to live in a manner pleasing in His sight. Confiding in God makes it possible and leads to the greatest happiness.
Indeed, there is no alternative to this solution. Everyone knows it. Most hate this conclusion and insist upon living in denial. However, it is the only way to prevent tragedies like Cornell’s from re-occurring.