Let's All Get Naked

Is it embarrassing moments or something they have always wanted to do? Recently, the news is filled with people high on drugs of some form or another doing things that if sober, they would never be caught dead doing. Exposing one's naked body to the public or to total strangers is something we are taught from the earliest years is just not done. Decent people with respect for societal moral values rarely ever dip so low that they find a thrill in exposing their nakedness to others. I know, immediately the freedom of speech folks will cry out they have the right to freedom of expression, and if they choose to disrobe in public it is just another way of exercising their freedom of speech or expression.

We have strip joints promising to “show it all.” The interstate highway has signs encouraging customers to pull into strip joints at the next exit. Signs attract would-be customers with a promise that the so-called entertainers are as “bare as they dare.” While that style of so-called entertainment might have an appeal to some people, society at-large has most often stopped short of allowing full nudity in public and the exposing of certain body parts are not allowed in most jurisdictions of our country.  

In the last several decades, we have been moving closer to the bottom of what we know as the slippery slope of moral decline. We are told that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. That has proven to be false as many of the rich and famous have discovered when their naked pictures have been shown on social media sites and Internet web sites.

Supreme Court decisions have been issued regarding community standards even to the point of some parts of the country allowing for the uncovering or exposing of female breasts in public just as men are allowed to walk around without proper clothing covering their breasts. While pushing the envelope of public decency, many public beaches now allow for the sun bathers to be nine-tenths naked as they cavort about on the sands of the beachfront.  

One cannot help but wonder where all of this is leading us as a nation. With familiarity comes contempt. As we become evermore aware of male and female nudity, will this stop the occasional episode of a person high on drugs dropping their pants or removing their bra for all to see their naked breasts?  Who knows the answer to that question? With more nudity being accepted, will it become old hat and not cause a stir? Will decency laws be outdated in the years to come? Have we reached a point in our moral slide downward that a person being naked will no longer cause a crowd to gather?

From where I stand, I wonder how much further down this slope of moral decline we will go before the next generation begins to insist that people be covered in public.

Follow Ray Newman on Twitter at @RayNewmanSr

Do you think public attitudes on nudity will swing back to the more modest end of the spectrum? Let us know in the comments.