Decades ago, liberal young people would say, “Let it all hang out.” The innately conservative Peter Berger reportedly retorted, “Tuck it all back in.” Today, the roles are reversed. Liberal Democrats in Congress censure their colleagues for their sexual predations, while conservative Evangelicals in Alabama gave Roy Moore more than 80 percent of their votes, despite credible accusations of worse behavior by him. It seems that some on the right are letting it all hang out, while many on the left are trying to tuck it all back in.
Moore lost, no doubt because many otherwise steadfast Republicans could not bring themselves to vote for him. But the trend is evident. The Moral Majority is less and less willing to play its role as upholder of decency. The reason can be found, at least in part, in the allure of transgression and its appeal to cultural outsiders.
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