Why modernism is unacceptable as the basis of UCC? The role of media comes under focus
Dr. Javed Jamil | Clarion India
THE impact of economic fundamentalism on the press has spawned what is aptly termed as ‘gutter journalism’. The market of newspapers and magazines expands in the wake of sensational stories. Scandals are reported with great fanfare; in fact, non-issues are many a time converted into mind-blowing scandals. Sex scandals have become a routine in the West. Till recently such gossips were confined to a few tabloids and the leading dailies did not attach any significance to them. But now even the biggest dailies garnish their front pages with reports, often with ‘exciting’ photographs, on the private lives of public figures. The affairs of the members of royal family are the topics of discussion in bars, restaurants and clubs of England. The British tabloids excel in such reporting and always find a crown prince, his estranged wife, a duke or duchess, a Diana, Pamela or Jemima to embellish their pages.
And if a Monica Lewinski is discovered in the life of the president of the only superpower nothing like it! For months, the US public discussed nothing about anything but everything about the Clinton-Lewinski affair. Every scintillating detail of the type of sex they indulged in was portrayed with perfection in the media. And when the president of a country cannot avoid the temptation of having sex outside marriage, common people must do it as right by birth. After the furore, the masses were persuaded to give the verdict in favour of the president. He was a ‘human being’, and his ‘private life’ had ‘nothing to do’ with his work as president. And because he accepted, even if belatedly, the mistake he committed, this refurbished his face with the halo of honesty.
To commit a major sin, they have been made to believe, is not as big a sin as is the sin to conceal the fact that one committed the sin. Clinton’s popularity rocketed high again and he is still counted as among the most popular presidents of the US.
Indian newspapers, too, have now started giving elaborate coverage to the happenings involving personal lives of the rich and the famous. Photographs of beauty pageants and models regularly appear in national dailies. Marriages and divorces of celebrities are piled on the agony.
The impact of sensationalism in journalism on the business is manifold. It multiplies the sale of newspapers and magazines; diverts the attention of the masses from real problems that are mostly the outcome of glaring economic imbalances accentuated by economic fundamentalism; fans materialistic desires, the key to consumerism; and changes social and cultural ethos in society. Sometimes it goes to the extent of blackmailing public figures. The increased sales, naturally, brings in more advertisements.
To justify and perpetuate its style of functioning, the media has discovered the “freedom of expression” that has lately assumed notorious proportions. The new maxim has spawned great symbols of freedom of expression for them: To traduce anybody. To malign religions and religious figures. To describe and exaggerate the most private areas of the life of any celebrity. To portray or publish anyone in the nude. To film the lewdest forms of sexual relations. And to engage in misinformation for the furtherance of the desired objectives.
Liberty has turned into libertinage and license to express has resulted in licentiousness. Any attempt to censor such vagrancy attracts sharper censor by the media all over the world. Those who advocate some control on expression are virulently condemned as the enemies of freedom, civilisation and development. To give further credence to its licentiousness, the media has used the “right to know” as a weapon to defend itself. And when, sometimes, it faces unbearably intensive shelling for its perversity, it takes refuge in the argument that, instead of making any laws to patrol the media, the media must itself resolve to exercise self-restraint. This is another matter that, as soon as the controversy gets subdued, the self-restraint too is cremated with full media honours. Thus “freedom of expression” is nothing but a magic wand in the hands of the economic fundamentalists, who misuse it with great effect in their commercial circus.
Sexual Revolution: American Example
· In a study, the University of Utah found that the number of women who have had sex with more than 15 partners has increased over the past few decades, from 3 per cent to 7 per cent. And of course, the overwhelming majority of the population is promiscuous.
· According to Healthline, the average number of sexual partners for men and women in the United States is 7.2.
· Gallup finds 7.1% of adult Americans lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something other than straight or heterosexual.
The question is: when heterosexual marriages are becoming increasingly uncommon and all the hurdles in the way of sex outside marriage have been cleared, why then legalise homosexual marriages? The answer is simple. In a world where it is not the well-being or security of the people but economics (led by market forces in collaboration with political forces) rules the roost, and the sex market is becoming increasingly huge, homosexuality is the latest addition to the market. And for the homosexual market to grow, the population of homosexuals needs to grow. In addition to all the other ways to institutionalise, legalise and commercialise, one way to advance this is the adoption of children by homosexual “parents”. Living in their company, most of the children will treat homosexuality as “normal” and would sooner than later succumb to it.
Now see the effects of this grand “Sex Revolution”, first in America:
· According to the latest figures, more than nine hundred thousand fetus are aborted annually in America alone.
· According to Childtrends, recent estimates show that about 40 per cent of births in the United States occur outside of marriage, up from 28 per cent in 1990.
· The US has the highest rate of children living in single-parent families. In the United States today, nearly 24 million children live in single-parent families.
· According to RANN, every 68 seconds an American is sexually assaulted. One out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime (14.8% completed, 2.8% attempted).
· According to a CDC report “STDs Reach All-time High for 6th Consecutive Year”, 2.5 million reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, the three most commonly reported sexually transmitted diseases in 2019.
· As of 2018, about 700,000 people have died of HIV/AIDS in the US since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, and nearly 13,000 people with AIDS in the United States die each year.
Now see the following worldwide facts that show how dangerous the “sexual revolution” has become for the very survival of humanity:
· In 2021, around 650,000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses worldwide. Since the beginning of the pandemic in the 1980s, more than 40 million people have died of AIDS.
· Worldwide there is an estimation of 40-42 million prostitutes. Eighty percent of the world’s population of prostitutes are women and range in age between 13 and 25. Globally, female sex workers are 13.5% more likely to be living with HIV than other women of reproductive age;
· Homosexuality is the biggest threat to human life, as according to various figures, they are 8-30 times more likely to get HIV/AIDS and all other Sexually Transmitted Diseases, the latest being Monkey Pox. Life expectancy of homosexuals is considered to be 20-30 years less than normals.
· According to reports, there were more than 604,000 new cases of cervical cancer and 342,000 deaths in 2020. This again is directly related to promiscuity and prostitution. (Much less common in circumcised communities)
· 70-100 million abortions take place. The right of Killing children in wombs has become a human right.
· Around 2,50,000 women are raped every year.
If counted on a daily basis, the following data comes out:
· Around two hundred thousand children are killed in wombs per day;
· 1,643 people die of AIDS every day;
· More than 1,000 women die due to cervical cancer (caused by promiscuity)
Sex Market Booming
The market for sex is growing hugely, and with this, the laws governing sex are changing accordingly. See the following:
· There are about 42 million prostitutes in the world. Estimates place the annual revenue generated by prostitution worldwide to be over $100 billion. The majority of prostitutes are female and have male clients.
· LGBT Capital estimates the global aggregated spending power of this consumer base (the LGBT-GDP) to be around US$ 3.9 trillion per annum (measured as nominal GDP) – from a 15+ LGBT population of about 371 million individuals globally.
The following data shows the global expenditures incurred on entertainment. It gives an idea of the extent of the commercialisation of vices:
Entertainment Category (in billion US$)
Alcohol 1,163, entertainment drugs 546, sex 400, restaurants 183, movies 180, gambling 110, sports 63, computer games 54, live performances 35, tourism 25 billion and music 7. The total comes to 2,862.
It shows that more than 2,000 billion US dollars are spent on sex, alcohol, drugs and gambling. This money is being spent to purchase items that sooner or later are likely to lead to severe medical and social problems including death. Social problems include serious family disturbances, abortions, single parenthood, and separation from one or both parents, all of which in turn can lead to severe psychiatric problems with an additional financial cost.
India is fast toeing the lines of the West in matters related to sex and marriage. Here too the Supreme Court has already ruled in favour of decriminalising homosexuality, adultery and live-in relationships. The efforts to introduce UCC will ultimately lead to the breaking of family system and popularisation of free sex. Limited polygamy is unacceptable but unlimited promiscuity is OK. Sex before a certain age is the right of the boys and girls but not the right to marry. As religion, especially Islam, is the biggest obstacle in the establishment of the new system of male-female relationship, Uniform Civil Code should give no consideration whatsoever to the religion of a person or community.
Dr. Javed Jamil is an India-based thinker and writer with over 20 books to his credit. He can be contacted at doctorforu123@yahoo.com
