.jpg)
In
psychoanalytic thought, libido (from
the Latin: desire, lust) is the
psychic and emotional energy associated with man’s instinctual biological
drives (sexual desire). Though theoretically held in check by the ego and
super-ego, in Freudian thought libido
understands man as a sexual animal whose happiness derives from the
unrestrained libido. The virtue of
chastity in Freudian logic could only end in illness and unhappiness. Such
thinking became normative in the United States in the 1960s, and it was not
long before “the greatest of natural mysteries,” the marriage act, was reduced to
an openly discussable “fun activity.”
Paul VI offered libido as one way Satan, the “malign,
clever seducer” undermines man’s sexual morality with his “sophistry.” The
Devil’s strategy here, as the Pope cautioned, is “eminently logical.” He
approaches man with what amounts to a false reason in his mind, which, if
dwelled on, can influence the will by rousing him to do something evil which
seems to be good. Deceit is basic to his strategy. By way of one example, if
one is gifted with a superior intellect, Satan will tempt to pride and sins of
the mind….
If one is
worldly and hedonistic, Satan enters with temptations of the flesh. One hears
often that the “liberation” of the human libido began in earnest in the United
States in the “sexual revolution” of the 1960s. Americans, troubled over
repressive attitudes toward human sexuality, hoped for a revolution that would
free them from outdated moral and social constraints. It resulted not in
liberation but in license and a host of societal sexual crises. Since the onset
of the sexual revolution, we have had to face an ever-increasing array of
sexual problems. One has only to think of the tremendous increase in the number
of post-1960s illegitimate births and abortions, sexually transmitted diseases,
opposition to censorship of pornography (especially on the Internet), and the
resulting sexual addiction (in some extreme instances resulting in murder).
Consider too the tremendous blows to marriage and the family done by adultery,
the battle over the homosexual lifestyle in the United States, Canada and
Europe (now to the point of the redefinition of marriage under the law); the
increasing incidences of sexual harassment, child pornography on the Internet, Internet
predators, date rape, and of course, the divorce rate....
Also, in light of this I often use the phrase "sexual befuddlement" to describe the culture's predicament when it comes to the truth and meaning of human sexuality. Where will it all end?
On a lighter note, it seems a local well-known writer offers a glimmer of hope in a column of this morning...
Comments
Post a Comment