Hot Air interviewed author Diana West about her new book The Death of the Grown Up: How America’s Arrested Development is Bringing Down Western Civilization a while ago. It’s an interesting book, which dwells mostly on the impact our devolving culture has on America’s foreign policy and our ideological war against Islamic Imperialism.
But in my mind nothing illustrates the concepts in her book, specifically the infantile inability of our society to make adult distinctions between right and wrong, especially in regard to sexuality, than the disgusting case of Micheal Benham. Benham raped his daughter over a prolonged period of time, starting when she was 7 years old and ending when he was finally caught when she was around 14.
He is defending his actions by saying she came on to him. From the Poteau Daily News:
In an interview with a Child Welfare Services worker, Benham allegedly made remarks that his daughter had initiated the sexual activity.
The affidavit also states, “When Amanda asked him to explain, he stated, ‘The end result was intercourse’ and that he had stopped before orgasm occurred. Mr. Benham stated that at the point that intercourse occurred, ‘She was coming onto me pretty good.’ Mr. Benham stated that, ‘She knew what she was doing and I was surprised.’“
Benham is claiming that he was seduced, that he was not in complete control over his rape victim. It’s clearly a preposterous concept and most people would agree, but the idea of children being the sexual equals of adults is a concept that’s been brewing for some time now. Our sexualization of children, and Benham’s mistaken belief that he could convince other adults of his victim’s role as instigator of her own victimization, are a by-product of the constantly blurring line between the world of adulthood and sexual responsibility and adolescence.
Beham thinks that there are people out there who will sympathize with him, who are unwilling to stand up and say “This is an evil act,” and he’s right. Our society, full of eternal teenagers in a state of constant rebellion, is full of people unwilling to accept the simple truth that sex is something that adults should engage in privately and something children should wait until they’re adults to engage in. And adults and children should never be sex partners. Sounds like common sense, right? But it apparently isn’t.
They are unwilling to say that adults accept the concept of right and wrong, that the “whatever feels good” mentality of the 60s must not be allowed to apply to child rapists. They fear that by taking that stand they have to give up their own indulgent lifestyles, which may or may not be true, but if it was isn’t that what an adult would do to protect children?
Benham would be an evil degenerate in any society, but our culture of youth worship empowers him, provides him succor, psychological refuge and the opportunity to delude himself into thinking he’s anything but what he is: a living nightmare.
Benham is a monster who was set loose into a society without any adults around to keep him from harming our children, and that is a consequence every bit as dire as anything in Diana West’s book.
I still know that you don’t know the whole truth. I know that you should go to the trials and hear all the details. I wish I could go and be there, but am unable to travel. I would hate for someone to judge you on things that could be said of you. We all have a hidden secret, but this is not one of Mr. Benhams’. It never has been, I am sure of it. If we beleived everything we read in the papers, or heard on the streets, well, we’d all be sure we had the bird flu, and AIDS, and who knows what else. My goodness, we’d die from worry. Leave him alone, and his family. For that matter, leave it alone for his daughters sake. I am sure that he is innocent, but let her lies lie, let her try to repair her relationship with her father and live a happy life.
What? How do you know she was lying? If you really think the man’s innocent, and can prove it, you have a duty to come forward and clear his name.