In Defense of Taboos

From the controversial critic Stanley Crouch comes this elegant broadside condemning our culture's obsession with breaking every taboo - and reminding us of what we stand to gain from respecting a few boundaries. Why do we revere rule-breakers? Why does bucking the system seem to be the fastest way to success? Why are iconoclasts like Madonna and Howard Stern our heroes? And when rebels break the rules, who pays the price? Stanley Crouch, cultural critic and firebrand summons his formidable powers of logic and persuasion in this astonishing condemnation of our society's obsession with shattering taboos. It's an urge that comes, he argues, from a greater interest in recognizing the individual than in maintaining the well-being of the community. And whenever the assertion of individuality takes top priority, there will always be consequences - usually for the most vulnerable members of a community. One by one, Crouch destroys some of the most celebrated revolts of our day: defiant promiscuity and flagrant drug use, the obsession with the private lives of our politicians and the misguided allowances made by overly permissive parents.
All were once taboo; all are now commonplace, and all have hurt the weakest among us. In this remarkable book, Stanley Crouch reveals the true nature and history of the taboo - as well as what we can gain from it, and all that we stand to lose.