There is a tendency for preferences to become rules and for rules to become dogma. This is true for both the religious and the secular as a cursory study of say, communism and Christianity, will demonstrate. We say that a person is set in their ways and we mean that they are beset by personal dogmas that rule their thoughts and actions. Perhaps it is a very human thing, because dogma creates a sense of certainty and people tend to like that. Uncertainty can be very stressful - it entails a lot more thinking, demands for flexibility and greater anxiety.

Below is a photo, first published in Life Magazine in the week following the end of World War 2. It is rather a famous photo, showing a sailor kissing a complete stranger in Times Square, New York City on VJ day. Up until fairly recently, most folks looking at this image would understand its context - the end of the biggest war in history. The mores of the times were different. Men were more powerful socially, economically and politically and the feminist movement was still a generation away. It was a particularly special moment, when both relief and exuberance were abundant.

This is the kind of understanding that we should properly bring to all historical and artistic analysis. What did people believe at that time and how is the painting, play, action, novel etc etc reflective of that period. What tends to happen now, at least in some circles, is that the subject is viewed through a designated lens (eg. Feminist, Marxist, Queer, #MeToo and so forth) and that this reading is somehow construed to be the correct one. Context is lost and so any historical piece can be torn to shreds by whatever dogma engages the critic. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with applying such a lens - in fact, it can be instructive - but there is plenty wrong to critique works solely from this position.

So in the case of the photo below, I have been reading comments in no less a place than The Washington Post, that it represents 'rape culture' and the like. This is a clear example of the irrational at work, thinking it fine to impose a modern notion on a different time. It happens everywhere now and is applied with the same surefooted stupidity. It speaks also to a sense of superiority - we are better than these people of old - as foolish an idea as any I have heard peddled.