The Decline of Western Civilization

I took my kids shopping yesterday at a major retail chain. As is the norm, I gave them 5 minutes to explore the toy section. While waiting for my young ones to complete their perusal I noticed that there was an inflatable pool on clearance. I decided to take a closer look. On the cover of the box is your traditional American family: mom, dad and 2 kids frolicking in the pool. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the father had what appears to be a tattoo on his upper arm. I think to myself that this is not possible. It must be a blemish on the box. I checked another box. Sure enough, it’s there in the same spot. WTF!

This raises several questions which I just don’t have the time to get into. My primary issue is this whole mainstreaming of body art, whether it is in the form of tattoos or piercings. You can’t walk down Main Street or turn on the television without seeing someone who is conspicuously displaying a tattoo. And there is no divide between genders. An equal number of females and males seem to have tattoos.

Without delving into the history of tattoos too deeply they were used in ancient times to signify many things: membership in a particular tribe, to indicate a particular skill, to ward off evil spirits, etc. While there are those today that get tattoos to display allegiance to a group (i.e. any of the various military branches, motorcycle gangs, inner-city gangs, etc.) it has primarily become a fashion statement.

It’s not just Mongo from the Warlocks getting “Berzerker” tattooed across his forehead these days. You’ve got Suzy Homemaker getting a tribal tattoo just above the crack of her ass to show off to all the other soccer moms on Saturday.

Men and women, outside of the groups that I mentioned previously, who get tattoos “just because” lack self-confidence. They need something that draws attention to them. Something that will make them seem interesting. But what happens when the interest wanes? Will they get another one? Will they try to cover up the first mistake?

Don’t just think twice before getting a tattoo. Think several times. Because having someone inject ink just below the surface of your skin because it's "hip" doesn’t build character. It reveals a lack of it.