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Essay on Spousal Abuse
The degree of tolerance shown for a given type of abusive or potentially abusive behaviour may vary considerably over the developmental progress of a culture. Many researches have pointed to the socially accepted brutality shown toward children in the ancient era of Western society, including the wide use of exposure of unwanted children, in which infants were left out unattended until they died. Contrast that with the protective attitude toward children in modern society. We have child protective agencies; requirements that such professionals as physicians, teachers, and counsellors report any evidence, even a minor wound, indicative of child abuse; and an array of educational and counselling programs aimed at making children aware of their rights and the support services available to protect them.
That change in society reflects a transition over hundreds of years, starting with a gradual lessening of brutality toward children during the Middle Ages under the influence of Christianity. Then, in the early modern era of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, there was an increasing awareness of the "special nature" of the child that was accompanied by an increase in expression of tenderness and decrease in hostility. Further progress in the development of protectiveness toward children continued through the family orientation of the Puritans in colonial times and the spirit of loving acceptance that became most evident in the nineteenth century, up to the modern era, when American society can properly be described as child-centered.
Another example of a marked change in society's tolerance of abusive or potentially abusive behavior is in the realm of automobile driving by a person with elevated blood alcohol. As little as a generation ago, most states in the United States had loose behavioral tests for drunkenness while driving, with only scattered enforcement of relevant control laws. Under the influence of organizations like Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD) and various advances in knowledge and technology......
