Ross Douthat Finds Our Chewy Moral Center

It’s always fun learning about Times pundit Ross Douthat. I mean it sincerely that he’s alien and fascinating to me! He doesn’t like to speak about his rationale against gay marriage, except for the need he sees for “institutional support for reproduction” (which, it needs more?), and now: “My views on gambling are similar to my views on pornography. I wouldn’t want to live in a society that went to extraordinary lengths to get rid of either sort of vice, but I don’t care to live in a country where they’re completely normalized either.” So, gambling and porno: we can have it, but it can’t be acceptable. It’s an intriguing idea, to be in favor of setting up a society where things can be legal (or semi-legal) but not quite morally right.