sex, not bombs

Tori Amos was in the news...Wait! Please keep reading!

The balladeer was trying to generate some excitement for her current tour and latest CD, ''The Beekeeper''.

Now, soft rock isn't for everyone, and neither are Amos' songs, but I do have to give the lady some credit for her hefty mission to heal the world's crappy mood by infusing enough sensually drenched lyrics into her songs to make us momentarily forget hearing Donald Rumsfeld and Pat Robertson waxing off on CNN.

Her spin is by far a better stroke.

Amos makes her point when she says, ''In a time of not covert, but overt right-wing government...I felt it was essential to talk about sin and try and emancipate the idea of sexuality as being a sin.''

A little rebellion from the hip has always been the reply when social norms get sphincter-tight, as such is the case here.

We all know by now the Christian Coalition had a big hand in getting Bush and his Republican party elected. And, given their way, the billion dollar ''min-dustry'' that is today's bible-thumpers would make us all conceal our inherent sensuality---fearing it rubs too close to corporal pleasure-seeking and leads to, well, free-thinking and paganism---with free-thinking being the more liable of the two.

Tori Amos is just one of a multitude of voices sounding off warnings of a decline in the American phyche. Representations of violence have gained our social acceptance, whereas, our acceptance of sexuality is achingly lagging behind. Teens are playing Grand Theft Auto around the clock, yet they are not allowed to watch a film like the upcoming Atom Egoyan film, ''Where the Truth Lies'', because of an unconventional sex scene. The scene, apparently, is not the missionary position, nor is it the position of the American film review board to allow impressionable eyes to see it.