Modesty is in?

It was a stunning headline, which could set any serious Christian's heart aflutter. Turns out, the models of modesty are Barack Obama for men and French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy for women. He, the most aggressive pro-abort in congressional history and herself quoted as saying, "I'm monogamous from time to time, but I prefer polygamy and polyandry." So what is the new modesty?

Not since bustles and smelling salts has modesty been considered a virtue. But last week Karl Lagerfeld breathed new life into a long outmoded word: "Bling is over," he declared. "I call it 'the New Modesty'." Quite how seriously we can take this sentiment from a man who wears diamond knuckledusters, bathes in Evian and still keeps close the comfort cushion he had as a 10-year-old is up for discussion, but the notion is as timely as it is wide reaching.

"This whole crisis is like a big spring housecleaning - both moral and physical," the German-born Chanel designer told The New York Times. "There is no creative evolution if you don't have dramatic moments like this. Red carpets covered with rhinestones are out." Cutting back his own spending may not be a part of Lagerfeld's strategy, but the implication for the rest of us is clear: where luxury was an attitude as much as a style of dress, we are to find a replacement in modesty.

Modesty = less bling.
Modesty = dramatic moments
Modesty = housecleaning
One cannot make these things up.

Broadcasting and its culture of linguistic bling - as propagated by Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand - has been affected, too, with radio and television bosses hurriedly executing "humility makeovers."

Soon we'll be seeing Flophouse Chic and Detachment for Divas. One really needs to keep the eyes shut to stay focused on authentic virtue. The temptations in mainstream media are near occasions of sin (despite their clever vocabulary).