Conservative Twitter has been alight the past few days with a topic near and dear to the American heart: Pornography.
Porn, if I’m being generous, is probably the most vile and degrading form of free expression to sully humanity for the past thousand years. I’m never generous, except in the case superfluous adjectives, so here are some more: odious, corrupt, debased, destructive, worthless, wretched, and objectively evil. To call it free expression is a disservice to term. It has destroyed marriages, enslaved a whole generation of men, and hurt society in a uniquely perverse and damaging way. Humanity may never truly recover until the coming of our Lord.
But should it be illegal?
Now, this is nothing more than an intellectual exercise. The odds of our legislative body actually passing such a law is… well, I’m not sure you could ever raise them high enough to get me to bet on that horse. But, it is an interesting exercise, and it’s one worth having.
The question, in as far as I can tell, originated from Matt Walsh. But, of course, it’s nothing new. The role of government in protecting its citizens and perpetuating morality is a discussion as old as government itself. It emerges in many forms, and this is simply the flavor of the month.
What we’re seeing in this rendition is a distinction being drawn between right-leaning libertarians and more traditional, party-line conservatives.
Generally speaking, those who believe the government’s role is strictly to protect the rights of life, liberty, and property see porn as a social ill that cannot, or should not, be solved through regulation. Those who believe the government has a role in upholding the moral fiber of society see porn as a problem that can be curbed, if not cured outright, through prohibition.
In short, it all boils down to two questions:
- Is this the government’s place?
- Would it be effective?
The first question is an ideological one. Many of you likely already have a strong, principled bent here, and I’ve no real interest in trying to change your mind. But for those on the fence, I’ll readily admit that I am in the libertarian camp. Societal ills are part of the human condition, and I believe far more harm than good has been done by trying to solve them by the iron fist of the state. When his followers tried to put him on an earthly throne, Jesus rejected it — the Kingdom of Heaven, the only hope for this earth, is a grassroots nation.
But assuming the problem of porn is in the wheelhouse of the secular state to solve, could it be done?
I seriously doubt it.
In the information age, where an image can be uploaded by any person anywhere in the world onto one of millions of websites and then be accessed by billions anonymously, this simply does not seem realistic. The idea that we can block anything near enough filth to be effective seems wishful, and could only potentially be done with the level of internet censorship you see in a place like North Korea. And even if you achieved that, it’s not really going to stop anything. In lieu of porn, there’ll be a surge of new “fashion” publications. In lieu of nudity, there’ll be renewed interest in Victoria’s Secret. If you put restraints on the visuals, people will indulge in audio. If you ban audio, suddenly everyone will be literate again. The government will need to monitor all text messages, lest provocative images be shared between non-married couples. And if nothing else, Game of Thrones sales will go through the roof. Pervs will always find a way.
The human heart is utterly depraved. There’s only One who can fix that, and we’ve not voted Him into office.
So for now, take responsibility for banning porn in your own kingdom. Banish it from your life and your family. That would be a good start.
Petty Prophet contributer Andrew Haack submitted this report. Andrew is a spirit-filled sage of great wisdom, and a world renown purveyor of good news and bad jokes. You can find his work on his blog or follow him on Twitter!
CLICK HERE for more great content from The Petty Prophet!
Don’t forget to check out the podcast!
