Quote:
Originally posted by Undertoad
I don't understand that comment at all.
|
What I meant was that I doubt that Bush and Ashcroft would take a "we're coming after you" stance
before they hit him up for a donation.
Nice article, Steve, it really brings up the difference between public perception and truth, and the reason for the Fourth Amendment. Public and private behaviors are not the same, and any attempt to make them so by regulation is doomed to failure.
Commercial sex, either prostitution or pornography, has been around for thousands of years. Like tobacco and alcohol, it is a 'sinful' product that can regulated but never sucessfully outlawed. This is because while everyone can agree on regulating public behavior, most of us also agree that an individuals private behavior should be left alone. Most of us agree with this because we know that there will always be some variance with what the majority believes is acceptable behavior. Public behavior, like 2.4 children, is an artificial construct which is intended to adhere to the common beliefs of thousands of different cultural and religious biases and which can only be maintained in public.
Pornography is one form of proscribed behavior that most individuals will not admit to. The definition of what is obscene was sidestepped by the Supreme Court which could not come up with any measureable standards other than 'community standards'. Of course, defining community boundaries is always tricky. If I want to receive Playboy in the mail, do I check with my township, county, or state office to find out if it is permissible?
The Internet and cable TV have bypassed the community and delivered to everyone whatever they want. Other than insuring that the 'actors' are over 18 and that noone is actually injured, the industry can deliver whatever it wants and people now can make their own private decisions about what is acceptable. In other words, a free market.
The White House and Ashcroft are now about to position themselves against this free market, proving once again that they are social conservatives and not 'true conservatives' in the 'less government interference' sense.
I hope their contributors are watching and ask for refunds.