From the Morality in Media Newsletter
July/August 1994
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| Betty Wein, 1927-1994 |
Concerned parents all over the country are sounding the alarm that they can no longer protect their children, in this high-tech era, from the pornography industry. They are painfully aware that pornography is not just invading communities and neighborhoods but also slithering into the living rooms of this nation as dial-a-porn, video porn, cableporn, satellite porn, radio porn, computer porn and rock music porn.
The porn industry will immediately label anyone who joins the battle against pornography with the title "censor." Next comes the label of "prude." And then all the weary old cliches, such as "pornography is a victimless crime," will be dredged up and tossed at you.
Do not be intimidated by these tactics. Educate yourself instead! There are some basic truths you need to master to know your rights and to be able to defend them.
Pornographic material that is "obscene" (sometimes called "hardcore") is illegal on the federal level and in over forty states. The U.S. Supreme Court has said that to be "obscene," a video, magazine, performance or other "work" must meet the following three criteria: 1) the average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest; 2) the work must depict or describe sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; and 3) the work, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political and scientific value.
More and more, the pornography polluting our communities is hardcore and a far cry from the pin-up girls with which many associate it. Reflecting the pathological side of human nature, hardcore pornography features sadomasochism; incest; bestiality; group sex; bisexuality; excretory activities; necrophilia and other aberrations. Pornography, to be sure, has become more sick and violent.
Right about now, you must be wondering why this depraved material is being circulated with impunity if it is illegal. The answer to that can be summarized in three words: the public's silence!
The obscenity law is unique in that it is based, in part, on contemporary cornmunity standards. If law enforcement officials do not receive complaints from the community, they are prone to translate that silence into acceptance of the hardcore pornography being sold in your neighborhood.
That is why it is essential for you, and for any church, synagogue or civic group to which you belong, to register complaints with your district attorney (called county prosecutors or state's attorneys in some states) and ask him or her to investigate any hardcore pornographic outlets for possible violation of the state obscenity law.
As for the erroneous charge of "censorship," syndicated columnist Thomas Sowell calls it the most misused word in the English language. Here is the legal meaning of censorship: "prior restraint of First Amendment rights by government." Censorship is unconstitutional and illegal. The enforcement of the obscenity laws, however, is not censorship since the government is not exercising any prior restraint. Obscenity laws are enforced after publication, not before. Furthermore, obscenity is not a First Amendment right, any more than libel, perjury, contempt of court, false advertising, copyright violations or inciting a riot. The First Amendment has never been absolute!
Concerned citizens who are insisting that the constitutional obscenity laws be enforced to rid their communities of illegal hardcore pornography are not engaging in censorship. They are exercising their precious First Amendment rights to free speech, their rights to ward off assaults on their families, and their responsibilities to protect public morality, public safety and public health.
Morality in Media's phones ring daily with stories of pornography's victims. We frequently hear from parents whose children have been traumatized or corrupted by exposure to material unfit even for adults. Tragically, some of those children have tried to act out on other children what they have heard on dial-a-porn or seen in pornographic magazines or videos.
It is not uncommon to receive a distressed phone call from a woman whose marriage has gone sour due to her husband's porn addiction. We also hear from the addicted men themselves - tortured souls seeking help after the destruction of their marriage and loss of their children.
We get letters from prisoners, pouring out their hearts about how pornography triggered their sexual crimes and actually served as a blueprint for brutality. We also get many calls from people coast to coast who seek advice on how to cope with the emerging, so-called "adult" video stores and bookstores, destroying the quality of life in their communities, spitting in the face of family values and attempting to make a mockery of the Judeo-Christian code which has served as a cornerstone of Western civilization. No, pornography is not a victimless crime.
There are also many laboratory-type studies that provide evidence of pornography's pernicious effects. One of the most common findings involves desensitization. The porn consumer soon becomes desensitized to violence, rape and the worst sexual aberrations. [See Dr. Victor Cline's article, "Pornography's Effects on Adults and Children" on our Porn's Effects page]
"Too many decent grassroots Americans have been drifting and dreaming while a monster has grown in our midst," warned Morality in Media's late president, Father Paul Murphy, S.J. That monster, he said, is "the pornography industry."
What can you do in this war on families and your most cherished values? Undoubtedly, there is no need to tell you to monitor your children's TV viewing habits and also the music they listen to and the magazines they read -- that is common sense in these decadent days.
However, you must also vocalize your concerns and outrage to those responsible for the pornographic assaults on your community and family. Otherwise, your silence will be interpreted as acceptance by law enforcement officials and merchants. Even worse, it may also be viewed as acceptance by your own children. And, your silence inevitably will lead to your own desensitization.
So, pick up your greatest weapon in this war against pornography and use it - your pen! Keep informed and write to your district attorney, urging enforcement of the state obscenity law [see sample letters on our Ask Your District Attorney page; also write to your U.S. Attorney, their addresses and enforcement records can be found from our Obscenity Enforcement page]. Write to your elected representatives. Write letters to the editor. Write thank-you letters to merchants, newspaper columnists, TV and radio hosts, public officials and others in the public eye who are holding the line against moral decay. You do not have to be a Shakespeare. Just express your feelings in simple terms. One letter, it has been shown, can move mountains, and a mountain of letters can move the direction of an entire country.
This article was originally published in the Family Magazine, 50 St. Paul's Ave., Boston, MA 02130.
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