Sunday, June 6, 2010

Where are the warning labels?

Many places in the US have regulations and taxes on the purchase or consumption of various items, especially if someone deems them dangerous. For example, you may not be able to purchase Tobacco or alcohol without showing proof of minimum age. Due to pressure by the Federal Government, Tobacco products now carry labels on the product packaging and in the advertising warning of the dangers associated with their use. Advertisements for alcoholic products (apparently voluntarily) include warnings about "responsibly" using their products. You cannot purchase a firearm without showing not just proof of age, but also undergoing a background check and, in some places, passing a basic proficiency test. California even recently passed legislation to require a thumbprint for purchasing ammunition, something not even required for alcohol. For alcohol and Tobacco, on top of the warning labels, we also impose "sin" taxes. But what if there were a product that was far more harmful and addictive than Tobacco or alcohol? Now suppose it carried no warning labels, didn't have any "sin" taxes applied to it, and its distribution network was far more extensive than that used by alcohol and Tobacco?

That product is pornography. Its use is widespread, and its use is found among all age groups. It is highly addictive and some estimates put it at over $100B a year in worldwide revenue. Nowhere does it carry warning labels, and it is available in every household with a computer. The trail of carnage left by pornography range from failed marriages to self-esteem issues among both men and women. It evokes only lust, the same thing that led King David in the Old Testament to commit adultery with the wife of Uriah the Hittite, one of his most faithful soldiers, whom he later had murdered as he tried to avoid the consequences of his actions. Not something to be taken lightly.