Utah on Tuesday declared pornography a public health hazard and mandated that computer technicians who find child pornography on a computer to report it to law enforcement authorities in Republican-backed moves supported by the Mormon Church. The resolution declares pornography an epidemic that normalizes violence against women and children and makes men less likely to want to get married. It was signed by Republican Governor Gary Herbert after being passed by the Republican-led legislature in the conservative and heavily Mormon state with the support of the Utah Coalition Against Pornography, backed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints…. “The volume of pornography in our society is staggering,” Herbert said at a bill signing ceremony in Salt Lake City, Utah’s capital. “I want to protect our families and our young people.”…. Supporters said Utah’s moves would help combat human trafficking, pornography addiction and rape.
Having apparently solved all of the previously unsolvable and intractable problems facing the Great State of Utah, it appears Republicans have been reduced to creating problems and then searching for solutions. In this case, it happens to be pornography…because what good, God-fearing, right-thinking, Conservative Christian patriot likes porn, amiright??
Not surprisingly, America’s Bible Belt states are more voracious consumers of porn than other, less religious states. Conservative Christians spend more money on pornography (Do they not understand they ready availability of free porn?) than godless atheists. Of course, it’s always easier to create and then fix a problem than to own up to the truth that porn isn’t the crisis Republicans are portraying it to be. No, the real problem is with those Right-wing Christians who are among the biggest consumers of porn, but are determined to deflect responsibility instead of accepting liability for their actions and decisions.
Despite what good, God-fearing, righteous, Jesus-centric Utah Mormons may believe, porn isn’t the problem here. Then again, it’s easier to blame the “problem” for poor decisions and bad behavior than to assign culpability to those actually engaging in the behavior.
The truth is that sex is a normal and perfectly natural aspect of humanity…and a helluva lot of fun. As long as people have had sex, people have enjoyed watching others have sex. If one chooses to view this in purely puritanical terms, then I suppose porn could be viewed as a negative influence. Like anything else, it can be employed to excess, but as with sex, pornography will always be a part of our sexual and moral landscape. Perhaps instead of trying to control sexual expression, Conservatives who fear sex and sexuality could determine how best to teach people to have a healthier relationship with that aspect of the human condition. Of course, that would mean giving up a degree of control of the private lives of Americans…something they’d no doubt find exceedingly difficult to do.
