A MORAL PERSPECTIVE AND A QUESTION

Jeffrey Militti is Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Oak Ridge~, Mo.

With all the talk we hear of pornography today, it makes me wonder why the BIG question is not being asked: "Why do we still have pornography?"

There are, after all, laws against obscenity, as well as common agreement among many various and diverse groups (who agree on few other issues) that the spread -- and effects -- of pornography must be stopped. These groups are actively working to oppose pornography. We also, as citizens and leaders in society, generally agree that it is important for our communities to have "high standards." Why, then, I again ask, do we still have pornography with us?

The answers come fast when we consider the fact that law enforcement officials seem to be able to pick and choose which laws they will enforce. And cloaked falsely in the First Amendment, other people fight for their "right" to sell porn. I truly doubt, however, if store owners are as concerned about "rights" as much as their profits, received from the sale of pornography and other forms of indecency.

The real answer to the question I have presented is that low standards of morality are permeating our society. And these low standards are propelling us into new and serious dilemnas~.

Morality is a word that seems to have changed meaning in recent years. A standard dictionary proclaims that being moral is being "capable of distinguishing between right and wrong." Another definition it gives for being moral is being "sexually virtuous." This comes from an objective dictionary, not a religious book.

For most of us, public morality once meant that we restrained ourselves from behavior considered improper by either the lawmakers or the main stream of society. On top of that, those who chose to be moral brought that same discipline into their private lives as well. We grew up with a sense of what was right and what was wrong.

Now, society has taken a shift from encouraging moral behavior to espousing an amoral attitude where absolutely nothing should be considered wrong (despite how vile it may have seemed a decade ago). Those who still "dare" to believe in moral absolutes are accused of being extremists, radicals and even fascists. In reality, these people are simply housewives, working women, businessmen, civic leaders, school board members, ministers, dentists, merchants and others who want to keep their communities and families "porn free." They make money, shop, cook, take their kids to ball games and celebrate holidays.

How do these otherwise nice and productive American citizens turn into monsters and neo-nazis, then?

It is because they have the audacity to say in public that their moral values lead them to oppose pornography and all of the moral decay it breeds.

They make this transformation because they do not wish to have "Adult Book Stores" disguising themselves as "Family Bookstores" or regular video rental stores.

They also don't like the fact that many underage teens are able to look at and sometimes buy pornographic material in our area -- this leads to more immorality among younger teens -- and they are trying to do something about it.

It is no accident that 5th and 6th graders learn more immoral behavior than many of us did in high school. It is also no accident that more and more teen-age girls are getting pregnant, or that sexual abuse is on the increase.

Pornography undermines the moral teaching children and youth receive from their parents, teachers, churches and synogogues, who teach not to lie, cheat, take illegal drugs, or be promiscuous before or after marriage. More studies than not have pointed the fault to many of our moral ills to the rise and scope of pornography today.

Now that the Bible and the ~Ten Commandments are not welcome in many places, though, any and all moral values are under suspect. What will be next?

I shall end the way I began, with the ~question we should all ask, Why do we still have pornography?