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ASK DR. RUWART
Dr. Mary Ruwart is a leading expert in libertarian communication. In this column she offers short answers to real questions about libertarianism. To submit questions to Dr. Ruwart, see end of column.
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How would a free society handle the problem of pornography?
Question: How would a libertarian society deal with the problem of unwanted visual images on television, billboards, and possibly on the Internet? I can't imagine what watching a football game with my seven-year-old son would be like if there were no regulations on sexual images on network television. I am leery of an "anything goes" philosophy where pornography is concerned.
My short answer: A libertarian society is regulated directly by consumers. For example, if a football game had offensive sexual ads, parents like you would protest in the most effective way possible: turning the show off. Fewer viewers mean that sponsors will pay less for spots. Networks are driven by their bottom line to stop accepting certain types of advertising content.
You can see this process working today. Premium channels are either family- oriented or adult-oriented, so that no one is offended. Mixed channels feature adult content only during late night hours. Some televisions and cable services allow coded access to adult channels so that children can't view some stations without parental consent. Parental control programming allows adults to block Internet access to sexual and other content in their homes.
Despite parents' best efforts, however, children will be exposed to some pornography, violence, foul language, and uncharitable acts. The best protection for our children is ultimately a close relationship that encourages them to come to us for explanations and guidance.
This is especially true for parents whose sexual orientation or moral code is different from the society that they live in. If we, as parents, give government the power to decide what our children can and can't watch, one day we might find that government has outlawed the very things we hold dear. Christians are experiencing this today as the Ten Commandments, prayer and references to God are being systematically banned from schools, government buildings, etc.
When we try to force society to conform to our standards through legislation, we teach our children to deny others freedom of choice. Ultimately, the people we try to control will react by restricting our freedom to live, worship, and raise our children as we think best. To keep our freedoms, we must allow others to keep theirs.
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