Pornography Still an Ignored Social Ill
Pornography is still "a very serious moral problem" that is being ignored during by the U. S. Justice Department and the presidential administration, says the head of a conservative media watchdog.
As the start of this year's White Ribbon Against Pornography (WRAP) Week nears, Robert Peters, president of Morality in the Media, is hoping to draw attention to a looming American problem – pornography – and wants more action taken.
"This is a serious moral problem," Peters said.
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According to the American Family Association Journal, every year the porn industry creates 11,000 new movies, compared to the 400 mainstream videos created by Hollywood. Many of those videos are published online for the public to access.
Pat Trueman, an attorney and anti-porn campaigner, noted, "Hardcore porn is now more easily available than ever before. It's not only produced by porn syndicates, but by individuals."
Trueman believes pornography is constantly being ignored. "The problem is that Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush hardly prosecuted obscenity, at least no Internet companies. They just downplayed it," he said.
And the Obama administration is also doing nothing.
Peters noted that the U.S. Justice Department has the legal authority to take on the mass producers creating sexual explicit content through obscenity laws, but it is not taking action.
"Apart from the Reagan-Bush years, the [presidential] administrations have not taken these issues seriously," said Peters.
Both Peters and Trueman believe that the issue can no longer be ignored. Peters pointed out that the Internet has taken pornography out from behind closed doors and into Americans' living rooms.
"With this internet thing, you can't run from it," said Peters.
Moreover, pornography is getting into the hands of adolescents, both male and female.
"Survey after survey, the evident shows huge numbers of children are accessing pornography," Peters said.
He lamented that even websites that claim to be child protected have free teasers showing hard core content. "You name it, it's free of charge. They say you have to be 18 years old to look at it, but all you have to do is click the button," Peters said.
The impact on adults is also damaging. Trueman highlighted the fact that "pornography is impacting family break-up in high numbers."
"Plus there are many other effects such as an increased sex trafficking," he added.
Families are being encouraged to take a stand against pornography during WRAP Week, which kicks off Sunday.
"Obviously, we are not going to win the war in a week," Peters noted. But, he added, we can get some people's attention.
WRAP Week began in 1987 in Butler, Pa. Norma Norris, a Catholic, launched the campaign to combat mail and video porn. A flier put out by the Morality in Media encourages the public to wear a white ribbon and contact state prosecutors with pornography complaints.
