Freedom is either earned or deserved. When a society neglects its moral code, it destroys itself from the inside. The seeds of destruction have quickly taken root in many countries across the globe. Regardless of religious beliefs, there are behaviors that should either be encouraged or discouraged in a civilized society. A short list of what I consider are admirable and good qualities are as follows:

• Honesty
• Integrity
• Honor
• Chastity
• Courage
• Respect

The following list represents qualities that should be discouraged:

• Greed at the expense of everything or everyone
• Selfishness
• Bigotry
• Dishonesty
• Fowl language
• Lust

On the other hand, we the people are given the freedom to be able to become as good or as bad as the government allows us to become. Absolute freedom is not possible nor is it realistic. We are not free to murder, commit robbery, rape, or pillage. The old saying: “the freedom to swing one’s fists ends at the beginning of someone else’s nose”, still applies today.

One might ask how a person viewing pornographic materials alone on his computer affects the society as a whole. The quick answer is there is no detrimental harm to the society so long as that person keeps things private.

On the other hand, the harm to society occurs when a vast number of persons, each waste countless hours viewing pornographic materials, act out their lustful desires through force or intimidation. Other harm is caused by the mere presence of the pornographic web site. These intense and very graphic pornographic images being made accessibile to minors can cause behavioral and developmental problems in children that either run across these sites through accidental happenstance or those that seek out such depraved materials. The results to the child may not present itself for several years in the future. Most of those convicted of abusing and murdering our children admit that their unique sexual appetites began to manifest themselves after having viewed child pornography. Over-stimulation of sexual desires in minors leads to teen pregnancy, venereal disease, rape, and many other societal problems. Somewhat tamer, but still harmful are advertisements containing mild pornographic content.

Freedom of speech should be defined as the freedom to disagree with everyone. This includes but is not limited to government or institutional policy, its officials, and laws. Speech in all forms of communication includes: verbal, visual, written, or electronic (TV, web etc). Disagreement can be communicated without the use of fowl language, crude pictures, or other distasteful forms of communication. We may disagree with current law that demands that we be clothed, but, is it ok to form a parade of 1000 people forming a nude circle of protest? Of course NOT!

Current levels of pornography have reached epidemic proportions intruding upon our children who see such material on network TV, commercials, magazines, Internet, Movies, and other sources. Many organizations have used “freedom of speech” as an argument for protecting their perverse method of advertising. Gone are the days of adult acted “family movies”. The current definition of a “family movie” today is a cartoon and even they aren't completely safe.

The solution to this complex problem is equally complex, however, we can begin by making the media accountable for whatever damage is inflicted on a community that can be directly connected to a story or movie release. It is not enough to say that a movie or story cannot start an issue or that a movie cannot rob a house. If two people consult over how to commit a crime then one of the two go out and commit the crime, then the first can be prosecuted for conspiracy to commit the afore mentioned crime. If violence in a community increases after a movie or news story is aired, then it can be said that it was partially responsible for the increase in civil unrest and should be held accountable for the part that it played in any damage that came as a result of its airing. This would include any crime that increased as a direct result of any movie or news story.

Education should teach youth not to engage in fornication. To this end, much can be gained by legally enforcing the “PG-13” and “R” ratings on movies by making it a crime to allow youth to attend these shows without a legal guardian present to escort them through the door. Also, require producers of movies to have available at least 50% of their new movies modified with PG or lower ratings for family use; the family version can have a small premium cost of which should not exceeding 15% of the of original version. All movies must disclose in detail all reasons for any rating exceeding G. These reasons must be made available in detail on all packaging, movie posters, web sites, and movie trailers.