The Poison of Pornography

Driving back from New York last week, I stopped at a diner in Pennsylvania for some dinner. It was one of those right-off-the-interstate places with a kitschy gift shop and travel brochures and lots of truckers. I tried to buy a French Tickler condom (not for the prevention of communicable disease) in the bathroom, but the rusty box ate my 50 cents. Anyway, on the way out, I stopped to look at the brochures and noticed a stack of newsletters sitting in the corner.

Reaching Out, upon further inspection, is a quarterly pamphlet published by rural Mennonites (I don't suppose there are a lot of urban Mennonites). What caught my eye was a teaser on the cover that read "Feature Article for Youth- The Poison of Pornography". I quickly thumbed my way to Page 8, and what I learned shook me to the core. Steel yourselves, gentle readers:

One of the secret sins of America that has come out of the closet and into the limelight of national attention is pornography...No one knows for sure how much of what is available on the Internet is pornography but estimates have ranged as high as 80 to 89 percent. It has become obvious now to all but a few who are too blind or stubborn to admit it that pornography enflames the imaginations and passions of its devotees. Not only does pornography specialize in nudity but it dwells on violence, especially aimed at women and children.

The last half of the article consists of advice on how the blind and stubborn can break free from pornography's vice grip. The most useful tidbit: "The only way to victory over pornography is a clean break."

Now, okay, perhaps it's lazy and mean-spirited of me to simply reproduce a bunch of poorly-written stuff that someone, however unfortunate, obviously cares a lot about. So how about this.

Drive on any interstate through the rural east coast (i.e. the deep south, western PA, southern OH), and you'll find Wal-Mart-sized churches sharing exits with neon adult bookstores and seedy strip clubs (Scuttlebutt, right off I-10 heading east out of New Orleans, is a favorite). The juxtaposition of these institutions has always fascinated me. It's tempting to surmise that the hardcore religious folks want to get their message out to the people who most need to hear it, but I'm pretty sure the Baptists, Quakers, and Mennonites have inhabited these areas longer than the fisters, gaspers, and peggers have.

On second thought, I'll dispense with the lay analysis. Anything I might suggest would be obvious, stupid, or both. Just scroll up and laugh at the pamphlet, please.