BrainGlutton, im curious as to whether or not you think SDMBs like this actually help and change things in this world? Without getting issues out in the forefront, they would stagnant for long periods of time. Message boards do not just reach the people that are actively involved in them because these people take the ideas and issues discussed on the board and converse with friends, family, co-workers, and peers.
Prostitution will one day become legalized with people actively discussing the issue. (Well, if the trend that im noticing continues.)
Personally, I think it should be legal. It’s obvious that making it illegal has no deterrent effect. Those who would take part in it will regardless of the legality of the act. If it’s meant to be a revenue generator, legalizing and regulating it seems as if it would increase the revenue stream.
What I find most odd is that it’s legal to be an actor in explicit sex movies in many places where it’s illegal to practice prostitution. How are the two different?
Does anyone still seriously think it’s possible to legislate morality?
From discussions with other people, they think that it is illegal because of the morals of the majority think that it is a wrong and sinful act. I refuted that church and state are supposed to be separate, but analyzing many of the American laws, i guess this isnt excatly put into practice that strigently.
One of the people i did talk to also said that morals arent a religious necessarily a religious thing. But i dont follow that exactly because morals are based upon beliefs, and religion is based upon beliefs and morals… so i agree that morals dont have to be a religious thing, but they basically are the same thing.
You miss the second part of the equation - that the majority of people in favor of legalization don’t care too much that it is illegal. Personally, I’m not going to protest, write my assemblyman, or - most importantly - change my vote over this issue.
And that is not because of apathy on my part. The balance of social ills between legalized and illegal prostitution is a pretty close-run thing. There is no “war on prostitution” imposing significant costs on society as a whole or prostitutes in particular, there are no (or very few) pimps shooting up neighborhoods and innocent children being hit in the crossfire over prostitution turf, etc. Generally, prostitution is not severely punished in the US, so my tax dollars aren’t being wasted on prisons to warehouse prostitutes or johns.
This, of course, is short-sighted; the long-term costs of illegal prostitution, to prostitutes’ futures and the public health implications of unregulated prostitution, are significant. But hey, I’m not perfect.
Flex727, I don’t think that’s what superkentclark is trying to say. He does say that morals don’t have to be religious, but that morals and religion are the same thing, as both are based on belief.
A Christian won’t kill because he believes God thinks it’s wrong.
An atheist won’t kill because he believes it’s wrong, for whatever reason.
Superkentclark actually has a point; morals are not iron-clad, they’re totally subjective and unprovable. Much like religion. If I think rape is morally right, then it is… for me. Your mileage may vary.
Before we get to the moral education issue, let’s get to the degeneration issue.
What degeneration has occurred?
If western society has degenerated, there must have been a higher point from which it has degenerated. When did western society reach its apex?
But rape is morally wrong - and that is what is wrong with morals that aren’t derived from God. They are not, as you say, iron-clad. If everyone gets to make up their own rules, the result is chaos - and misery.
I hate this viewpoint so much that I almost cannot hold back the venom I’d like to spew right now, but that’s a whole other thread. Feel free to open that thread; I’ll be there.
flex727, reliance on putatively god-provided moral rules doesn’t solve the problem you posit; it merely pushes the problem back one step.
'Cause humans can make up gods. We are very good at it - just look at the myriad gods worshiped today and think of the thousands of gods worshipped in the past.
And those gods can make up rules that conflict with everyone else’s, and the result is still chaos - and misery.
If you’re a foreign (non-American) doper, and you’ve been following this thread, I guess it’s about time to clue you in: The original poster and all the participants have been having you on. For some reason, there is a widespread myth that prostitution is illegal in the United States. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, prostitution is so central to our culture that small brothels are conveniently attached to most retail businesses and public facilities. Next time you visit the States and you’re feeling horny, just look for the nearest door marked “Women”! Or the door marked “Men,” according to your preference.
I like (most of) this thread - we were saying just the other day that legalizing prostitution makes so much sense. Especially if the law were to require they be at least 25 years old and possess a HS diploma/GED. I’d hate to think of youngsters being lured in before they’d given themselves a chance to do something else; but on the other hand, it’s a woman’s choice. Fer cryin’ out loud, if we don’t own our bodies, what do we own? I’ve suspected that’s the reason it’s still illegal, a vestige of the days before women’s lib.
And anyway since strip clubs have become so outrageous they might as well finish the act. All this coy shit is annoying & duplicitous.
Re: religion, I kinda figured the whole “morality” objection was a way of fighting STD’s before penicillin. Same way the ban on pork (wasn’t it?) could have been an easy way to prevent food poisoning in a time when they lacked adequate preservation.
