A recent article in our local newspaper expressed the concerns of religious leaders over the easy access to pornography on the Internet. Naturally, they are worried about young minds being corrupted by photographs of humans engaged in sexual relations.
As most 'net aware people know, there are many ways to make it difficult for underage people to see web porn. One is that many sites have restricted access. Without a credit card, you can't get in. And of course, there are several software programs that parents can install on their computers that will block out offensive sites.
Interestingly enough, some of these programs are put out by religious organizations. And their defaults for blocking (which can be changed, of course, but that's not the point) include such sites as the National Organization of Women, Planned Parenthood, and other pro-female, pro-choice sites. Boy! Are those offensive!
I'd like to express another concern. I'm concerned about the easy access to sites run by religious fanatics who spew their bigoted, hate-filled, angry, narrow-minded, empty-headed, ethnocentric, xenophobic, brain-rotting filth. Such sites are perhaps not quite as common as sites showing a lot of flesh, but to me they are far more offensive and more likely to corrupt impressionable minds. And they're all free. And no programs exist specifically to filter them out.
Do I feel these sites shouldn't be allowed on the web? Not at all. Freedom of Speech protects those sites just as it protects mine.
But let me say this to all those who are worried about porn on the web. If you think your kids are checking it out, it could be that you haven't treated the subject of sexuality seriously enough with them. It could be that you've made pornography more tempting to them by telling them it's bad, or not talking to them about sex at all. The trick isn't to ban it from the web, or even to block it from your computer. It's about education. Of course, education isn't always something that religious leaders care much about, especially with regard to sexuality.
And education about the bible-thumping, anti-reason, brainwashing cults of religion? Well, that's why this site exists.
