How do you feel about public lewdness laws, or public decency standards?
But on certain web sites, or in certain magazines, or in certain films, I have no such expectation, especially when films are rated and web sites are clear as to what is there and magazines are clearly marked. I haven't opened "Woman's Day" or "Martha Stewart Living" to find anything naughty lately. There was nothing untoward on this afternoon's episode of "The Andy Griffith Show".
Please make no mistake - pornography marketed to children or produced by individuals using the underaged should be punished severely. I don't care how severely. But what adults do with other adults that doesn't directly affect me is not my business.
As for public decency standards... if it is for adult consumption, produced by adults, and children aren't involved, I just don't have much of an issue with it. I don't like it, but luckily, I don't find it difficult to avoid. Honestly, just this week I've been grocery shopping, on the internet, out to buy a new shower curtain, to the bookstore, and to the mall, and so far, my exposure to porn has been hovering around zero. If it is kept away from the unwilling & is produced for and by adults, I don't like it, but I don't think it is my business. I also think that it is a dangerous, slippery slope to go down when we say that we are too weak to resist whatever.
Now my question: can you point to any society which has used censorship successfully - where the censorship worked as designed and wasn't applied in an overreaching manner?