Despite my better judgment, I recently got into a "debate" on Steemit -- forgetting Wilde's wise counsel that: 'it is only the intellectually lost who ever argue." In view of the sexual harassment scandals that seem to be unfolding daily, and the moment of cultural reckoning we are having re: what constitutes permissible behavior, a few days ago, I posted a piece here titled, Are Men Sex Monsters? https://steemit.com/speakyourmind/@yahialababidi/does-a-sexual-beast-lurk-in-the-breast-of-most-men
The person in question who took exception to my post works in the sex industry and tried, as best she could (English is not her first language), to convince me that I took too narrow a view of pornography. Men are natural predators, she argued (in more graphic terms) and women are quite alright being sex objects. It would be worrying, she added, if she were not seen as one.
In response, I was forced to take the deeply unfashionable position that, despite appearances, pornography actually does us harm and is responsible for many societal ills - for a fuller discussion of what I term the Pornification of Popular Culture, please, read my OpEd, here: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/17211-the-pornification-of-popular-culture. Further, I cited a Buddhist principle that I thought apt -- namely, that sex divorced from love or spiritual connection, was like licking honey from a very sharp blade.
'Well, then, half of Western culture is bleeding' retorted the porn advocate, informing me she was a Buddhist herself, and I was being naive.
Maybe so, but I do maintain that we are more than mere monkeys, rubbing our private parts for pleasure. Nothing is without its price, I thought, keeping my response to myself this time and saving it for this blog. Short-term gratifications do have long-term consequences and one need not be a porn addict to realize how it can be ruinous for mind, body and spirit. I'll let you do your own research on how a regular intake of pornography stands to harm our general quality of life, relationships, etc..
To riff off Wilde's quip quoted above, one would think it self-evident that pornography is for the morally-lost. It should be easy to identify the beneficial, even though it might be difficult to live by. But, we live in contrarian times, where simple facts, like ethics, are contemptuously overlooked, in favor of self-defeating, self-indulgence. Sex sells, we are told (and shown) everywhere we trun. If it feels good, go for it. You first, you deserve it. And so on and so forth...
Okay, I'll pull the plug on this rant, now, and leave you with a poem of mine that echoes these subtle spiritual truths:
The Opposite of Virtue
One might say, a vice is a vise
never mind if metal or moral,
it’s basically the same device
with cunning moveable jaws
designed to fix us in place
and cheat us of a chance at grace
Impervious to all advice, habit
hotly whispers false reassurance
while tightening its iron grip
It takes no effort to slip into vice,
but virtue is trickier to stick to
like the back of a bucking bronco.
(Images: Pixabay)
For Further Reading:
15 Scientifically Explained Reasons Why Porn Isn’t Healthy For Viewers Or Society:
https://fightthenewdrug.org/3-reasons-why-watching-porn-is-harmful/