decency_laws

Decency Laws

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This is an old question. What is the role of the government in policing speech or other activities which might be construed as obscene?

Of course, what is indecent is a matter of opinion. Views on nakedness, for example, seem to vary quite a bit [1] [2]. Add in gore and language and we have various rating systems from the ESRB to the MPAA. But I put the question of “decency laws” under the header of Sports and Entertainment for a reason: these attemps to express ourselves are done competitively and possibly to engage, delight, or otherwise impact others.

Indecency isn't a cultural question so much a question of who thinks it's important or valuable to ignore accepted norms. Most of don't care what other adults look at on their own time in their own spaces. What we care about is when children are exposed to material which is potentailly traumatic.

Decency laws should be the result of a larger political issue. We must constantly review the role of government in protecting our most fragile and precious citizens: children.


[1] Consider this New York Times piece that says it's on the rise (published in 1974).

[2] Austria leads, Japan trails when it comes to nude sunbathing, but Japan has compulsory nude spas.

decency_laws.txt · Last modified: 2023/10/03 17:59 by rslaughter