The problems of our society will never be fixed by more laws or more controls. We have enough laws. What we need is self-mastery, self-government. In a word, morality.
The downside of the concept of freedom and personal agency is that people choose things we don’t like or agree with. They do or say things that may even offend our sensitivities. And we may do things that offend theirs. But, if we do not allow others to believe, think, feel or act as they wish, then we can’t expect to have the freedom to believe, think, feel or act as we wish.
Freedom comes down to choice. We can choose what we wish (given that it doesn’t infringe on someone’s inalienable rights of life, liberty or personal property). But, we cannot choose the consequences of our choices. When we make a choice, we automatically reap a consequence. We are personally accountable for the choices we make.
Negative thoughts, words and actions bring negative results. Garbage in. Garbage out. For example, a fixation on sex and an addiction to porn leads to certain consequences … the need for something more shocking and more intense.
“Rather than asking ‘does pornography cause rape?’ we would be better served by investigating whether pornography is ever a factor that contributes to rape. In other words, Is pornography implicated in sexual violence in this culture?” (See Pornography and Sexual Violence, Robert Jensen, Ph.D.)
There does appear to be a correlation to many sex-related crimes. For example, see the article, “Sexual Trafficking and Pornography – The Link Between the Two.
While outlawing pornography is a possible option — at a “state or the people” level, it most likely will not stop people from creating their own pornography and texting it to others. Outlawing drugs hasn’t stopped drug use. Outlawing guns won’t stop mass shootings.
People who do not possess self-mastery or moral boundaries will violate whatever laws you put in place. Micromanaging millions of people from a top-down approach is next to impossible. The amount of government force required to micromanage that level of individual control would eradicate freedom completely.
What we need is self-mastery and self-control. We need citizens who take personal responsibility for their choices. In a word, we need a moral people.
John Adams said “our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
The best way to teach morality is by introducing people to God. If they choose to create a relationship with God, God will change them from the inside out.
“The Lord works from the inside out. The word works from the outside in. The word would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of the people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The word would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature. (Ezra Taft Benson, “Born of God,” Ensign, Nov 1985, 6)
We don’t need more laws in America. We need people, en mass, to return to God!
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