Article May 12, 1980 Issue

Stand against pornography

ELIZABETH BICE LUERSSEN

Apathy is not the answer to the aggressive challenge of pornography, incest, rape, and other forms of sexual abuse. "Lift up a standard for the people,"^{Isa. 62:10;} cried the prophet. The standard of purity and morality needs to be lifted up by every concerned citizen. Nor can individual citizens look only to human government for answers—although the battle against the evil of pornography is often conscientiously waged by courts and various agencies of government.

The underlying problem remains. Until it is seen that everyone's true selfhood is not physical and sensual but spiritual, and people lean more toward benefiting mankind rather than pleasing themselves, pornography and other forms of evil will continue.

According to Editorial Research Reports: "Once confined to relatively tame magazine stands, strip clubs and peep shows in low-rent downtown areas, the nationwide 'porno' trade has mushroomed in recent years, moving into quiet middle-class communities and outlying suburban shopping centers. ... Magazines that used to be considered racy . . . now can be bought in most drugstores, while hard-core erotica . . . are openly sold in a multiplying array of specialty shops."^{William V. Thomas, "Pornography Business Upsurge," Editorial Research Reports, October 19, 1979;}