Child Pornography

In 1996, Congress passed the Child Pornography Prevention Act (“CPPA”) to provide a broader protection against sexual exploitation of children. This act prohibited “any visual depiction, including any photograph, film, video, picture, or computer or computer-generated image or picture” that “is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct…” In short, it prohibited pornographic images in which the actors could be taken for minors, as well as computer-generated or virtual child pornography.

Many people had averse views of the CPPA, and the Supreme Court foresaw the CPPA capturing a substantial amount of constitutionally protected speech. The court had an issue against the banning of material that merely “conveys the impression” that it contains depictions of children, whether or not it actually consisted of child pornography. The Court also disagreed with the CPPA when it came to real versus virtual child porn.

Many people disagreed with the Courts opinion saying that virtual child pornography encourages the sexual appetite of pedophiles, hence prompting abuse of real children. They also said that virtual child pornography could be used to groom children for abuse if a pedophile showed virtual depictions of naked children adult-child sex to potential victims in order to lower the child’s inhibitions.

On the contrary, many also supported the Courts decision saying that if we restrict virtual child porn that could “encourage pedophiles”, we would also have to take other measures such as stopping the school systems from reading Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet because it could encourage young adults to commit suicide.

Which argument do you support? 

Source: http://www.law.nyu.edu/ecm_dlv3/groups/public/@nyu_law_website__journals__review_of_law_and_social_change/documents/documents/ecm_pro_063994.pdf

Our Slavery

Before Abraham Lincoln was president, he argued his stand against slavery.

“We have in this nation on the element of domestic slavery,” Lincoln stated. “The Republican Party think it wrong—we think it is a moral, a social, and a political wrong.”

Lincoln was right and although he did help conquer some slavery, slavery still exists today.

Sex trafficking is our modern-day slavery. It generates over $32 billion annually worldwide.  According to the US Department of state, about 600,000-800,000 people are trafficked into the United States for forced labor and/or commercial sexual exploitation.

The victims are forced to have sex through violence, threat of violence, or psychological manipulation. They don’t have a choice.

The problem is that these victims are the ones who are being prosecuted, instead of the clients who have claimed ownership of these men, women, and children. Linda Smith, the founder and director of Shared Hope International, an organization that exists to rescue and restore women and children in these crisis situations, put it this way.

“It’s complicated in that the actions of buyers are accepted as normal and the languages of all the cultures label the 14-year-old victimized child a ‘prostitute’ and worthy of little sympathy, much less justice,” Smith stated.

In other words, the innocent victims are being shunned by society and sent to jail, while the ones who should be prosecuted aren’t getting penalized at all, allowing them to continuously enslave innocent people.

Justice must be sought after. The first step is to bring awareness to the public.  This is my step. 

Sources:

http://www.sharedhope.org/

http://www.freedomcenter.org/

The Donkey in a Well

Sometimes when you’re down and everybody’s picking on you: One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway. He invited all his neighbors to come and help him. They all grabbed a spade and began to shovel dirt into the well.

 

At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step up.

 

As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

I love this folk tale because it reminds me to never let people bring me down and to always persevere until I've accomplished what I wanted to achieve.