(no subject)
Heh, my father is such a choir boy. Viewing the default existence of pornography as a sickness? That's a very palatable and easy way to swallow a much more complicated explanation of the human psyche and the effects of an addiction. This has to do with a topic on television and nothing to do with me, by the way.
I find his view simpleminded and wrong. Yes, porn can become thought of as an addiction, but it isn't within its very purpose and definition that makes it so. An addiction can be classified as any one thing a person indulges in without moderation, to the point where it both disrupts and affects his or her mental condition and social capabilities. Give a person who exercises moderation a bottle of alcohol and he'll be all right; give it to an alcoholic and he can't say no to more. Porn can be an addiction, as well as gambling or alcohol, and on the opposite spectrum, so can making donations or even going to church. A person addicted to donating can give away his entire savings and unwittingly ruin his life, solely for the gratification and sake of the act. And we all know some crazy church-goers that will predictably fail to bend in their way of thinking, will only believe the words of fellow members, and will literally put fingers in their ears while spouting gibberish instead of accepting an opinion other than their own.
Anyway, I thought I'd just mull this over a bit. I personally have a lot of qualms with the mishandling of pornography, particularly with today's teenage audience, but I wanted this to simply be an unbiased self-discussion.
I find his view simpleminded and wrong. Yes, porn can become thought of as an addiction, but it isn't within its very purpose and definition that makes it so. An addiction can be classified as any one thing a person indulges in without moderation, to the point where it both disrupts and affects his or her mental condition and social capabilities. Give a person who exercises moderation a bottle of alcohol and he'll be all right; give it to an alcoholic and he can't say no to more. Porn can be an addiction, as well as gambling or alcohol, and on the opposite spectrum, so can making donations or even going to church. A person addicted to donating can give away his entire savings and unwittingly ruin his life, solely for the gratification and sake of the act. And we all know some crazy church-goers that will predictably fail to bend in their way of thinking, will only believe the words of fellow members, and will literally put fingers in their ears while spouting gibberish instead of accepting an opinion other than their own.
Anyway, I thought I'd just mull this over a bit. I personally have a lot of qualms with the mishandling of pornography, particularly with today's teenage audience, but I wanted this to simply be an unbiased self-discussion.