Decency – Family Council

Guest Column: Avoiding Porn Is Weird to the World—Good

Nov 20, 2023John StonestreetDecencyObscenity, Pornography

Recently, Rolling Stone magazine reported on an emerging scandal involving the new speaker of the House of Representatives—not financial corruption, an illicit affair, or ties to foreign powers. No, it turns out that Mike Johnson and his son use the Covenant Eyes app to keep each other accountable about pornography and the internet.

According to Rolling Stone, this is weird. And, seizing on the article, others called it creepy, even grooming, as if they could not grasp that the point is to keep each other off of porn and out of addiction.

Not only did the whole episode reveal an utter ignorance of a basic belief of the world’s largest religion, it also betrayed how much a view of normal can be upside down, as if porn is not a cancer on society or a curse on women and children, corrupting the souls of those who consume it. 

If the Johnson boys’ behavior is weird, then as historian Tom Holland has reminded us, let’s stay “weird,” Christians.

Targeting Young Adults with Explicit Books

Nov 1, 2023John StonestreetDecencyDecency, LGBT, Obscenity, Sexual Indecency

A 2012 headline in U.S. News and World Report asked, “Is It Time to Rate Young Adult Books for Mature Content?” According to the article, there was an increase in profanity in children’s books and sexual content in young adult novels. In fact, a survey that year revealed that 55% of the readers of young adult novels were adults, not teens.

A decade later, no one seems to be asking questions about graphic content in books for young people anymore. Rather, that content is being defended and promoted. Especially in fiction aimed at young adults, there is explicit content, including aggressive LGBTQ content, and themes of rape, abuse, BDSM, even incest. 

There seems to be a commitment, in both literature and law, to relentlessly sexualize children in aggressive and even predatory ways. In a saner world, we would call this what it really is: abuse. In our world, sane adults must do everything we can to protect children.

Guest Author: If You Give a Kid a Phone, You Give a Kid …

Oct 9, 2023John StonestreetDecencyPornography

In an article at The Guardian, theater director Abbey Wright described talking with 10,000 children and teenagers about the impact of pornography on their lives. She was careful not to tell young children more than they knew, asking them simply, “What is bad about the internet?” Still, she was shocked how many described pornography finding them.

Children as young as six recalled popups and ads placed in otherwise innocent content. Some were shown porn by friends or siblings. Yet many parents remain naïve about what their kids are seeing.

One teenager offered this reality check: “If you put a phone in a child’s hand, you are putting porn in a child’s hand.”

There’s more to the fight for the souls of our kids than keeping phones and tablets away from unsupervised children, but there is not less. The average age of porn exposure is 12, and the availability of internet browsing devices is the most reliable predictor that a child will be exposed. Don’t take the risk. It’s not worth their innocence or wellbeing.