Honestly ohio, if you reread your own posts (at least on this subject) you might find that you come off sounding holier-than-thou and arrogant. I give you the benefit of the doubt and assume it is unintentional, but before calling my posts "insulting" you really might want to review the comments you direct at people who disagree with you.
(I clearly have more information than you do),
I really doubt it ohio. I really, really do. I don't have time or space to go into great detail, but I know quite a lot about this issue. I've also lived in parts of Asia where actual sex trafficking is a terrible problem (far, far beyond anything in the states) and a truly awful scourge. In places like Thailand young girls find their way into prostitution in massive numbers, the vast majority of it has nothing to do with Westerners or online porn, and many of these girls will be scarred for life (it's usually the lifestyle of drugs, booze and habitual lying that destroys them). And yet, even there, the overwhelming bulk of it is still individual choices these girls make - rarely having anything to do with coercion (though still far, far more are forced into it than here in the West). And for most, the lifestyle is addictive and they very often like it. Most will say they don't - especially to anyone willing to give them money to leave the scene, but in the end they miss it and go back (trust me, I've known LOTS of people who have tried to help this way and failed). It's often just easy money, a fun lifestyle despite its pitfalls, and more attractive than earning money at a 9-5 job. Trying to crack down on prostitution made up of participants exercising free will doesn't work well either. It just drives those controlling the activity further into the underworld and makes the whole thing even more dangerous to everyone involved.
When it comes to online porn, the overwhelmingly vast majority of it has nothing to do with abused girls. Oh sure, there are some reports floating around that claim 1/4 of all women are sexually harassed in their lifetime - but dig into what is considered "sexually harassed" and you will almost always find these statistics include things so minor they hardly qualify as "harassment". I've lived in places where real trafficking and abuse goes on, and I am all for aggressively prosecuting child abusers, pedophiles, etc - hell, I'd be happy to lock them away forever or execute them since the recidivism rate is so astronomically high. But the typical online porn? Nah, the vast majority of the participants just make personal choices and opt to do it. Heck, a lot of the stuff online is made by women and couples with real jobs/lives that just happen to get a kick out of having sex on video - and sometimes making a buck out of it.
Maybe next time??
As I said before, we will end up voting the same way. We probably agree on most things. I don't surround myself exclusively with people who agree with me, and I am always interested in hearing different perspectives. We disagree completely disagree on this, but the debate has still been worthwhile.
I stand humbly before a Holy God, as much a sinner as anyone here, and knowing it full well.
Aspiring to higher standards for this great nation (because they exist, because they have been part of America since the Pilgrims landed and are part of the fabric and survival of this nation, and because those values are right and good) has nothing to do with being 'holier than thou,' nor 'arrogant.'
It is, in fact, the polar opposite.
Sorry I offended you, Longbow.
We'll talk again about something else.....