We Are The Change

With the rapid development of technology in our age, social media has become an integral part of our lives. Along with a plethora of efficacious implications, technology also carries with it the potential to be an pernicious evil. When used as a medium for pornographic material, technology begets a destructive force with implications of destroying interpersonal relationships, hindering society and harming individuals. We need to become more conscious of the negative consequences associated with pornography through increasing personal awareness and effecting change by personal acts of valor.  By doing so, we thereby effectuate the change.

Over the past several years I have witnessed an old friend make some terrible decisions in his life which has lead to the disintegration of his family relationships and ruin potential future opportunities. After witnessing his disintegration I wanted to help him; I knew he could achieve more. During the Renaissance, people began to incorporate the idea of humanism into their lives. As humans we have the potential to do wonders. Because our potential is unlimited, pornography is truly insidious; it inhibits us from becoming the masters of our own future.

My curiosity on how others attempted to help those entangled in immoral activities was further sparked as I learned about the progressive era.  During this time women stood up and challenged the authority of men. They fought against drinking and prostitution in a rather forceful manner. While their efforts left a lasting impact it did not solve the problem. A change in cultural awareness, not solely a change in policy, is needed in order to truly change someone’s heart. It reminds me of how the campaign against advertising cigarettes to youth was fought. Policies were implemented to lessen the prevalence of marketing cigarettes to minors, but what really instituted change was the shift in the mindset of the people. As a united group individuals took a stand against cigarettes and ultimately changed the way we think about them.

The only way for us to overcome the evil of pornography is by good people acting upon what they believe. It is not enough for someone to merely know what is right.  If evil is to be overcome it can’t be covered up by the voice of only a few; it must be replaced by the small acts of many. The power lies within each of us to effect change. Ultimately we all must decide to acknowledge, address, and act to eradicate the pervasive presence of  pornography.  We can do so with small acts of goodness and sequentially, we are the change.

Update post:

What we need to do is individual live what we believe. The acts of one may not make a large difference but the acts of the many is what changes the world. One may not feel like their contribution is worth anything but if everyone felt that way no one would ever act and nothing would ever change. It is up to us to become more aware of the consequences of pornography through learning. One place I found is very educational is fightthenewdrug.org. After we know, we should share this with are friends and family to help those around us. By doing so we can create fences to help protect us from the harmful effects of pornography but not even allowing us to get sucked in in the first place. This is prevalent in our society as well. I was talking with a professor the other day who told me that 70 0r 80% of college males here at BYU have viewed pornography in their life and something like 50% are currently addicted to it. I may be off on my statistics but I do know that even here in Utah valley pornography is still prevalent.