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Under the guise of a “balanced” documentary, Netflix’s newest series, unfortunately, normalizes pornography by presenting it as just another issue that has two sides while dramatically underreporting the breadth of the harm it perpetuates.
Pornography causes significant harm in ways the film simply glosses over.

The filmmakers did not include the perspective of any former pornography performers, many of whom have gone on to speak out against the industry and even become anti-pornography advocates.

Also absent is the reality that many pornography performers are victims of human trafficking—according to cases reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, pornography was the 2nd most common form of sex trafficking, behind only escort services.

The filmmakers did not interview any individuals (primarily women) who have been victims of “revenge porn”

The filmmakers also left out any victims whose rapes or sexual assaults were uploaded to the internet.

The filmmakers did not speak to any victims whose intimate partners` minds have been addled by increasingly more degrading and violent pornography and who demand more cruel and violent sex acts.

The film did not interview any academics involved with any research on pornography. There is a variety of research on the industry and its consumers.

Those on the pro-pornography side of the debate repeatedly frame the issue as one of censorship—should pornography
be legal?

And while compelling arguments have been made in of an outright porn bawe can ask ourselves:

is pornography ethical?
Is it healthy?
Is pornography consumption a behavior that we should “normalize”?

Or is it acceptable to stigmatize behavior that is contributing to a very sick and sad sexual culture?

@netflix
#civildiscourse #medialiteracy #moneyshot

Can love and compassion coexist with conflicting worldviews?

An online petition that has (as of this writing) more than 16,000 signatures claims that Elder Holland is “openly opposed to LGBT+ individuals” and that he has “opposed the recent statements of the LDS Church in regard to accepting LGBT+ individuals.” This claim is similar to those who claim that Franciscan Health denies “basic health care” to transgender individuals.

In both cases, certain statements or policies are isolated, taken out of context, and presented as indubitable evidence of pervasive moral fault. The criticism ignores or downplays anything that might mitigate the image of the organization or person as something other than a moral monster. No complexity or nuance is permitted—the target is reduced to a one-dimensional caricature, with all actions and words channeled through a negative lens.

SUU students should feel safe. But if there are students graduating who don’t feel safe just because their commencement speaker has a different worldview, then SUU has much bigger problems than who’s speaking at graduation.

#CivilDiscourse #medialiteracy #Holland #SUU #FranciscanHealth

Many gravitate to “guardian angel theories” that refuse outside critique.

Any opposing arguments are evidence of the truth and validity of the original position.

These theories, although appealing, prevent the important processes of discussion that are required for a healthy society.

What “guardian angel theories” do you see in our culture?

#civildiscoure #medialiteracy #CRT #guardianangel

When we valorize doubt and skepticism, we can do so because of their value in pursuing truth. But all too often, they are promoted without realizing the negative effect it has on morale, mental health, and forward momentum. If what we’re talking about is epistemological humility, all the yes—but if what we’re talking about is moping a lot and pretending that lack of conviction is somehow morally superior, I call bologna.

Skepticism is great. Truth is better still.

#civildiscourse #medialiteracy #skepticism #conviction #testimony #belief #orthodoxy #faithcrisis #deconstruction

Engaging in regular family dinners protected against the harmful effects of the pandemic by increasing emotional closeness and providing dependability.

Multiple studies conducted over the past twenty years, including several by leading family meals scholar Barbara Fiese, have found that families who eat meals together several times a week are positively impacted physically, emotionally, relationally, and mentally. In particular, a long list of benefits is attributed to children and teens: including better academic performance, higher self-esteem, a greater sense of resilience, lower risk of substance abuse, lower risk of depression, and lower rates of obesity (e.g., Armstrong-Carter & Telzer, 2020; Fiese et al., 2012). The positive influences of regular family dinners are diverse and significant.

#CivilDiscourse #MediaLiteracy #PublicDiscourse #Family #familymealtime #familytime

Over the centuries, the Catholic Church had evolved from non-violence to a “just war” doctrine. Dorothy Day responded with a new pacifist theology.

From the beginning, The Catholic Worker was hostile to militarism. Early editions attacked the international arms race and criticized such related phenomena as German anti-Semitism. In October 1933, Dorothy Day announced that Catholic Workers, as “representatives of Catholic pacifism,” would attend a meeting of the communist-linked Congress Against War, and this spark, it has been suggested, ignited a meaningful Catholic pacifism in America. There were many other such sparks within the pages of Day’s newspaper, which increasingly reflected her view that war was a forbidden abomination.

(Editor’s Note: The featured article is an excerpt of War By Other Means by Daniel Akst; published by Melville House, 2022)

#MediaLiteracy #CivilDiscourse #Catholicism #Pacifism #JustWar #DorothyDay @melvillehouse