Is This Worse?
By Dr. Jeff Mirus ( bio - articles - email ) | Feb 07, 2011
Indonesia’s leading pop singer, Nazril Irham, was sentenced to three and a half years in jail last week after videos circulated on the Internet showing himself and two “TV-star girlfriends” in bed. This violated Indonesia’s anti-pornography law of 2008. “As a public figure,” the judge said, “the defendant should be aware that fans might imitate his behavior.”
Now I have a question. Is this relatively severe punishment for attacking public morals through pornography—a punishment against which most Westerners would presumably recoil in horror—really worse than the situation we have in the West? Is it really worse than allowing pornography to run rampant, stunting affective growth (especially among males), making pleasure objects of human persons (especially women and children), destroying marriages, and leading to still worse sins?
Really?
Jeffrey Mirus holds a Ph.D. in intellectual history from Princeton University. A co-founder of Christendom College, he also pioneered Catholic Internet services. He is the founder of Trinity Communications and CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.
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Posted by: Gil125 -
Feb. 08, 2011 4:12 PM ET USA
Frankly, Jeff, that's a strange question. It didn't occur to me that there was anything wrong with it till you suggested that there is. I certainly didn't recoil in horror. Of course, that's just me.
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Posted by: Miss Cathy -
Feb. 08, 2011 11:40 AM ET USA
As Father Corapi once remarked, if they had done in the 1950's in entertainment what they do today, they would have locked them up and thrown away the keys.
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Posted by: Justin8110 -
Feb. 07, 2011 11:01 PM ET USA
A three year stint in jail is a little harsh but I would like to see "jail" penalties for such filth even here in the USA but maybe only in weeks or months. There really aren't many penalties at all for this sort of thing here in the States. We need some sort of laws but not as strict.
