Another Arbitrary Law For The Books

Don't ask don't tell, an interim compromise between President Clinton 17 years ago and a nation of people not yet willing to do such integral tinkering with America's front line defenders, was repealed today. What strikes me most about this decision--and is the point of this post--was its basis in arbitrariness. Now I'm sure for anyone who supports this legislation there is nothing at all arbitrary about it; that in fact it was the right thing to do. For those who think--or perhaps more aptly put, "feel"--this way, it is virtually impossible for them to grasp the fact that it actually was arbitrary.

One example of this can be seen in the next generation of deviancy. Although this particular strain of deviancy is still predominantly thought to be deviant, as we will see, the fact remains for most that the basis of it being considered deviant is still arbitrary.

In December a self published book found its way onto Amazon that caused quite a stir. The name of the Book was: "The Pedophile's Guide To Love And Pleasure". After protests, Amazon removed the book but complained that it did not believe in censoring certain books because someone found the content objectionable. A question that both sides of the "debate" should be asking themselves after making such a moral proclamation, whether to the positive or negative, is "why?". Why is it good to not censor material for example? The answers one gives to himself in such an examination of thought will give insight into whether the stance is arbitrary, or based on an objective value. For teh person who finds that each answer only leads to another "why?", then for him it is arbitrary and his position will either be convinced to change, or will gain or loose ground based on raw power. Such is the way of a world based on arbitrary morals.

One should keep in mind while doing such an evaluation that not only was homosexuality once predominately thought of negatively, but so were other sexual sins like adultery and promiscuity. These sins however have since been removed from their foundation of objective truth then then blown away by the hurricane winds of pop culture. As can be clearly seen in the incremental acceptance of these sins and others, one can only assume the decade of the pedophile is on its way. I can almost hear the scoffs and claims that such will never happen. But I've heard it all before. You'll know it has arrived when you find yourself defending yourself against the label: "Pedophobe".