RE: AFA vs. Strip Joints
So that this will make sense, I received an email (which I admittedly subscribed to) from the American Family Association decrying Lamar Advertising's approval to sell advertising space on their billboards to "gentleman's clubs." They asked that the recipients of the email sign their virtual petition to try and force Lamar to "stop accepting business of this nature." Rather than sign the petition, I instead sent them the following email reply:
I'm sorry, but I have to side with the First Amendment on this. The human body is a beautiful thing made in God's own image. Personally, I have not lost anything at a strip joint or a gentleman's club or whatever else you may choose to call them. I have never been to one, and I have no pressing desire to do so anytime in the near future. That is not to say that they offend me, nor do I believe that it is for me (or you) to decide that something is morally wrong (i.e. against God's law) simply because I do not personally agree with it. On that note, having said that, can you point to the passage (or passages) in the Bible where nude dancing (or nudity in general, for that matter) is against God's will? And do not give me Genesis 3:7-13 because that verse does not condemn nudity. It was not God who said that it was wrong for Adam and Eve to be nude (if you will remember, it was God who made them that way to begin with). It was Adam and Eve who took it upon themselves to cover up. The stigma attached to nudity has nothing to do with God's word, but with man's own repressed, insecure view of God's creation. You use the same argument that everyone else uses any time they cannot make a legitimate, logical (or even moral) argument - "do it for the children." "We don't like this, so it must be harmful to our children." And just because you use innocent children as pawns in your chess game, the flocks of sheep will all blindly fall into line with your self-serving propaganda. In my opinion, hiding behind God's children to further your own agenda is more despicable than those you are going after. Yours in Christ...
The email that I am responding to is shown below, so that the entire opinion can be considered in context - something most editorialists do not want you to do.
October 7, 2010 Dear Derek, If you drive on some of America's highways, you most likely have been visually assaulted by billboards advertising adult businesses, or "gentlemen's clubs" as their owners prefer to refer to them. You may have had a curious child ask what they are. No parent should have to talk about these places to their innocent child. Billboard advertising giant, Lamar Outdoor Advertising, is one of the companies providing ads for these "adult" businesses. Lamar once had a family-friendly policy that prohibited sexually suggestive graphics and language -- but not now. Sign our petition to encourage Lamar to again adopt its family-friendly policy that protects communities and highways from billboards that advertise for businesses that have the potential to increase crime rates, reduce property values, encourage infidelity and break up marriages and families. AFA believes that when outdoor advertising is used to exploit women as sex objects, concerned Christians should take a stand to protect women, men and children against indecent and irresponsible attacks on our families and community standards through advertising. Please take a minute to sign the petition. Your petition will be hand-delivered to the president of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA), who has promised to bring up this issue at the association's fall board meeting. OAAA has agreed to present the petitions to Lamar President and CEO Kevin Reilly, Jr. We understand that the OAAA has no authority to force one of its members to stop accepting business of this nature, but pressure from the public will have a great impact. It is very important that you forward this alert to your friends and family members. Sincerely, Tim Wildmon President American Family Association
