Fearless Philosophy Blogpost of the Month (October 2005)

In this month’s selections for Fearless Philosophy Blogpost of the Month, all have a common theme: the consequences of liberty denied on a ‘moral’ basis. I put the word moral in quotations because what I find moral differs a great deal from what many of the do gooders in the Roy Moore mold considers moral. On to the winners.

Third Place goes to NOTR of ROFASix with his post Sex Toys & Freedom. NOTR is outraged (as I am) that far too many state and local governments wish to deny the individual the right to purchase or be in possesion of a ‘sex toy.’

The story that set off this rant is, “Verdict Reached In Trial Of Clerk Charged with Selling Sex Toys.” In this case, a store clerk accused of illegally selling adult toys was found not guilty. He was arrested during a raid at the Adult Video Megaplex in Houston. Houston police charged him with obscenity, alleging he was in possession of adult toys with the intent to promote and sell them. Prosecutors argued that it is illegal to sell an item designed to be used for a sexual act. The defense said it wasn’t fair, because “everyone sells them.” Prosecutors argued “the law is the law,” and anyone caught in possession of six or more adult toys is presumed to be promoting them and could be arrested. If convicted, he could have been sentenced to spend up to a year in prison and pay a $4,000 fine. (Now that’s obscene!).

That is obscene. Its unbelievable to me that so many people think it is okay to pass such laws; to actually put an individual in handcuffs and haul him or her to jail and for what? Possessing sexually explicit material that some (or even perhaps a majority) of people find offensive. If you believe in such laws, you do are not a believer in liberty.

Second Place goes to Lest Darkness Fall and his post: Libertarian Myth #1. LDF does his part to dispell the myths surrounding the Libertarian position on drug legalization. I’ve written a couple of posts on the subject with a focus on the legality of drug use but haven’t spent as much space on my views on drug users and drugs in general. LDF does a good job of explaining what he thinks so I’ll borrow his explaination.

LDF:

The Libertarian position is that tax dollars should not be seized from citizens for the purposes of arresting, trying and imprisoning people who use drugs. This does not mean that we support, like and/or encourage recreational drug use…

[…]

I’ve never used illegal drugs and have no interest in trying mind-altering substances. This is not because they are illegal nor is it because they are scarce… If crack became legal tomorrow, I wouldn’t run to the nearest crack house to try some. Would you? Is the fact that
such things are illegal really all that keeps people from frying their brains? I sincerely doubt it.

I personally don't care if an adult, in the privacy of their own home, smokes, injects sniffs and drinks as much as they like, providing they don't endanger anyone else or become an unwelcome burden on others.”

And the winner is…

The Fearless Philosophy Blogpost of the Month for the Month of October goes to Jim Waddell the Watchful Invester with his post titled: The Land of the Free. Jim’s post ties in perfectly with the number 2 and number 3 posts writing about how the United States incarcerates more people than any other country. Could it be that our government locks up adult individuals for such things as drugs, prostitution, gambling, sex toys, and other non-violent ‘offenses’? There are many other dumb laws which clog the criminal justice system while our priorities should be on the real criminals.

Congratualations of all of this monh’s winners! Now go, read, and learn.