THE HUMAN SIDE
The worst epidemic of our times
Some claim its damage is a thousand times more devastating than the oil spill in the Gulf. Others compare it to tobacco and alcohol addiction, saying it is much more addictive and debilitating than they are. As a business, it raked in more than $97 billion worldwide in 2006 alone; of that figure, $13 billion was spent in the United States.
The “it” I am referring to is pornography, which is now considered a worldwide epidemic.
The word “epidemic” comes from the Greek word “epidemia,” which means “disease prevalent among the people.” But unlike diseases that destroy human life, pornography kills the human spirit by sapping it of its self-mastery and dignity.
People impacted by pornography say it has deadly consequences, fostering a loss of self-respect and feelings of being dirty, and causing those who engage in it to question their own sexuality. They also warn that it starts out titillating a person before it ends up leaving that person with feelings of guilt and shame.
How do we counter this new disease of our age?
Follow the wisdom of the rehabilitation program for recovering alcoholics: Openly admit it is a disease that spreads like wildfire, destroys self-esteem and ultimately the human spirit.
Like alcoholism, pornography gives a person a “high” before sending him or her crashing to the ground afterward. But worse than leaving a person with a headache, pornography leaves one feeling despicable.
Walt Kelly’s cartoon character Pogo once said: “We have met the enemy and he is us.” To combat a vice, therefore, we need to look at both ourselves and our immediate environment first.
Most of us work and live around computers with Internet access. When used for good, this access permits quantum leaps in progress. But when used for such things as pornography, it opens the door to vices that tear down self-respect and shut other doors to God’s grace to be resistant.
When Christ said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mk 12:31), he gave us the principal reason for avoiding pornography.
To love others, we must first love who we are. Pornography, by its nature, takes the love out of loving self by destroying self-respect.
Worse still, it fuels the kind of self-indulgence that can lead to seeing and using people as objects of pleasure. As a result, the mind of the person who indulges in pornography can easily become twisted, unable to discern what a fulfilling relationship is.
Worldwide terrorism is responsible for robbing us of many of our treasured freedoms. More terrifying than this is to be enslaved by a deadly vice that kills our God-graced spirit.