Last Thursday we watched Traffic Control, a documentary which highlights Ralph Yarro’s technology initiative to fight pornography called CP80. (I’ve written about CP80 previously.) The quick explanation is that if CP80 were legislated by government, pornography would be split from other content on the Internet into a separate “channel,” making it easier for parents, schools, and businesses who choose to reject it.
Traffic Control does a good job of explaining the porn epidemic that is sweeping through the nation, especially among youth. For example, one scene shows an interview with a pornographer who surmised that only a small percentage of youth were interested in pornography, then cut to interviews with high school kids who say almost everyone they know is involved. YouTube and MySpace make it easy for youth to view and even produce porn, and many are doing it.
The movie also has interesting interviews with former porn stars, psychiatrists, business leaders, and Ralph Yarro himself. Porn is sickening even to those who produce it, produces physiological addiction in those who consume it, and drains money and time from businesses.
There will be another free screening of Traffic Control tomorrow, Jan 30, at 7:00 at the Carmike Wynnsong theater in Provo (the Riverwoods.) Get there early to get a seat.
On a side note, I just finished reading John Harmer’s book The War We Must Win. Mr. Harmer has battled a legal war against pornography for many years and now chairs the Lighted Candle Society. For an excellent read, see Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s speech at their annual banquet last year.
From A War We Must Win:
By “drawing the line” I do not mean to exclude ourselves from that society. I do suggest that we must confirm and coalesce our opposition to the surge of degeneracy that now permeates our entertainments, our literature, and our so-called arts. We can no longer casually endure (if not ultimately embrace) the continued downward spiral of our culture’s art, literature, and entertainment into the abyss of vile perversion. As Joshua challenged Israel, so we must accept the challenge to “choose you this day whom ye will serve.” As Christ taught so directly, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Latter-day Saints can no longer accept the false notion that it is possible to honor the covenants we have made, to be loyal to the Godhead who have revealed themselves to us, and at the same time participate, even in the role of a passive observer, in the practices all about us that are leading to greater and greater degeneracy.
UPDATE: Traffic Control is now available for sale on DVD at www.trafficcontroldvd.com.