prostitution

 Prostitution laws in Canada   The question that is asked by some Canadians including myself is. How can a person that sells their body for money live with themselves after being treated like an object? To which I would give the short answer, they do it by lying to themselves.  The long answer is a little more complex and attempts to make a micro and macro comparison. The micro view takes a look at how the law affects an individual’s self-deception and the macro vision explores how an entire nation lives in denial about bringing the oldest profession into the light as a legitimate business.   

It’s been proven that when a child that is raised in a God fearing family and is taught traditional value grows up to become a prostitute they are destined to also become either a drug addict or develop some form of mental illness. Because when arrogant people refer to mentally ill prostitutes with terms such as “F@#ked in the head” and “screwed up” it literally means just that. It doesn’t take a psychiatrist  to reason that when a person is sexually abused so many times by so many different partners it affects them in such a profound way that they start to believe they are nothing more than objects that others use. And eventually over time that becomes their new reality. 

 A person who decides to go against their traditional family values slowly begins to lose their humanity. At first a prostitute will try to hide what they do from friends and family then later they deceive themselves. They may use drugs or alcohol to help in the deception. Others may justify or rationalize their actions by having a large bank account or liv beyond their means as if they were a movie star or wealthy heiress living the highlife.  A prostitute who doesn’t use drugs and still has most of their sanity is usually the one that comes from a family that has taught them it is acceptable to have multiple partners.   

I would hypothesize that if prostitution ever became legal to point where parents were able to teach their children that it is acceptable to charge a fee to have sex with many partners we could see a reduction in the number of drug addicted and mentally ill prostitutes. Not that any parent would want to raise their child like that but you have to ask yourself, which is more harmful to the individual, prostitution, drug addiction or mental illness?   

With today’s laws it is unacceptable to teach your child that having sex with many partners for money is okay in fact it is seen as something to be despised and ridiculed. But it is perfectly legal and even encouraged for children to witness their parents having numerous partners and of course as long as there is no exchange of money it’s just fine. 

 Like the fantasy that is Hollywood where the modern family always includes lots of drugs and perverted sex. The average so called good person may engage in perverted sex because of the drugs and the consumerism mentality of society. But the real family values and morals that they have been taught and preached is what are conflicting to them. So if a person escapes the consumerism mentality to go back to the wholesome living and finds that lifestyle is more helpful to them and they are able to live more prosperously then that is what they follow.

 But today’s business world does not easily allow that because the love of money is everywhere, in the news, in advertising, in our schools, in all the technology. No matter how hard we try to live a decent and wholesome life we are forced back into the so called normal or well-adjusted way of living, whatever that happens to be according to the modern family portrayed by Hollywood where the almighty dollar rules.  Looking at prostitution from a consumerism stand point I could make the argument that charging money for sex and let’s say charging money for other services or goods like say selling cars, bread, guns or marijuana would only seem logical and should be treated the same as any other business. Anyone should have the right to make a profit. 

Whether it is an individual a corporation or an entire Country it shouldn’t matter as long as it’s done in a safe and responsible manner.  According to the Hart/Devlin argument and was expanded in the book The Enforcement of Morals. As a result of his famous debate of the criminal law in enforcing moral norms and The Morality of the Criminal Law (1965). If we look at the economy, which is what we see and hear so much about in the news, it almost sounds like it is more important to be successful in business than it is to practice good family values. The mainstream media reinforces the belief that we are members of a Corporation rather than belonging to the family of Canadians. For this reason, is it any wonder that traditional family values are slowly fading away? 

 I believe Canada exists as a nation so that individuals can be fruitful and multiply in more ways than just financially. But of course I’m not a business man so my first concern is not making a profit like some big corporations. If that were so then we the citizens should all hold a stake in the country like shareholders and should all reap the profits of our labor and investments. But unfortunately that’s not the case because instead of Canada being shared like a public company it is run like a private company.  

It would seem that when Canada turns a profit only the owners reap the rewards. And when Canada operates at a loss it is us the shareholders that end up paying in the form of taxes through the labor of its citizens. Like a two tear system of government that is the equivalent of living in a family that has two sets of values. One set of rules for the parents and another set for the children, the parents representing the politicians and the kids representing everyone else. We come to realize that any corporation that wants to stay in business has to turn a profit or it will cease to exist. 

Just like any family that trades their traditional values for todays is will eventually cease to exist.  With so much focus placed on the economy and GDP, it’s not hard to see that Canada is in business to turn a profit. It is not a nation as a Republic or the people’s country it is owned by shareholders. In fact it is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC. Google it for yourself if you have any doubts, you’ll see the Corporation of the City of Toronto is also listed as a publicly traded company. And who are the shareholders? Well it is supposed to be you and me. In other words the citizens of Canada all have a share in this great land in which we were born in. Sadly this is not the case for most Canadians.  For most Canadians including me life goes on in complete ignorance of how our country works and operates behind the parliamentary board room, and I say board room because that’s exactly how our government operates, as a business. And by the time the individual figures that out and understands how it works it’s too late for them to do anything about it. Slowly over time without realizing it the average person exchanges one set of values for another. We begin to accept that making money for personal gain is more important than keeping and raising a family. But only a very few select politicians who along with the real owners of the corporation of Canada understand this, and because they control the interworking of the company they decide who is allowed to profit and who does not.  I always thought that each individual is a part of and makes up the greater whole which is the Country of Canada. And if we were all truly a part of the family of Canadians we should be allowed to make and spend our money any way we want without fear of government or criminal element just like any other business operating under peaceful and safe conditions. Prostitution or drugs like any other industry in the community whether you like it or not generates income and contributes to the economy and greater good which is Canada.  If only a few individuals in the government can make a moral judgment for everyone then they are able to dictate to you what is good and what is bad and what kind of work you can do and what kind of work you cannot do. Do you as an adult Canadian not have the moral judgment to decide for yourself what is good or bad for you and your family? Of course you do. We also know that certain laws are not put in place only to protect the vulnerable sector of society. But laws are also put in place because they protect the very rich and powerful, to put it quite simply, laws that protect the haves from the have not. The police’s number one priority is to protect everyone in society from physical harm equally, not used as tax collectors for the rich and good morality enforcers for the religious.  These kinds of laws and family values vilify and take away the rights of a Canadian to be able to contribute to the greater good which is Canada. Instead of generating an income in whatever manner they choose they are forced to work in a cotton field chosen for them by the owners of the corporation. This keeps some from generating their own income in whatever manner they choose because it’s illegal. And some take the chance and break the law risking jail and associating with the violent criminal element. We as Canadians should be able to generate our own income in whatever industry we chose without fear of harm from governments or criminals.  The only way to protect every Canadian fairly with the new prostitution laws in Canada is to have no new laws at all. The laws are already in place now. Any new laws that relate to moral and religious views or business practices that relate to prostitution and the clients security concerns should be centered on being able to call police for help the same way a shop keeper selling any other goods or service is able to do. It is the protection of the consumer or merchant that should be the primary concern and first priority, not some moral or philosophical or even religious judgment placed on this subject.  If we take a close look at all the statistics involving economic and scientific data we have collected over the years related to prostitution we should be able to see some kind of pattern and be able to come up with a better solution that is good for business and does not vilify and turn prostitutes into sinners, criminals or mentally ill people.  Of course we all want to protect our children and that should be a major priority, but the laws we have now teaches kids that to do something that goes against the government or church makes you a criminal and a dysfunctional member of society. And even though you are a God fearing Canadian that is raised in a Good family and taught certain virtues without a violent bone in their body they are subject to the mighty hand of the law. What kind of justice is it when a child that grows up in a loving family with a peaceful heart is beaten and put in a cage for offering sex for money or having the wrong kind of vegetation in their pocket?  The constant fear placed on the individual by these laws only contributes to the ever growing problems with mentally ill and drug addicted prostitutes. Rather than protecting and encouraging them to be honest and forthcoming about their chosen profession they are subject to a life that is comparable to the leper colony, only the leper colonies are located in prisons and mental institutions.  We spend billions every year to arm police and soldiers to fight the war on drugs and we spend billions more on anti-psychotic drugs to treat the mentally ill. Imagine if the same amount of money and energy spent on prisons and medication was spent on building big industrial sized sex hotels?  Where all the prostitutes would ply their trade in a clean, safe environment without fear of harm either from the law, or criminals in the same way we build big factories that produce drugs in a safe manner, like for example the one built in Tween Ontario to produce high grade marijuana. It’s not hard to imagine a new reality emerging before us when we see the growing numbers of registered users.  And it wouldn’t cost any money at all if at a young age we are tough better values like not to judge prostitutes as criminals. Maybe then prostitutes would be able to better live with themselves. Maybe over time this will happen the same way certain other laws and moral values changed. Like for example the way we used to view homosexuality. Today some families teach their children that same sex partners are okay and I can remember a time when that was thought of as a mental illness and was also illegal.   But certain values and belief systems change over time and we as a nation change them because some stand to gain more freedom and liberties and a few get to profit financially. Some nations move forward with new customs and laws that are designed to help people in society liv together peacefully and increase their family holdings. It makes you wonder if we change certain laws because of money or is because the Pope gives us his blessings.  It’s possible that prostitution laws will be similar to what happened when the woman’s liberation came into the mainstream. Women were never allowed to vote or smoke cigarettes and whether it was for moral reasons or monetary gain they were able to change the laws. Because eventually the men decided that by making women equal citizens they were doubling the amount of federal income tax money coming in. And the cigarette companies were able to double their sales profits by allowing women to smoke in public.  So eventually what it comes down to is whether we change laws and make new laws because someone stands to gain or lose financially or is because the poor helpless and vulnerable in our society need help making a decision on whether or not something is good or bad for them. If we change laws because of greed and making money well then that’s self-explanatory. But if we change laws in order to turn prostitutes into criminals for the benefit of some morally self-righteous people, then that is a sin.