Prostitution, A Price America is willing to Pay!!

“Politicians take people's money with a promise to fulfill desires that supposedly can't be attained any other way. Prostitutes do the same, though by reputation, they are more reliable in delivering. It's not surprising for people in the same line of work to gravitate toward one another, as Eliot Spitzer and a woman named Kristen reportedly did in a Washington hotel room.”

While the vast majority of those whom grace the pages of my rather sporadic spouts my come to disagree with most if not all of the aforementioned quote derived from Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Chapman, I for one, found it to be interesting, insightful, and somewhat atypical. Although it is true that many like Mr. Chapman and I have come to view the personal actions and ultimate appetites of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer with great disdain, the reality still exists. Should men like Mr. Spitzer or better yet young ladies like “Kristen” really be charged and belittled before the courts of public opinion and judicial prudence? While, I’m neither suggesting nor condoning acts of such dastardly appeal, I am looking to further clarify the difference between two consenting adults exhibiting a taste for priced immorality, and those of whom do so without the association of monetary means or any other financial perk. For after all, hasn’t money and power always been associated with dashing –often times younger women – of whom are eager to meet and greet those in possession of secular prestige and wealth? Chapmen reiterates:

“It's not as though sex is otherwise divorced from money. If it were, hot young women would be found on the arms of poor older men as often as they are seen with rich ones. Had the New York governor wanted to buy a $4,300 bauble to seduce someone of Kristen's age and pulchritude, only his wife and his financial adviser would have objected.”

Aside from prostitution serving as a source of unethical devotion as it relates to appropriate partnership relations, it also has a certain illegal twist, that according to Chapman and I’m sure many others, carries with it a fragment of unnecessary legislative force and committed action. This attitude, which I initially shot down, was in one way or another refurbished, as I was forced to re-think my position towards prostitution, and the harsh reality of making such an act forcible illegal. Again Chapman states:

“As with laws against illicit drugs and unsanctioned gambling, this policy tries to suppress powerful human appetites and consistently fails. What one New Orleans mayor said applies to a segment of every human society: "You can make prostitution illegal in Louisiana, but you can't make it unpopular."

So is outlawing such acts through measures of state and federal statutes really the answer? Or do they instead look to further cloud the prevailing judicial approach, when it comes to “alternative” outlooks, regarding “sex” and “other” bedroom “behaviors”?

At present, the realm of sexual acceptance and with it a sense of fair and reasonable understanding has become blurred. For many, the notion of individuals, groups, or even married couples looking to extend the bounds by which such acts of desire can be more fully engulfed is becoming common practice. Again, I’m not advocating nor legitimizing that such demands or requests of a personal nature don’t bare substantial costs upon the landscape of a broader civil society, but rather looking to point out the exorbitant amount of hypocrisy surrounding America’s broad cultural standards and norms. After all, how else could one begin to explain the rejection of prostitution and other forms of sexual solicitation, but yet condone and at times even federally protect the rights and economic viabilities of sexually driven corporations or entities; namely those responsible for the selling and distribution of hard-line pornography, liberating sexual “literature”, and above all the mighty poll/lap-dance; the likes of which both men and women obligingly pay for.

This attitude towards –singled out societal approval – even carries with it significant financial costs, often brought about by de-legitimizing organizations, the likes of which are responsible for harboring environments of “meet and great” antics. This not only highlights the overwhelming costs associated with the loss of taxable revenue and other fees; but continues to place a higher burden on local, state, and federal agencies already strapped for among other things, money and man-power; with the exclusive duty of ridding the public of prostitutional influence. The likes of which, restrains and I believe greatly prohibits, law enforcement productivity and overall effectiveness.

Likewise, the risks often times associated with prostitution and those of human exploitation and de-humanization become unclear, as those standing in opposition look to collectively wrap them up under the same shared banner of deliverance. While the nature of prostitution may be justly linked to such undignified ploys, those proclaiming such charges of abuse and/or neglect, fail to do so with proper insight. For they once again fall victim to the rules by which our society is not only tolerant of, but at times willing to pay for. Instances such as these are present as Chapman points out in our “hired” help, via the millions of immigrant laborers and domestic workers, both of whom serve to meet the needs of an overwhelming populace eager to reap the rewards of cheapened exploitive efforts. This, as Chapman accurately points out, “is not taken as grounds to ban fruit picking or home cleaning”. Ah…. the seeds of hypocrisy reiterated once more!!

With the nature of such an issue all but insured to instill divisive outlooks, especially among alternative albeit competing interests, one thing is certain. As long as human appetites persist for all things self-serving, techniques as well as deception will continue to dominate the avenues of human capacities, expressed through individual capabilities. Thus we are all but ensured of future entanglements occurring not simply between former governors and high-priced escorts, but that of mundane, everyday, Jack’s and Jill’s!!