Every political candidate or party
has been dogged by baseless rumors and mischaracterizations. It comes with the
territory of being visible. So, perhaps I should rejoice in the fact that the
American Solidarity Party has reached the "milestone" of being
grossly misrepresented (deliberately or otherwise, I won’t assume one way or
the other). What, exactly, is the token of our growing popularity? We dig child
porn!
That's right, readers. This
overwhelmingly Christian party, which is otherwise socially conservative on
issues like sexual morality and abortion, has somehow dropped the ball on child
pornography. The notion that such a
party could support or condone this scourge is incomparably more fanciful than
the wildest so-called "conspiracy theory" being pedaled this
electoral season. What could have given rise
to this absurdity?
There is a tendency among many people
to conflate one’s moral position on
an issue with his policy position on
it. However, these positions relate to
two entirely different concerns. The
latter concerns the means that society should employ in addressing the issue,
while the former concerns the question of whether it ought to be viewed as a
moral problem. Bad things happen when we
misconstrue a disagreement over the most effective way of solving a problem –
especially one that is as unquestionably vile as child pornography - as a
disagreement over whether the problem should be regarded as such. The emotional reaction of some ASP members
and observers to an earlier plank in our platform to subject consumers of child
pornography “to a regime of treatment, rather than incarceration,” suggests
that such a misconstrual has occurred.
I can’t believe that I feel compelled
to affirm this, but there is absolutely no room for debate over whether child
pornography is tolerable. However, a
moral position on a problem doesn’t in itself imply the best way to combat
it. Those who supported the plank (which
has since been removed) appreciated this fact.
They were willing to think outside the policy box, recognizing that
policy is a means, not the end. On the reasonable
assumption that locking people up cannot, in itself, heal them of their
underlying illness, they believed that treating offenders is a far more
effective means of fighting child pornography than putting them behind bars. We can certainly disagree over whether this
belief is correct; during my nine days as the ASP presidential candidate (long
story), I personally opted for an approach that combined treatment with incarceration. But please, people: let’s not mistake such a disagreement
for one over whether child pornography is a problem that needs to be
eradicated!
It was only a matter of time before
we’d be grossly mischaracterized for something. But I always expected
that our growing popularity would be followed by – oh, I don’t know - the
accusation that we had a secret plot to install the Pope as president.
But no - we got child porn. Nevertheless, my hope is that the
transparent absurdity of this notion won’t be lost on most people.
