Friday, August 15, 2003
Theocracy in the USA
The hot, sunny, and humid summer days of Southern Illinois have once again offered me a reminder of one of the USA's many theocratic policies: anti-nudity laws.
Anti-nudity laws are theocratic? You bet your bare bottom they are!
There's no secular reason, nor any rational reason whatsoever, for human beings to be forced to wear clothing in public. If some people wish to remain clothed in public at all times for religious or cultural reasons, that's their choice, and I respect that. But if some of us prefer to wear little or no clothing, then why should this purely nonviolent and personal choice be considered a crime?
We in the USA [and most parts of the 'developed' world] currently live in a culture that devalues and objectifies all things physical, including the human body. The body is seen as something dirty or provocative that needs to be covered up. Anti-nudity laws are often justified with language that sounds secular, calling nudity disruptive, obscene, or even sexual misconduct. [This last one is the most absurd, since nudity itself does not entail any sexual conduct whatsoever!] But this view of nudity as something offensive or even remotely sexual is rooted in particular religious traditions that not everyone in this nation adheres to. I certainly don't! And I'm not alone...
If you don't want to go naked in public, then don't. If you don't want to see naked people, then look the other way, tune it out, or move into a special community with people who share your cultural tastes. I don't want to see people wearing Nike swooshes, but I would never lock them in a small concrete room for extended periods of time for doing so. [Prison is also theocratic, but that's another story.] Enforcing your viewpoint on me and others like me through the threat of fine and imprisonment is a violation of my human rights - and just plain silly.
Since I'm a male, I have the 'luxury' of walking around in public without a shirt. I've been very grateful for this, both because I've been doing a lot of hot daytime walking lately, and because one of my health goals at the moment is to get as much sunshine on my bare skin as possible.
Someday, I hope to live someplace where I won't be arrested for walking down the street dressed [or undressed] as I see fit! Until then, I'll wear my shorts in public and spend the majority of my time addressing the other oppressive aspects of our society that are far more destructive. [As usual, you'll hear more of my thoughts and feelings on them as I encounter them in my life!]
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Anti-nudity laws are theocratic? You bet your bare bottom they are!
There's no secular reason, nor any rational reason whatsoever, for human beings to be forced to wear clothing in public. If some people wish to remain clothed in public at all times for religious or cultural reasons, that's their choice, and I respect that. But if some of us prefer to wear little or no clothing, then why should this purely nonviolent and personal choice be considered a crime?
We in the USA [and most parts of the 'developed' world] currently live in a culture that devalues and objectifies all things physical, including the human body. The body is seen as something dirty or provocative that needs to be covered up. Anti-nudity laws are often justified with language that sounds secular, calling nudity disruptive, obscene, or even sexual misconduct. [This last one is the most absurd, since nudity itself does not entail any sexual conduct whatsoever!] But this view of nudity as something offensive or even remotely sexual is rooted in particular religious traditions that not everyone in this nation adheres to. I certainly don't! And I'm not alone...
If you don't want to go naked in public, then don't. If you don't want to see naked people, then look the other way, tune it out, or move into a special community with people who share your cultural tastes. I don't want to see people wearing Nike swooshes, but I would never lock them in a small concrete room for extended periods of time for doing so. [Prison is also theocratic, but that's another story.] Enforcing your viewpoint on me and others like me through the threat of fine and imprisonment is a violation of my human rights - and just plain silly.
Since I'm a male, I have the 'luxury' of walking around in public without a shirt. I've been very grateful for this, both because I've been doing a lot of hot daytime walking lately, and because one of my health goals at the moment is to get as much sunshine on my bare skin as possible.
Someday, I hope to live someplace where I won't be arrested for walking down the street dressed [or undressed] as I see fit! Until then, I'll wear my shorts in public and spend the majority of my time addressing the other oppressive aspects of our society that are far more destructive. [As usual, you'll hear more of my thoughts and feelings on them as I encounter them in my life!]
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