Canada's courts have determined that our laws regarding prostitution are unconstitutional. Subsequently, Adrian Humphrey interviewed Nikki Thomas, a self-described sex worker, in this weekend's paper. She is quoted as saying, "Legal reform is just the first step and it would be wonderful to get rid of the laws that put us in danger, but that is not going to do much about the social stigma sex workers face. We do absolutely believe it is a legitimate profession and, in a lot of ways, no different from any other legal profession that provides a service to a client.". Nikki goes on to point out that sex workers work regular hours, have families and pay the bills like everyone else.
I'm sure they do. I'd expect most cocaine dealers too. Bernie Madoff had a family and no one ever accused him of not paying his own personal bills. But the fact that a person can rationalize their behavior to the point of thinking it's normal does not make it OK. Nor does personal belief (that the rest of society should put up with your behavior) mean such behavior should have special protection by law. Nikki's self described descent into prostitution betrays the fact that she didn't find any moral block within herself to halt it, and on that basis she believes that prostitution is a perfectly normal and acceptable choice for young ladies to make.
The problem isn't with Nikki. She is only doing what licentious people do, and only thinking the way carnal people think. The problem is with a society that has chucked the absolute right and wrong and insists on relativism. For Nikki, prostitution is relatively OK, so it should be not only allowed, but protected by laws. For the drug kingpin, there is no reason why they should stop providing what he/she believes is an essential service to desperate people (selling drugs to addicts). Bernie Madoff obviously had no moral block against taking what people entrusted him with and giving them an illusion instead of a solid investment. Prostitutes, drug dealers and scam artists will always push for a world where they are not only not punished for their behavior, but where they can practice that behavior with impunity.
It is the obligation of a society that can still tell the difference between right and wrong to both teach and enforce that difference. Failure to do so results in a society that cannot tell the difference between right and wrong, and that absolutely results in people getting hurt. Scams hurt - not everyone has hundreds of thousands of dollars to throw away, even if some do - so scams are illegal and scammers must be jailed to prevent their selfish attitude from destroying others. Street drugs hurt - not everyone finds fun and profit in their distribution, even if some do - so drug dealing is illegal and drug dealers must be jailed to prevent their selfish attitude from destroying others.
Prostitution hurts. If you are so morally blind that you cannot understand the moral implications of such destructive behavior, then at least understand that not everyone gets into it willingly, not everyone doing it does it for fun and most don't do it for their own profit. It should be illegal and those profiting from it must be restricted from doing so. Further, those who cannot tell right from wrong should not be permitted to make up the laws for the rest of us.
