From: rstevew@deeptht.armory.com (Richard Steven Walz)
Newsgroups: alt.censorship,alt.politics.elections,alt.sex
Subject: Re: [Republicans] On Pornography
Date: 14 Oct 92 16:39:58 GMT
Organization: The Armory

In article <1992Oct7.204659.1@vxcrna.cern.ch> roeber@cern.ch writes:
>In article <1992Oct7.071431.17466@nwnexus.WA.COM>, elf@halcyon.com (Elf Sternberg) writes:
>> [ Quoting the Republican Party position on pornography ]
>>>However, no
>>>artist has an inherent right to claim taxpayer support for his or her
>>>private vision of art if that vision mocks the moral and spiritual
>>>basis on which our society is founded.
>> 
>>    "Art provides the people of the state with a moral guidance and
>> direction of purpose.  No artist should be allowed to exhibit his works
>> in our libraries, museums, and public squares, if they do not extoll
>> and support the virtues of The Fatherland."  - Adolph Hitler.
--------------
If you look above at the first platform quote, you will note that
these creeps think that there was some moral and spiritual basis on
which this society was founded. There weren't. Read the works of the
founding fathers if you don't believe me. They were notorious heretics
from the christian faith, most being either rabid Unitarians or
atheists. Read the works of Jefferson and his intensionally offensive
re-write of the bible, called "The Jefferson Bible". Read Thomas
Paine. Read Benjamin Franklin, who indulged in devil worship. The only
moral basis this society WAS founded on was freedom. And freedom meant
freedom FROM religion, which Jefferson often pointed out.

Now, if you have a town meeting and a microphone, paid for by all,
does not the worst heretic from among you have the right to speak in
it, no matter how offensive and outvoted? *And* without incurring any
additional bill for the use of the hall or time to say unpopular
things? Of course. And the National Endowment for the Arts is the same
sort of publically owned forum. In a free society we MUST pride
ourselves on our tolerance so that if we pay for Bambi in clover we
must also pay for Jesus in a jar of urine. For that, dear dumb Fred
from CERN, and embarrassed for you though I am, physics being near to
my heart as well, I must chastise you about this.

And I appreciate your sentiments that you shouldn't be charged for art
you didn't ask for, but this being a democratic society, you'll damned
well pay for anything that the people's representatives, in their
wisdom or lack of it, desire. And people desire the opportunity for
artists whose message is not precisely marketable to have their say.
You don't have to go. You pay for the roads too, you are excused from
driving if you don't want roads. 

>I find a great difference in being allowed to exhibit works and 
>claiming taxpayer support.
>I hold the position that anyone can exhibit their artworks, and "art"
>is not something that either I or anyone else can precisely define.
>However, the only support I wish to give to an artist is the purchase
>price of a work or the admission price to a showing.  Any artist's 
>claim to the tax money taken from me is, in my opinion, tantamount
>to theft.
-----------
Many dumb libertarians would agree with your stalwart attack on
progress at public expense, some of them would have rather not built
CERN or the SSC, which may be on budget ropes. What good is it they
may say? Well, Fred, you seem to like it. To most Americans, if they
were given a direct vote, you wouldn't have ever known a baryon from a
lepton. That's why we have a representative government, Fred, and why
you get taxed for something you don't understand. Sorry Fred.
- Richard Steven Walz, BA Physics

>-- 
>Frederick G. M. Roeber | CERN -- European Center for Nuclear Research
>e-mail: roeber@cern.ch or roeber@caltech.edu | work: +41 22 767 31 80
>r-mail: CERN/PPE, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland | home: +33 50 42 19 44
-- 
* Richard STEVEn Walz   rstevew@deeptht.armory.com   (408) 429-1200  *
* 515 Maple Street #1   * Without safe and free abortion women are   *
* Santa Cruz, CA 95060    organ-surrogates to unwanted parasites.*   *
* Real Men would never accept organ-slavery and will protect Women.  *
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