Part of the issue was the wide circulation of the magazine and movie, and the lower-class audience at which they seemed to be aimed. There is an implied theory of free expression here. In that case, of course, an argument that society needs some particular expression suppressed will have weight. It may even outweigh individual rights. Our constitutional history tells us that both arguments have been invoked in landmark decisions, but the history of the law dealing with explicit sexual expression has always been a battle between both points of view.
Art is good.
Libertarians see a society made up of individuals with rights. But many people today seem to see a society whose media is so pervasive and whose standards are so fragmented that children have to be protected against knowing about it too soon by government repression, if necessary, even if that curtails the rights of adults. We feel out of control. The excerpt goes on to suggest how what Katz dubs a Sensible Person should guide children through this confusing world. First, provide young children with computers, beginning with games and CD-ROMs and going on to supervised Internet access, perhaps even using a blocking service, but then withdrawing as children get older, so that by the time they are adolescents they are thoroughly familiar with the Internet, and can use their expertise to explore for themselves, even in rebellion against adult conventions.