Yes. In fact, I am. But as I have often stated of my personal politics, as well as republican politics in general, toeing the party line is not something that we often do on our side. We're thinkers, you know. And as such, we have our own ideas, and we think for ourselves.
It helps us and hurts us. As I have often also stated. Because sometimes we're not all in line together, that makes it harder to get things done sometimes. It makes it harder to win elections. It makes for more arguments, and sometimes rather heated ones that go on for a very long time.
I only say all this to serve as a bit of a backdrop to where I am going to go next and is at the heart of the question I posed in the title.
If you are a republican, how could you be in favor of legalized prostitution?
Well, I am both a realist and a capitalist as well as I am a republican. If it is worth noting, I am also for the legalization of marijuana. I mean, is a little recreational pot really any worse than alcohol? Some would argue it's a gateway drug and leads to all sorts of other problems, and for some people this may be true.
But I think worse problems are created by banning it and keeping it illegal. We've made some people very rich selling it on the black market. We've seen heightened gang activity and innocent people being killed in the crossfire.
We are also overcrowding prisons and overtaxing police that could be pursuing other, more important crimes against society.
To me all prostitution is, is a business not unlike any other business. It's a simple transaction. A consenting male with money to spend offers it to a woman who is willing to have sex with him in exchange for the cash.
He has the money, and she is providing a service that he wants in exchange for it.
Does it matter what we think of the "service" that is being provided? Well, yes and no. To some people it is a dirty thing, and many people have the idea that a business like this creates victims. And, to some extent it does.
But many goods and services that are "above board" and within the law can do that too. Create victims. And even when they do, not everyone involved becomes one. Like anything, there is a give and take.
Cigarettes can create lung cancer victims. Bars can serve too much booze, and someone gets killed in a terrible car crash. Casinos can create people willing to empty out their life's savings hoping for the big win that won't likely ever happen.
The flip side is that banning things does not make things simply go away. People do what they want to do and are sometimes willing to suffer the consequences if they get caught. Especially if the drive is strong enough that they are compelled to do it regardless of what the law says.
That is not to say that all laws are bad or that we shouldn't have any just because people might do certain things anyway. I am a republican, not a libertarian. And I also like to think I have at least some modicum of common sense.
So, by banning prostitution what have we solved? And what have we created? It still exists as a thing even if it is illegal.
We have created a black market for it where pimps rule the business. And the people tied up in the black market—the women—are victims more than they are active, willing participants. They are in this line of work either because they have been forced into it, have found no other means of making a living, or have drug habits to support.
This is much unlike any legal prostitution such as deep in a small part of Nevada where the women are doing it because they want to. And what they do there, and why they do it, is an important thing to consider.
To them it's a job not unlike any other job, and a profession that they enter because the money is good, and they want to do it.
That's not to say that everyone in the profession automatically likes what they do any more than you could say all lawyers or doctors—or hell, factory workers for that matter—like what they do. Sometimes it's just a job and along with the perks come a little bit of a downside.
The bottom line is that people want sex. It's the strongest drive of the human condition. And people are going to do it however they can. Whether they pay for it or not, people will find a way to make a connection and have sex.
You simply can't stop it. And by trying to stop it all you create are back doors to getting it done. From Asian massage parlors to crack-addled women working the streets to Tinder accounts and whatever other means, people will connect and do it and sometimes exchange money in the process.
I think making it legal simply makes the entire thing better for everyone. It separates the good apart from the bad. It makes the entire thing safer for the women, safer for the Johns, and safer for society as a whole.
Will it stop illegal activity altogether? No. Of course not. Any more than the legalization of marijuana will remove all criminal elements from that. Every legitimate business will have an illegal component to it. It's just the way things are, and if there is money to be made, people will do that too.
But certainly, when things are legal, any crime associated with legal things on the dark side are going to be fewer and far between. More of the activity will be above-board and better regulated and conducted. Because while some people could care less about consequences, most people do care about them.
When it comes to prostitution, we are simply fighting a war we cannot win. We're fighting one we will never win. Because we have been fighting it since the first orgasm ever happened. Sex feels good. People want to do it. They want to do it by whatever means. And again, they are going to do it come hell or high water—and whatever the price.
Legal or not.
As a free people and as a free society, not everything should not be allowed simply because some people don't like what certain businesses are doing. A lot of people dislike a lot of things a lot of other people do like—and you're not going to please everyone.
And again, you're not going to stop everything from happening anyway.
I am not saying make it legal across the board and make it open game on the streets all across America. But if one wants to open a regulated brothel or create a designated district? Why not? If one wants to operate a regulated call service operation? Why not?
Lead image courtesy of Pixabay, user stux. Person Human Female - Free image on Pixabay
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