I HAVE never watched a single X-rated or pornographic movie, full-length or otherwise, local or for-eign, in my lifetime. But for now I cannot see why the "moralist" crowd is up in arms against a government body that’s supposedly empowered to police the viewing preferences of the public, just because of the proliferation of smut movies.

Yeah, I have never dared watch any of these films even if I am already of age. I have spent 20 summers on this planet, but because I was raised in a predominantly conservative family which greatly abhorred anything that was considered taboo, such as sexually explicit shows and even cussing in the house, it was ingrained in me never to indulge in these things or end up being considered an outcast, a shame to the family. I do understand why my parents seem to be too restrictive of my viewing preferences – with the way things are, the world has simply become too liberal for them.

Still, I ended up as a liberal-minded member of society – the only one in my immediate family.

With the current brouhaha over how the very liberal members of the MTRCB are running the agency, I’m very sure my parents and siblings are fuming over the matter. And why not? They’ve probably never watched any of these so-called pornographic movies, or patronized the sexy stars that parade their flesh in these flicks. In short, they are one in spirit with the moralists who are crying out for the head of the incumbent board because they think she and her board were too lax in performing their duties. These moralists count among them concerned parents, government officials, youth and students, and (what a pity) even religious people whose motive, so they say, is to "save our society from the ‘moral decay’ emanating from the showing of these films.’"

I do not see anything wrong with their aims. In fact, being a law-abiding and responsible (duh?) citizen of the land, I am one with them. But what pisses me off is that these people seem to have never studied the issue carefully, particularly the real reasons why this kind of rubbish is proliferating in our moviehouses and even video rental shops. Instead, they vent their anger only on a group of persons, in this case the MTRCB, under the all-accusing name of irresponsibility. They have never pinpointed the producers, who for me are the real culprits behind smut films. Instead of educating us about better viewing choices and the whatever possible effects the unabated proliferation of this rubbish may have on our society, these people only amuse us with their self-serving antics that lean towards another dictatorship. After all, what they are advocating is censorship all over again, and isn’t censorship the handiwork of dictators?

The best solution that their narrow minds can come up with is to overthrow the present censors chief and the members of her board, a solution which would only make things worse. It would only institutionalize a renewed culture of dictatorship that would kill the right to freedom of expression, and haven’t we spoken forcefully about that 13 years ago in EDSA? No less than the Supreme Court, in Kalaw vs. Katigbak, has ruled that the State has no power to impose censorship or prior restraint because that is a direct curtailment of the freedom of expression protected by the Constitution.

In many other democratic countries, censorship is absolutely taboo. The governments of these countries assume that their citizens are responsible enough to choose which shows or movies to watch. In short, it is entirely up to the people whether to patronize such viewing fare. But on the other hand, regulations governing the classification of movies (such as the R-18 or "For Adults Only" rating) are strictly enforced.

Our country may not be as progressive as these other countries, but we’re in the same boat. Right now we are facing a bleak future, with our freedom of choice threatened anew, if our so-called moralists have their way with the MTRCB and not with the movie producers who are really to blame for this fiasco. Our freedom to choose the movies we want to see based on our personal preferences should not be curtailed. To give up that right and merely go along with whatever is dictated to us would be another assault on our freedoms, the way freedom of the press was threatened months ago.

We may also be partly to blame for what is happening in our society. For many years, we just allowed our leaders to dictate to us what films we should or should not watch, and now we get what we deserve, so to speak – a gaggle of self-proclaimed moralists enamored with State control and who are lusting after the blood of a government body which is merely doing its rightful job. They may say they’re doing this in the name of all of us, but in reality all they do is nitpick and pinpoint the ills they perceive, without offering any viable solutions. And the people themselves are placed in a quandary, getting more and more confused as to which side they should follow.

In the end, all that this brouhaha will achieve is to encourage more people to check out these alleged pornographic films, just to find out what the moralists are so mad about. And I would certainly be one of them, maybe in the near future…

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