Friendly advice to minors. Shutup, already! Especially with the ‘sexting.’ Cute word, btw. Whoever came up with that one found the perfect expression for describing the harmless little escapades of teens texting their sexual fumblings to one another. Loving it.

There’s just one little problem. Many adults interpret what you are doing as producing pornography, and because you are not of age to legally make (or watch) pornography, they are inaccurately calling what you are doing child pornography, which it most certainly is not. And that’s the rub.

By indulging yourselves in this way, but which I mean in your own inimitable and somewhat gloriously selfish way, you are bringing The Man down on all of us. If you aren’t careful, you’re going to ruin the whole thing. What I mean by that is that the keepers of morality will shred the Constitution (already begun) and make adult content off-limits for everyone if you keep this up, and that will be a real drag for you when you are older and expect to be able to watch (and make) porn like your mom and dad did when you were a kid.

See, while it is profoundly true that every individual owns their own sexuality from the time they are born until the moment they die, society as a whole doesn’t always see it that way, and governments and religions most certainly do not. Parents usually do not, either, but we tend to defer to them because they are, or should be, the ones who have our backs with the important stuff, including our sexually. But the majority of others just want to control you, and that attempt at control does not end when you grow up. Indeed, from birth to death, some institutions will attempt to control you as if you are a child.

The pornography industry is not exactly your friend, either, just as any industry is not really your friend, but neither is it your natural born enemy, even though that is what you are led to believe. If you were to take a long view of the role the industry plays in the march toward sexual freedom, I would argue that in a very real way, the people who make pornography are your very best friends. In the face of societal condemnation and under constant threat of legal prosecution or persecution, they mark the boundaries of acceptability and push against the ropes of propriety, often breaking through and past them, to the benefit of all. Most do not do this for altruistic reasons, to be sure, but many do and my expreience has proven to me that all are aware of the risks they face on a dailt basis. With some exceptions, I have come to respect and almost revere these angels of the damned for the invaluable role they play in the free market of freedom.

That said, sex is not bubble gum and neither is porn. It is perhaps the most powerful biological force in nature and the cause of almost every great joy and misery experienced by man. Ironically, it ain’t kid stuff. Wars are waged, governments toppled, careers ruined, families rent asunder and lives are torn apart over issues of sex. On the flip, lives are enriched and informed because of sex, and the whole of our identities made complete when we are at peace with our sexuality. But beyond these eternal truths lies the darker fact that the battle to control sex continues.

So, please, for the sake of your future ability to do whatever the hell you want to do when you’re old enough to do it, chill out a little, take a holiday from all the sexting, refrain from take stupid risks when you know the risks are stupid, and please don’t make such a huge deal about flashing your parts all over cyberspace. There’s plenty of time for that, if you really must do it. It’s hard to refrain, I know, a camera and a network are there to be used. But remember, almost every law that The Man comes up with that is intended to deny precious rights that you will want to enjoy for the rest of your life, uses you as the justification for writing and passing it. I impore you to let that fact filter into your beautiful, young, dense heads.

Becuase, not intangiibly, but as a fact of life, that is the reason why you are in danger of messing it up for everyone. A little patience, please, and the world will be your oyster.