“I Know My Rights!”

In my last post, I wrote about being on trial, as a defendant, for First Amendment issues.  A lawsuit was brought against me by the owner of a string of adult stores on claims that were beyond ridiculous.  These claims (surrounding peaceful assembly) all had to do with my rights granted me from the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America.

On the morning of Monday, January 12, I appeared in Federal court with my co-defendants, expecting to select a jury and begin this epic trial between good and evil.  Instead, what happened was fairly lackluster.  The plaintiff counsel called a meeting with our defense counsel and told them, “We don’t have a case.”  Essentially, they caved.  It was over before it started.  All of us involved knew that they never had a case, we just wish it wouldn’t have burdened us for the past 3.5 years; costing us time, money, and being a royal pain in the rear.  But, in the end, a victory is a victory and we were happy to stand for the truth, for justice, and for goodness.

The First Amendment rights that you and I (hopefully) appreciate, were upheld.  The right to peacefully assemble, the right to free speech, and the right to freedom of religion.  Now, in this case, some people have brought up the question about the adult store’s “rights” to perform free commerce and their “rights” to free speech and free press in terms of pornography. Heck, it was even written in their language in the original lawsuit documents! Make it known… the business owner who sued me is engaged in illegal activity, and his business practices are NOT protected by the First Amendment.  What?!

You read that correctly… the activity taking place in that store (and MANY others like it all across the country) are engaged in illegal activity.  This business, in particular, is guilty of at least two counts: 1. The distribution of hardcore pornography.  (A felony in the United States of America.) and 2. The operation of pornography viewing booths.  With #1, I bet you didn’t know that the production and distribution of hardcore pornography was against the law!  Yep, it sure is.  (Here’s the proof.)  But why is there so much of it being produced and distributed?  BECAUSE THE LAW ISN’T BEING UPHELD!  And viewing booths lead to illegal and illicit behaviors and have been outlawed in many states, including the one I was sued in.  Without getting into specific details here, we have evidence to believe that there were not only drugs being sold and consumed within these booths, but also lewd and heinous (hetero and homo) sexual acts were taking place, including prostitution.  Isn’t it ironic that the criminal enterprise that brought suit against us was (is) involved in much more damaging and negative activity than they claimed we were!

So here’s how this thing ends:

The lawsuit was filed — we went round and round with the courts and their proceedings — we spent time and money — our lives were negatively affected for 3.5 years — and so on.  What now?  Do we step away from this fight because we were sued once?  No!  Whether it’s peaceful protest outside of a pornography shop, standing with love outside of an abortion mill, or writing blog posts that expose corrupt and illegal behavior, we mustn’t stop standing up for our rights.  Rights give us freedom FOR things, not freedom from things.  We have these rights so that we can be free for goodness and honesty, for clean communities, for wholesome businesses with wholesome practices, and free for giving and receiving love.  That’s what it’s all about.

TrueMan up!

PS: If you struggle from addiction with or a pension for pornography and you need help getting out, contact us today.  Email us at info@TrueManhood.com.

7 Days of Virtue; Day 1 – Prudence

Think of virtues like your muscles.  You work you muscles out so that they can perform for you when needed.  Virtue is the same way.  You practice, work on the virtue and then, when the time comes, the virtue is there and ready.

Day 1 of the 7 Day Journey through the Virtues: DAY 1 – PRUDENCE.

Prudence is wisdom for practical everyday life.  This means that you take practical knowledge and right reason and you use them to make decisions throughout your day. 

“Knowing how to do the right thing, at the right time in the right way.” 

Prudence directs all of the other virtues; therefore, we must always have the end in mind so that prudence can guide us to our goal.  There are three sub-virtues to Prudence; 1. Counsel 2. Judgement 3. Decisiveness.  Counsel is gathering information to make a good decision.  (You seek help in making your decisions.)  Judgement is sort of like being a court judge; you gather information using counsel and then you weigh that information.  Decisiveness is the action that you take after counsel and judgement.

Prudence comes down to choices and actions.  Our choices are incredibly important, thus we must know what to do, how to do it and when to do it.  Being prudent means that you react out of knowledge and information, not out of emotion, impulse or passion.  Being prudent means that you have given the choice a good deal of thought.  Being prudent means that you aren’t afraid to commit to a decision.

If you want to grow in the virtue of prudence, practice being prudent. (Practice seeking counsel, making good judgements and being decisive.  You must also pray that God presents you with opportunities to receive grace so that you may become prudent.)

Man up!