An Orwellian America

COG I think you've been paying too much attention to what Hollywood has defined as conservative. We believe in the Constitution, both in spirit and text. So me where in the Constitution that prostitution is outlawed? You can rest assured that Ben Franklin was quite the expert. Now they still put drunkards in the stocks 1789 for public ridicule. Drink or smoke all you want but just don't inconvenience other people.

Libertarians are not cookie-cutter, but most favor the legalization of drugs and prostitution, and don't mind if same sex couples want to marry each other. Conservatives, on the other hand, have a pretty rigid morality which does not allow for same sex unions, alternative forms of shifting consciousness and pay for play. Modern day conservatives want to control your life as much as liberals do. I had the radio on during lunch today and that idiot Limbaugh was talking about the gay marriage case before the SCOTUS, and related how important freedom is, while condemning same-sex marriage. Really? I remember why I don't listen to him. Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

He wants freedom... the freedom to discriminate!

COG I think you've been paying too much attention to what Hollywood has defined as conservative. We believe in the Constitution, both in spirit and text. So me where in the Constitution that prostitution is outlawed? You can rest assured that Ben Franklin was quite the expert. Now they still put drunkards in the stocks 1789 for public ridicule. Drink or smoke all you want but just don't inconvenience other people. Originally Posted by JD Barleycorn

The thing is - everyone says they believe in the spirit and text of the Constitution. What that means though is different for each person. If the Constitution was so clear cut and dry, we wouldn't need the Supreme Court to rule upon the constitutionality of laws and we wouldn't have all these people devoting their lives to the study of the Constitution.

There are plenty of arguments against the legalization of prostitution and marijuana (don't get me wrong - I don't agree with them) such as harm to society, State's ability to regulate what they want, etc. The "it's not outlawed in the Constitution" argument is flawed since you have plenty of things that aren't specifically outlawed in the Constitution (take any of the nuclear board topics, for example) yet we're ok with them being illegal.

I think a better argument is that rather than saying it's not prohibited by the Constitution, we should point out which freedoms of the Constitution it infringes upon (our freedoms of association, privacy, etc.).