Community question

By dictionary definition, Pandora’s Box was a box given to a woman from which all human ills escaped when opened. The new Pandora’s Boxxx in Brewer is, therefore, appropriately named.

Attempts to outlaw pornography within a community are often criticized as censorship and a violation of the First Amendment right of free speech. Overlooked or ignored is the fact that the Supreme Court has ruled that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment (Roth v. United States, 1957).

The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Miller v. California (1973) that legally obscene materials must meet a three-prong test. The first prong, and most useful in the Pandora’s Boxxx discussion, reads: “The average person applying contemporary adult standards would find the work, taken as a whole, appeals to one’s prurient (lustful, erotic) interest.”

The question becomes how to discover what the average person in the community thinks of the material found in Pandora’s Boxxx. Would a citywide questionnaire be in order? The findings could be used to apply to the legally obscene definition of the Supreme Court.

What kind of community does Brewer want to become? The answer is in the hands of the citizens.

Pat Partridge

Hampden