Consider the social cost of vice

Today I would like to address some demons that live among us. At least one of them will probably appeal to appetites that are naturally within each of us.

They are each legal. They share the characteristic of innocently beginning small, and growing and sometimes taking control.

Alcohol, nicotine and pornography are each economic engines that flood multiple corporations with megabucks. The porn industry alone makes roughly $14 billion each year, with those numbers steadily rising. Americans spend more than $100 billion each year on alcohol.

The cost of addictive behavior on our community is huge. Our hospitals and prisons are monumental testimonials to that fact.

Some of the sources feeding those addictions are pretty obvious, and some are more subtle. Human desire alone is capable of plenty of damage to our neighbors, but when you fuel that proclivity with accelerants, things get out of control.

According to research I have read, nicotine and alcohol can hook the mind and body, then cry for more quantity. Porn affixes to the same brain centers and demands not just more volume, but more variety.

For anecdotal evidence, look at the life of serial killer Ted Bundy, who is known for ending his fantasy with porn, by brutally killing his victims. His death row testimonial about porn as an early facilitator is public, and I would challenge you to look it up.

In his final exclusive interview the day before dying he said, “You are going to kill me and that will protect society from me, but there are many, many more people who are addicted to pornography and you are doing nothing about that.” For the full interview, visit pureintimacy.org/piArticles/A000000433.cfm.

You might be thinking this is an exaggerated case that has no relevance to the beautiful Mat-Su Valley, but I ask you to think again.

The borough assembly just sat through many testimonies from victims and caregivers who have had to deal with the messy aftermath of sexual assault in this borough. They were lobbying for $200,000 of your tax dollars for establishing a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART). These dollars will join state dollars that our legislators designated in the last state budget for the same purpose.

Currently, when there is a reported rape it requires paying officers to travel with the victim all the way to Anchorage in order to handle the forensic evidence in a way that will stand up in a court of law. The process is so cumbersome and time-consuming that it re-victimizes the victims and often results in no charges being pressed. The perpetrators get a pass, and in some cases are right back at it again.

I would like to thank Al Strawn for elevating the issue of pornography in his re-election to the Matanuska Telephone Association board of directors. I, for one, stand with Al in requesting that MTA get out of the business of merchandizing adult programming on DTV (digital television).

As a member-owner in the MTA co-op model, I share responsibility (along with thousands of you) for how our profits are obtained and then redistributed in the form of capital credits. I appreciate that this might be costly, but I firmly believe that this will be offset by customer loyalty to our very own, local original communication provider that chooses to set itself apart from the rest of the world with a family friendly service.

The entertainment industry has overstepped the boundaries on decency. If you agree, you should let it be known at MTA’s upcoming annual meeting on June 5.

Donn Bennice, the CEO of Alaska Family Services, has said that Alaska ranks highest in the nation for sexual assaults, with Wasilla being one of the highest per capita in Alaska. There is currently no local SART.

The assembly has recently appropriated $200,000 to Wasilla for planning functions, which will free up some of Wasilla’s money it was going to spend otherwise. The city said it plans on putting the money to work with a SART.

Gov. Sean Parnell’s “Choose Respect” campaign is sending the message statewide that domestic violence in Alaska will not be tolerated. As your mayor, I hope the funding to Wasilla and the annual $150,000 human services state matching grant are a strong step toward driving these societal ills out of the Mat-Su Borough and providing more support, resources and justice for the victims.

We each play a role every day in having a healthy community.

Larry DeVilbiss has been borough mayor since January 2011.