Protecting Your Family from Pornography

About a year ago I was asked by my local church to write a short note on how to filter Internet content for parents. I thought I’d share these tips since exposure to and use of pornography is undeniable harmful to individuals, families, and society in general. Numerous groups such as Fight the New Drug and Morality in Media are great sources for information on the impact of pornography.

While there is no perfect solution for eliminating the chance to be exposed to unwanted content on the Internet there are steps that can be taken to reduce the chance of “accidental” exposure. Below is a brief description of two free Internet filtering solutions that may be used to help protect your family. You can use one or both but when used together they offer a more complete solution.

Pictures of William George Jordan

When I first started researching William George Jordan (1864-1928), a very gifted writer with incredible insights into human nature, I was only able to find one picture of him online that was most likely not this WGJ. I’ve been able to locate the following pictures since then from magazines, newspapers, books, and family members with whom I’ve had the privilege of connecting (great niece and nephew). The Wikipedia entry for WGJ now contains the first portrait I located (I rewrote the earlier entry on him).

The First Tailor

In 1902 The Tailor (published by the Journeymen Tailors’ Union) republished an article by William George Jordan, one of my favorite writers and a personal hero, entitled “The First Tailor”. I chuckled as I read the article and thought I’d share it with you.

William George Jordan, late managing editor Ladies' Home Journal and editor-in-chief Saturday Evening Post, Philadelphia, writes to the Fashioner.

The first industry in the world was tailoring. The first maker of clothes and the first wearer was Adam. Of this strange character who appears on the pages of history in the dual role of the first tailor and the first customer we have but a brief biography. The meagre details require sympathetic interpretation to make up a complete story. Of his father and mother no mention is made, but the record shows he was destined to be a clothier of some sort, for he was put into Eden to “dress” the garden. We do not know if he obeyed this command, as his biographers do not so state, for, it seems, instead of “dressing” the garden he “dressed”' himself.