We live in a nation of laws, and so far police have not been able to show that Phillip Ray Greaves II, of Pueblo, Colo., has violated the law.
On the other hand, we also live in a land where morality was once important, and still is to many of us.
So it’s a good thing that Pueblo cops are keeping an eye on Phillip Ray Greaves II.
Greaves is the “author” of a book, a “how-to” book on pedophilia.
It came to national attention recently because it was available for sale on Amazon.com, the Internet book selling giant.
Since then, the book has been pulled, though it’s not clear so far whether Greaves or Amazon made the choice. That raises a whole different set of issues for Amazon.
But so far in America, it’s not against the law to write about something that is horrendously despicable to most of us.
Pueblo cops say they have found no indications that Greaves has broken the law, that he has acted out the advice in his book, that he has sought a sexual encounter with a child.
He just offers advice on how to do so.
Pueblo police say they will monitor him, and they will presumably keep him safe from dangerous people who believe what he stands for is vile.
Meanwhile, it would be refreshing to find that the American public was disgusted by his method of testing our freedoms. It would be encouraging to believe that Americans are not in favor of little girls and boys being considered as miniature sex objects, that we are willing to protect our children, that we do not think it was OK for film director Roman Polanski to have sex with a 13-year-old girl, even if he has escaped any prosecution for it.
In short, while Greaves has the rights America secures, it would be gratifying to be able to believe that the children his book encourages to be victimized would still be of some value in this society.
— Chuck Smith