A two-piece travesty at Panama City Beach

By: American Decency Staff

One of the struggles every city and town faces is putting themselves on the map.  If a community cannot attract new citizens and new companies to employ those citizens, the community will eventually die out. Cities have many different methods of attracting people – trying to build a good reputation, good schools, tax breaks to attract new businesses, keeping crime low, etc. If you live in Panama City Beach, Florida, however, your city is relying on less conventional methods.  To attract tourists and boost its local economy, the Bay County Tourist Development Council has decided to take the low road.  Their idea of development is to try to beat the world record for the longest bikini parade.  According to FoxNews.com, "they need at least 358 girls in bikinis to break Australia’s Gold Coast record." “This is one small element of how we make Panama City Beach great on a year round basis,â€Â said Dan Rowe executive director of the Bay County Tourist Development Council. I don’t know about you, but a bikini parade would not draw me or my family to choose Panama City Beach as a vacation destination – in fact it’s a reason not to go there! Take Action!  Click here to urge the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitor’s Bureau to rethink this poor decision and let them know their salacious gimmick is a tourist deterrent rather than a draw. I can see it on the signs now: ‘Welcome to Panama City Beach where we encourage women to get together in bikinis so men can leer at them.’ I mean, let's be honest, this is not a platonic event. If it was just about tourism, you might go for a "Largest Non-Gender Specific Swim Wear Parade" record, but a bikini parade has only one goal in mind (besides tourism, of course): sticking beautiful women in skimpy clothing and having them strut in front of a male audience. Sounds like a winning strategy for community development. The rules for participating speak volumes as to the true purpose of this event:  “bikinis of all colors and designs are welcome, but  tankinis, one-piece suits, shorts or cover-ups will not make the count.â€Â That is a prime example of life in what Lisa Fabrizio calls the "Sex-Maniac Nation" in her article on "The American Spectator (Spectator.org)." In this article, Fabrizio recognizes that, "without doubt or question, sex rules our airwaves, satellites, and all the forms of human communication that compose our leisure time." Her piece also mentions the recent contraception coverage debate which forces Catholic hospitals and other organizations to pay for contraception as a part of their insurance packages (the Catholic Church is morally opposed to all forms of contraception). "Yes, sex has overtaken the common sense of otherwise sober Americans and now even intrudes itself into our government, via the despotic mandates of legislation that was unwanted by the majority of its citizens and blatantly unconstitutional. One wonders what our Founding Fathers would have thought if confronted with the fact that in 21st century America, sexual license would be included in the list of freedoms and inalienable rights to be protected and even funded by our government." Further than that, "sexual license" has so dominated American culture that it now trumps the inalienable right of religious liberty.  Nothing comes between a person and their sexual desires, even at the expense of someone else's religious beliefs. America has made her priorities clear, and that should make the church's priorities clear too. America could use a little salt. Be salt!  Click here to urge the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitor’s Bureau to rethink this poor decision and let them know their salacious gimmick is a deterrent rather than a draw. ========================================================== To support our efforts please click here or mail your gift to American Decency Association (ADA), PO Box 202, Fremont, MI 49412. American Decency Association is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

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