It would be a sign of society changing if we did finally legalize

The words of Thomas Jane, “It would be a sign of society changing if we did finally legalize prostitution. Once it's legal, it doesn't mean your daughter's going to run out and be a ho. The more we sort of bring these things into the light, you bring these hidden vices into the light, the less power they have over our society. You make it legal, it tends to go away,” are born of bold reflection and deep paradox. They strike at the heart of how civilizations have always wrestled with moral fear — the fear that to acknowledge what is forbidden is to condone it, and that to expose darkness is to let it spread. Yet Jane’s insight reveals the opposite truth: that what festers in shadow grows in silence, and what is dragged into the light begins to lose its power. His words are not a defense of vice, but a call for honesty — for the wisdom to understand that suppression without understanding breeds corruption, while illumination brings reform.

The origin of this quote lies in Jane’s reflections on society’s relationship with taboo and hypocrisy, drawn partly from his experience portraying complex, morally ambiguous characters. In speaking of legalizing prostitution, he does not argue for moral decay but for social maturity — the willingness to confront the realities that society hides behind curtains of shame. His argument is that through legalization and regulation, society acknowledges the existence of the practice and, by doing so, strips away the crime, danger, and stigma that thrive under secrecy. It is a principle as ancient as civilization itself: when the state confronts vice with reason rather than denial, it transforms chaos into order, shadow into law.

This idea is as old as the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, who taught that virtue is not achieved through ignorance of evil but through mastery over it. In the ancient city of Athens, prostitution was not hidden but regulated, its existence woven into the social structure rather than denied. The Athenians understood that when a practice is outlawed but desired, it does not vanish — it simply sinks beneath the surface, into darkness, where exploitation and violence breed. So too, Jane suggests that when society chooses transparency over denial, it does not lose its virtue; rather, it strengthens it, for truth is the only soil in which justice can grow.

To bring “hidden vices into the light,” as Jane says, is to rob them of the power that secrecy gives them. For what is hidden becomes myth, and what is myth becomes magnified by fear. The ancients knew this well. The Greek dramatist Euripides once wrote that “the gods visit most wrath upon those who deny what is natural.” When societies attempt to deny human desire — whether through rigid law or moral pretense — they drive it underground, where it mutates into something darker. But when that same society faces its imperfections openly, it finds the chance to transform them. Thus, Jane’s call to legalize prostitution is, in truth, a call to dismantle the hypocrisy that hides vice beneath a veneer of purity.

Consider the story of Amsterdam, where prostitution has long been legalized and regulated. There, workers are registered, protected, and taxed. The trade is brought into the open, and by doing so, the city has reduced both crime and exploitation. The Netherlands, rather than descending into moral ruin, found that when vice is confronted through law, it ceases to be vice in the destructive sense and becomes manageable reality. In contrast, in nations where prostitution is criminalized, it persists nonetheless — but in shadows, where abuse, disease, and slavery multiply unchecked. This is the wisdom Jane alludes to: not the celebration of sin, but the recognition that light purifies more than punishment ever can.

Yet, his words also carry a deeper philosophical meaning — one that transcends the specific issue of prostitution. They speak of a universal truth: that society must outgrow its habit of moral panic and instead embrace understanding as the path to virtue. To fear discussion is to surrender to ignorance; to repress truth is to give it dominion in secret. As the great reformers and prophets of old taught, what we bring into the light loses its dominion over us. Thus, every age must learn anew that confronting our imperfections — whether personal or societal — is not weakness, but the highest form of strength.

Let the lesson of Thomas Jane’s words be clear: the power of evil lies in secrecy, and the path to wisdom lies in illumination. Do not turn away from the uncomfortable or the controversial. Do not hide what is human out of fear of judgment. Instead, meet it with reason, compassion, and courage. Whether in law, in morality, or in one’s own heart, remember this ancient truth — the light does not corrupt; it reveals. And once truth is revealed, its shadows begin to fade. Thus, through honesty and understanding, a society does not lose its soul; it reclaims it.