I will later post a response about the important points of your story, they are good points.

I first want to get this out of the way.

"had been fatally damaged by their alliance with the religious right to pass laws restricting access to pornography." I think too often the Right and the Left work to use the "Power of the State" to control what should be beyond the "State's" control.

There is a legitimate debate about what the State should control and what they should not but you can be sure each political extreme would use the "Power of the State" in ways it should not be used.