The Need for Novel Ratings

I am often involved in some interesting exchanges on Facebook. I belong to a couple different writers groups there and I try to help out as best I can if I have something constructive or helpful to say in response to writers and their questions. But a few weeks ago, a a topic was posted that really got the home fires burning. People came down on one side of the other and it was a powder keg topic. Some writers run away from those kind of topics because they don’t want to be involved in any kind of conflict whatsoever. I think that living in a dream world and that you sometimes just have to draw a line in the sand and give an opinion one way or another. This was one of those times and this is exactly what I did in reference to profanity and vulgar story elements in novels and having a rating system.