Abstinence
- Wade
I started this damn thing an hour ago and got far enough to realize it should be a feature, instead of a gambit. So keep your eyes peeled for that.
Meaning... Now I need another topic. Bugger.
Oh. Everyone likes sex, right? Let's do this. First, read this. (Then come back.)
(By the way, I love "60 Minutes." In case it ever comes up.)
First. I don't condone or advocate for pre-marital sex. If someone wants to wait until marriage, that's great. Like most parents, I'd like to hope (pretend?) that my daughter will abstain. And, if this program encourages a handful of young people to abstain, super. (Although the use of federal tax dollars for such a thing is a little sketchy.)
But to intimate-- even overtly tell teens-- that condoms are unsafe? Or, worse, not tell them how to use one at all?
What teachers like Laurie Sponsler can’t do, if they follow the curricula, is tell students that when condoms are used correctly, they are nearly always effective. And if a student asks how to use a condom, Sponsler's not supposed to tell.
Kids do dumb things. It's the nature of being young. To pretend that teens aren't having sex is, unfortunately, short-sighted. To assume that this pledge will "hold" is equally as naive. It's a bit of a conundrum in that one can argue that the availability of safe-sex information might be implicitly giving the go-ahead for pre-marital sex. But a complete lack of education about safe sex isn't going to do anything but make the problem worse. The scenario that Bradley lays out about two pledge-breakers not using protection because they were told it wasn't effective seems completely logical. Also, consider this: I've proudly and openly made the pledge to be abstinent; I fumble and have unprotected sex (natch, since I was told condoms are ineffective.) I don't dare tell anyone about what I did or get tested, for fear of reprisal by family / peers / clergy.
Teen sex is a problem. Government-sponsored miseducation programs are not the answer.
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feedback. Maybe we'll even run your letters in future Gambits. 'The Daily Gambit' is updated every weekday.
