In recent weeks we’ve come to know not only that Sarah Palin’s teen daughter is pregnant, but that her 17 year old 'baby daddy' will be marrying her soon [insert shotgun here] How many times have you heard of the mother of a pregnant girl not allowing the supposed father of the baby access to her daughter? How many times have you seen teen girls act irresponsibly and get pregnant and possibly lie to her mom about who she’s been with sexually? Why is this a matter of national scrutiny? Why isn’t this written off as normal teen behavior? Why don’t we look at the larger underlying issue here? What is it you might ask? The major underlying issue is the casual attitude that pervasive our society has toward extramarital/premarital sex? How about the fact that this attitude flows down to our youth?
No matter where you look you see sexual activity promoted and used to promote products, services and anything else. Palin is then criticized for promoting an abstinence education program that was implemented in the Alaska school system. She was criticized because she refused to dedicate state funds for a sex education class, but opted for the abstinence education route. The talking heads are debating the efficacy of abstinence education and saying this shows her lack of judgment. They’re saying teaching abstinence education is a waste. Hmmm…I wonder why this is?
One argument is that sex is a normal human function and they’ll do it anyway so why not teach them sexual education? Another argument touts the lack of efficacy of the programs and the fact that they don’t teach birth control methods to the youth. Still another says teaching abstinence education brings religion into the classroom and shouldn’t be done. All of these are crap! When was the last time they advised that we not teach kids ‘Just say no to drugs?’ They’re going to do it anyway. They’re going to try it, it’s only natural. This type of logic is stupid as hell. What needs to be done is to keep advising them of the responsibilities that come with the acts and what decision would be best for their future.
Now to talk about the bringing religion into the classroom argument; while the Bible does advocate abstinence til marriage (ATM), it’s just as much an economic issue as it is a moral, or religious, one. Let me elucidate:
Each year there are upwards of 900,000 teens who have babies. These are the ones that are delivered...not those that are aborted (a whole other issue for me). Of these about 78% don’t have the medical plan, family support, or tax payer money to aide them that Bristol has. She’s not the norm. Most of the kids are supported by tax payer money through programs like WIC, TANF, CHIP and the like. Why these kids should be encouraged not to have sex until they are married, or at least older, can be made from an economical perspective. They are a drain on our tax base and these young people aren’t equipped to handle the pressures of being parents. They more often than not are unemployed or underemployed due to necessity. They cause undue pressure on their respective communities and families because they weren’t responsible enough to wait. Forget birth control how about self control?
Besides, too often the ones who suffer in this situation is the child. More often than not the father isn’t in the life of the child as they are reared. The result is a son who grows up without the support of his father or an example of who he ought to be when he becomes a man. Or a daughter who grows up being reared sans the father daughter relationship that models to her what she should expect from a mate later in life. Not only do these children become an economic drain on society as they grow up, but studies show that they (regardless of race) are more likely to spend time in the penal system in their adult lives. There are a multitude of reasons why young people ought not be indulging in activities whose consequences they aren’t prepared for. I just stated a few.
We are breeding a generation of youth who think they can do anything they want to and everything is for them without limits. You have schools that make rules that anyone who tries out for a sport must make the team and get playing time. The crowd is barred from heckling or booing in some states during interscholastic sporting events. High schools are directed to give a student no less than a 50 even if they don’t do the work. Rather then advising them to exercise self control we want to teach them to be careful (especially since birth control isn’t guaranteed). I haven’t even scratched the surface of the over 3 million sexually transmitted infections (including HIV/AIDS) transmitted between teens each year. Our answer to that is 'rap it up' or 'know their status.' How stupid is that?
Where has personal responsibility gone? Where has make the right choice gone? What plateau have we reached when we approve of and facilitate everything? Or should I ask what depth we’ve reached?
Stop worrying about who Bristol’s baby daddy is and address the real issue, who’s gonna take care of all the babies like the one Bristol is carrying that are being born every day. Who indeed…try looking in the mirror for the right answer to that one.
It’s Just My Opinion, But I'm Not wrong!
7 comments:
Bro. Guy that was very insightful and brilliant. When things like this are brought to the forefront, especially during these times during the general election, they are swept under the rug. When it hits close to home they will try to patch things up by hurrying them to marriage which could work out but a small % of them do. The vast majority of situations like these always end up with only 1 parent in the house and our tax dollars taking care of them. We spend millions of dollars on programs where they only mask the problem. Thanks for the blog Bro. keep up the excellent work.
There was so much truth in this blog, that I have to agree with you on many points. Thanks for information. Keep up the great work.
Great food for thought.....very insightful!!! Thnx for sharing.....
Peace My Brother,
OK. Here's the problem with comparing 'Abstinence Only' Sex Ed to the "Just Say No" drug policies of the Reagan administration. Both were abysmal failures. Why? Because neither attempt/ed to acknowledge the social realities in which teenage pregnancy and drug addiction, respectively, occur. Personal responsibility, while helpful, has never been known to occur in a vacuum. Personal responsibility, with few exceptions, is connected to familial responsibility and, to a somewhat lesser extent, societal responsibility. We need to address all of these areas to effectively curb self-destructive behavior.
And Sarah Palin was criticized heavily for her decision to mandate 'Abstinence Only' education to everyone else when her own child was being pummeled by some Northern redneck.
Thanks for the commentary conflict theorist, in some respects we are saying the same thing, hence the relationship between the ‘Just Say No’ campaign and the abstinence only push in recent years by the conservative right. Following the comparison of the two, I laid out the reasons why the abstinence education programs (I was once a part of) were so so unfortunately unsuccessful. The issues we face with teen pregnancy, teen std/sti infection, teen promiscuity, etc all stem from ‘personal responsibility’. Not just the responsibility of the teen themselves. There is a reason why they are wards of their parents until they reach a certain age. They aren’t responsible in totality for their actions until they reach an age of accountability. You touched on the point I was trying to make here. In the case of the kids, the ‘personal responsibility’, or personal accountability, falls squarely on the shoulders of the adults that these youth come into contact with, most importantly their parents, but to a lesser extent the members of the society as a whole who model for them who they ought to be when they ‘grow up.’ It’s so unfortunate that we’ve evolved into a society where the ‘freedom of expression’ and ‘freedom of speech’ trumps the notion of us living in a responsible society that cares about those coming behind them…or is that too much to ask.
On the matter of the red neck pummeling…while I don’t (and never could) support the likes of Sara Palin and can, to a certain extent, identify with the reasoning behind the decision to teach abstinence only education, I can’t fault her totally for the actions of a 17 year old who [in this state at least] is no longer considered a child. Maybe if her daughter was 14 or 15 and prego, then it may raise a little ire, but not at 17. I’d put money on the supposition that there are several things you and I both did at 17 that our parents railed against publicly and privately, but we didn’t get caught. As always…
It’s Just my opinion, but I’m not wrong.
Peace Brother,
I can't say that I disagree with anything at all that you typed in your entire first paragraph. We're completely on the same page.
As for Sarah, I agree again, in that we can't really lay the blame for her daughter's actions at her feet. I just assume that a reasonable person who's experienced one of her own children's getting knocked up prematurely as a result of engaging in some premarital escapades would AT LEAST be willing to abandon a ridiculous, ineffective 'Abstinence Only' sex ed policy. I mean you're right. I did do some shit that my parents would never approve of. But neither of my parents is/was gubernatorial material either.
One more thing: I was just checking out your movie favorites. While I recognize how incredibly well made 'The Dark Knight' was, I have to admit that I enjoyed 'Iron Man' a great deal more. One of the best comic book movies EVER.
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