God Made The World ( Creationism ) And Don't Have Sex! by Melissa (Humour)
OK, let me get this creationism garbage straight. It is OK for our children to engage in healthy debate concerning evolution and creationism, but not OK for them to have the tools needed make an informed decision about sex?
According to Sarah Palin, that is pretty much the gist.
Although Sarah Palin has not actively pushed an agenda of teaching creationism in the Alaska classrooms, she has said, "It's OK to let kids know that there are theories out there. They gain information just by being in a discussion."
Exactly, they gain information by having access to all the information. Unless, of course, we are talking about sex. Because the debate between creationism and evolution will directly affect our children’s daily lives, right? And all teens and young people are going to wait until marriage to have sex, right?
When asked about teaching creationism in the classroom during a 2006 debate Palin was quoted as saying, "Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both."
I couldn’t agree more, Sarah, healthy debate is important and we should not be afraid of information. Oh, I’m sorry, Sarah, you meant we should not be afraid of information as long as it is only the information that you agree with.
And although I don’t want to make a habit of bringing candidates’ children into the debate; it must be simply pointed out that Palin’s daughter is a perfect example of the fact that abstinence-only education does not work. But her daughter is only one of hundreds of thousands of examples that abstinence-only education is ineffective. One in four young women have an STD and according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, everyday 10,000 teens contract an STD, 2,400 get pregnant and 55 contract HIV.
So we only give them half the story on sex education, keeping from them the very information and tools they need to protect themselves, but then of course if something happens due to this lack of resources, such as an unintended pregnancy, we will support them in making the choice that is right for them, right?
Oh no, wait a minute, I forgot, that would be a huge NO. Palin has stated that she would oppose abortion even if her daughter was raped. She wrote, "I believe that no matter what mistakes we make as a society," she wrote, "we cannot condone ending an innocent's life."
Mistakes we make as a society? Such as hiding our heads in the right-wing Christian sand and pretending that kids don’t have sex? Or forcing a woman to give birth to a child that was conceived during a violent, tragic and soul searing rape? Would those be the kind of mistakes you are talking about, Sarah?
I never cease to be amazed at the inconsistencies that are so very apparent in the right-wing conservative seam. Children can be trusted with information about religious beliefs, but we should decide for them how they should make decisions about their very own bodies. Oh, and don’t go screw up and get yourself raped, cause we are going to make you have that baby.
Our children need us to be honest with them, especially about the issues that can and often will decide what path they will end up walking in the long run. I agree, they should have all the information, ALL of it, not just what some out-of-touch hockey mom and an even more remote 72-year-old white man deem appropriate.
Careful, Melissa, there seem to be a lot of Pro-Palin people around this
blog. You wouldn't want to upset the pathologically Evangelical. They bring
pitchforks and torches with them wherever they go. Good post. Cheers
A
somehow it seems unlikely that Palin would deny american teens have sex,
since her daughter is pregnant. i don't think she's ignorant about it.
Rather, i think she sees that having ALL the information won't guarantee
their abstinence either, so she'd rather keep them more innocent longer.
Every study conducted shows that the "innocence" the poster above has
mentioned has failed miserably. When abstinence-only education is taught,
the amount of teen pregnancies rise. I'm not too sure where A is coming
from, but the teeny tiny church town that I was raised in had high school
kids humping left and right. Our innocence was lost by the time we picked
up our class schedules in eighth grade.
And since when is it the government's role to be the guardian of innocence?
I thought Republicans were all about small government.
A
i agree with you that not knowing won't help the pregnancy rate go down. I
also think it's smart to inform kids so that they can make their own
decisions. But i also know that sometimes the situation calls for an adult
to step in and do something the kid might not otherwise do, or to seriously
sway - or monopolize - the kid's opinion to make sure everything comes out
alright in the end. Kids have parents for a reason after all; sometimes
they need help deciding on important issues.
Melissa
Well, that is kind of the point, A. Kids do need us to step in and help
them to make informed decisions. The key word being "informed." It would be
(and often is) useless to try and lie to them or hide the truth from them -
they are going to find out about sex, whether they learn it from
responsible adults or on the playground is up to us. I would much rather
arm my kid with all the facts. This would give me much more confidence that
he would make the best decision for himself. But if he is getting his
information from his friends/TV/movies, then that confidence lessens. Of
course, I also have the crazy idea that kids are human beings and can often
make their own decisions when they have all the information.
A
that's not a crazy idea. alot of families don't have a trust bond going on
in that area so they WOULD think it was crazy, but hey kids have to figure
it out for themselves sometime and it starts in small things.
