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April 4, 2005
Tina’s small
table was inconspicuous in the back of the conference room. Filled
with brochures, posters and business cards, she was looking forward to
sharing information about her abstinence program.
But, at the end
of the day, packing to go home, she shared her frustration with me.
Here she was at a conference dedicated to problems caused by teen sex.
It had seemed reasonable to think that nurses and teachers would want
her information. Instead…she spent the entire day defending herself
and the notion that teens could and should remain sexually
abstinent until marriage.
At every turn,
sexual restraint and abstinence are being challenged. The Department
of Health and Human Services has just launched a new website that
helps parents promote abstinence to their children as “the healthiest
choice.” We should be thankful. Instead the director of HHS must
defend himself against attacks from the ACLU and gay rights groups.
On today’s news,
reporters discuss candidates under consideration as the new Catholic
pope. They point out that some people are enthusiastically hoping for
a pope who will “modernize the church”…a pope who will withdraw
opposition to abortion, birth control, premarital sex, and divorce.
In essence, from his place in heaven, Pope John Paul II, must defend
himself.
This week, an
uncommon convergence of news stories gives shape to an ethic that has
come to dominate our land. America’s heart can be best be known by
making a list of the beliefs and behaviors we oppose, by cataloguing
the great offenses that make us angry.
Maybe, instead
of rejecting sexual abstinence, gay activists could speak out in loud
and clear voices…not to mention angry and indignant voices…opposing
individuals and organizations such as NAMBLA who advocate adult-child
sex. What a wonderful sight it would be to see a sit-in of gay
leaders blocking access to bookstores that sell the two-volume book
set, Loving Boys.
Or…when is the
National Organization for Women going to take on the media and demand
a return to respect for women…real respect? Why did NOW pass up the
chance to give a good tongue-lashing to NBC, Terrell and Nicolette
over the prime-time striptease on Monday Night Football? If anyone
should defend himself, why not start with Commissioner Paul Tagliabue?
Where are the
class action attorneys when you really need them? No matter how much
“protection” Planned Parenthood educators promise with a condom, there
is no denying that the unacceptable incidence of genital herpes
infections – accurately labeled an epidemic by experts – is due to the
failure of condoms to protect. Where is the attorney to represent the
thousands of students betrayed by educators who labeled condoms “safe
sex”?
What about
journalists wedded to promotional packets put out by the ACLU, NARAL
and Planned Parenthood, reporters who do not take the time to educate
themselves and write about the basics of sexually transmitted diseases
and fetal development? Shouldn’t they have to offer a defense of
their news stories filled with inaccuracies and bias for the sake of
advancing the politics of these organizations?
The ACLU has a
long history of spending millions supposedly to oppose injustice and
defend our rights. Maybe they could defend the right of helpless
pre-born babies to make it through the birth canal in one whole piece,
living and breathing as they were created to be. Isn’t this a choice
worth defending, the choice to be born alive?
And at the top
of the defenseless mob are the judges who pass themselves off as
arbiters of justice and sound reasoning. Is there any serious person
in America, much less a Supreme Court Justice, who can truly defend
the notion that we are unable to determine the moment when life
begins?
Defending the
indefensible is big business in America. We have an intricate set of
laws, complete with elections, judges, courts and attorneys. But it
will all come to naught unless we can fix what is truly wrong with
us...the list of things that make us angry…and those that don’t.
Copyright © 2005 Jane Jimenez
July 2, 2004
Abused by Freedom
To
put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to
put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the
family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first
set our hearts right.
--Confucius
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