Teen Angst

Granted, I've been around the block a few times, but I have a good memory.  And I remember being a teen.  And dating.  Back then the pressure was to stay a virgin until you married.  Or at least pretend you were a virgin, because you were considered a whore, damaged goods, less than desirable, if you weren't.  That being said, the pressure to have sex was great, nigh near impossible.  At times it seemed that every date with a new guy was going to be a wrestling match.  It seems that all boys were animals.


The world has turned on its head.  Now, being a virgin implies you're damaged--what's wrong with you?  How come no one wants you?  It's actually a disgrace to be a virgin.


I put a lot of the change of attitudes on "Hollywood."  I don't think Hollywood mimics the culture; I think Hollywood shapes the culture.  Magazines, books, now the net, constantly drive sex into our minds.  And bringing up teens in this culture is difficult to shield them from this influence.


And what doesn't help are state funded programs aimed to supposedly help teens with coping in our sex saturated culture.  I'm talking about the Maria Talks website, put out by Boston's AIDS Action Group.  What strikes me first, is the assumption that all, everyone, everybody, all in all, high and low, throughout, all round...have sex.  I expected (foolish ?) that a group dedicated to health and addressing teens would talk about the value of NOT jumping into sex.  NOooooo, they just assume that all, everyone, everybody, all in all, high and low, throughout, all round...are having sex.


They blew it.  Here was the chance to stand up to the Hollywood culture.  Here was the opportunity to explain that sex is something special.  It's not part of the dating relationship. That kids should think for themselves and stand up to the cultural influences.  That teens don't have to have sex.  It's not cool.  It's just following "Hollywood."  Teach teens to think for themselves.


Abstinence is not a dirty word.  It's the only 100% form of protection from STI and HIV.  BTW, Maria Talks advertises that "condoms are the only form of birth control that protect against STI and HIV."  Now that's debatable.  According to the Medical Institute's newsletter:

Condom breakage and slippage is estimated to occur 1-4% of the time. This is known as method failure.  By far the most extensive research on condom effectiveness has been done for HIV. A number of authors have performed meta-analyses (summaries) of other studies. These meta-analyses show that with 100% consistent condom use, condoms reduce the risk of HIV transmission by about 85%. Condom effectiveness against transmission of bacterial diseases like gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis is significantly lower than for HIV. Conclusive evidence is lacking for condom effectiveness against transmission of several other specific STIs, such as HPV and trichomoniasis, which each affect over 5 million people annually. Finally effectiveness is seriously limited for the many STIs which are transmitted through skin-to-skin contact, since condoms do not cover all the areas of the body which may be the source of transmission.

Actually, I hate quoting statistics because you can always find, or tweek, the numbers to fit your argument.  But I know that blanket statements like "condoms are the only form of birth control that protect...., are false.  Common sense tells you otherwise. 

I just feel that it's such a shame that the teens nowadays are put under such pressure to conform to the culture,  to have to have sex, to walk that walk...  

C'mon parents.  It's up to you.  Teach your children what's right.  Teach them to think and not just follow the crowd.  That's what's right.  What's right is right!

Media Madness

This morning my alarm clock radio woke me up with the news reporting that the Pope says it's "OK" to use condoms.
 That woke me up!
And I woke up disgusted, and grumbling to my self.  My husband knows enough to stay under the radar, but the poor cat got thrown out in the cold without her breakfast.  I was in no mood for her demands.

You and I know the Pope said no such thing.  He has never, is not, and will never, "OK" condoms.  Condoms promote promiscuity which in turn lead to a multiple of physical, emotional, mental, and societal problems.  One of which is Aids.

What is going on here is a publicity promotion.

This week, Peter Seewald's book, Light of the World was released.  The style of the book is an interview the Pope gave to Seewald, who is a journalist.
   
Are you getting the picture?

"There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility, on the way toward recovering an awareness that not everything is allowed and that one cannot do whatever one wants.  But it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection. That can really lie only in a humanization of sexuality.

Are you saying, then, that the Catholic Church is actually not opposed in principle to the use of condoms?

She of course does not regard it as a real or moral solution, but, in this or that case, there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality."

Leave it to the media to screw it up.  What the Pope is saying is that male prostitutes (he's giving an example) may be using a condom to protect themselves and others from disease.  IOW, sexual pleasure is not the highest value; not harming another is the concern.  In this way, the prostitute is making a moral decision.  B16 is not talking about the morality of the condom's use, but to the psychological state of the prostitute.  Perhaps, he hopes it is so.  If the male prostitute is using the condom to not spread disease, then we pray he may realize that promiscuity is inherently wrong since his type of sexual activity is not in accord with the way God intended sexual activity to be used.


I'm sick of the media.  As I've blogged before on July 30, and September 23, 25, 30, of this year, the media will say anything to sell its product.  My first inclination is to throw my apron off and retreat to the Cape and vegetate.  But on second thought, as attractive as that may be, I feel called to do battle.  I may still head down to the Cape, but not to retreat.  I'm fighting the modern, cultural spin, to what is the Truth.  I'll do my part to expose the misconstruction and throw light on what is true.  

I'll hang in there for the duration.

Related articles

• Pope Says Condom Use Okay For Male Prostitutes (alan.com)
• Pope: Condoms Can Be Justified In Some Cases (huffingtonpost.com)
• Pope Benedict on the use of condoms: book excerpt - BBC News (news.google.com)
• Condoms may be 'first step' in moralisation of sexuality, says Pope (catholicherald.co.uk)
• Pope Benedict on condoms in "Light of the World" (deaconforlife.blogspot.com)
• The Pope And The Male HIV-Positive Prostitute (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com)