Monday, April 04, 2005

Talking About My Generation

I usually avoid commenting on social issues, but this one got to me. My Way News Article

"One in five U.S. teenagers say they have engaged in oral sex, an activity that some adolescents view as not sex at all and certainly less risky than intercourse, a report released Monday said.

The survet of 580 children with a mean age of 14-1/2 found 20 percent said they had engaged in oral sex, compared with 14 percent who said they had engaged in sexual intercourse.

In addition, one thirs of the multi-ethnic 9th graders surveyed said they intended to have oral sex within the next six months and nearly one-fourth planned to have intercourse during the period."

Three cheers for the sexual revolution. We are now so liberated, it's just wonderful. In a day and age when 7 out of 10 blacks and 4 out of 10 whites are conceived out of wedlock here in America, I'd say we we need to re-evaluate our take on human sexuality.

In a related note, the Pope has been criticized for his controversial stance on birth control. See, the Pope encourages abstinence as a foolproof method of birth control. Silly old man, we can't practice self-control anymore. This is the new millenium. Get with it.

Plain and simple, ninth graders should not be having sex. If I'm old-fashioned for saying this, so be it. I am disgusted at the culture we live in, and especially at the members of my generation who seem to have boughten into the "if it feels good, do it" lie.

It would be nice if people would act responsibly once in awhile, but such things are naively idealistic.

The death of the West approaches.

5 comments:

Barba Roja said...

I should point out that most of those studies are wildly innaccurate; i should know, i supervised a few of them myself. Kids treat it as a joke and a way to mess with surveyors' heads. Besides, asking kids if they 'intend' or 'plan' to have sex in the near future is pretty worthless. Lots of people say they want to have sex, but when it comes down to it, they don't.

The family is breaking down, not because of some radical shift in sexual mores, but because of the collapse of the free-market system. It's now all but impossible for most people to maintain their families on the incomes that they earn, and this leads to familial strife, domestic violence, abandonment, and a host of other issues.

Abstinence education is a bad idea because it just doesn't work. In fact, kids who are taught abstinence-only courses are more likely to end up with STDs or unplanned pregnancies than those who get real sex ed that includes birth control.

The patterns of sexual activity we see now are nothing new; we simply have to pretend as if we were all virginal saints until the wicked 60's when bad stuff started to happen. It just isn't true.

Tran Sient said...

Good Post

Loyal: I agree with you that those surveys probably aren't right. What teen boy is going to answer that honestly.

I think you are right in some areas, DC being one of them. The schools here are horrible. This situation has more to do with the inept DC government and a variety of social ills that aren't the standard in most of the country.

However, the free market broke down in the late 20s and it didn't send the kids into a sexual frenzy. The market is actually thriving.

You may be refering to the need for two incomes to live by a middle class standard. This leads one to conclude that the lack of parenting is part of the problem, as our children are raised by daycare centers and a morally bankrupt public school system.

A Wiser Man Than I said...

"The family is breaking down, not because of some radical shift in sexual mores, but because of the collapse of the free-market system. It's now all but impossible for most people to maintain their families on the incomes that they earn, and this leads to familial strife, domestic violence, abandonment, and a host of other issues."

I tend to agree with you that it is difficult for most people to maintani their families on the incomes that they earn. But what does this all stem from? Is it not the sexual revolution that told women to get out of the kitchens and into the work place?

I don't want to come across as a chauvinist who believes men and women are unequal and that women can only stay home. Men and women are equal and both deserve a choice to do what they will with their lives. Still, the feminist movement has made their bed. Now they must lie in it.

Ever since women were told they could work, most of them have had to work. While this was probably not the intent of the feminist movement, it is one consequence of it. I am not here to point fingers. Instead, I am using your point to make mine: the sexual revolution has lead to huge changes in all of American culture.

You mention "abstinence education" as a bad idea. Sexual education should be quite simple. Abstinence is the only 100% effective form of birth control. That being said, if a person is going to have sex, they should use birth control because, it does diminish the chance of pregnancy and most STDs.

Kids who are taught abstinence-only courses only end up with STDs and pregnancy because they fail to use abstinence, and apparently, are so stupid as to use no birth control then.

Barba Roja said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Seth said...

Holy cow, Cents...calm down. Anyways...

I am an example of someone who was raised in a pro-abstinence home and still chose not to have sex until marriage. Education about the dangers of sex scared me from it somewhat, of course, but the biggest deterent was the moral teachings that my parents instilled in me. Solid family life is the best protection against a host of societal evils: unwanted pregnancy, STDs, domestic violence and abuse, drug use, etc...