Religion. It’s one of those tricky topics that I’m always afraid to bring up. Being surrounded by Atheists, Agnostics, Wiccans and more, I have sometimes felt as if I should apologize for the actions of my fellow Christians. Other times I have felt like bringing a baseball bat to the head of any of those jerks that suggested anyone that believes in a God is a dullard. Either way, someone is pissing me off.
This time it was the other Christians.
I saw on television today that Sarah Palin, the running mate for McCain, is against sex education in schools. I don’t care about the actual politics at the moment, I just want to let you all know this is a foolish perspective to have. Bad Christian! No communion for you!
It seems that Christian parents feel that the way they raise their kids should be the way all parents should raise their kids.
Wait, scratch that.
Most parents feel that the way they raise their kids should be the way all parents should raise their kids.
There, that’s a much more fitting generalization.
It’s true, though. No matter the faith, all parents are irresponsible jack asses that think they know what is best. Considering that just about everyone in the world is an irresponsible jack ass that thinks they know what is best, this shouldn’t be too surprising. If you disagree with me and think people in this world are nice and aren’t horrible, selfish bags of flesh, I suggest you read the news. If that doesn’t convince you, Google 4chan.
However, there are some matters that Christian parents are particularly irrational over, and as a fellow Christian it is my duty to point the finger and say “UR DOIN IT RONG”.
The first problem is that you are so uptight you not only expect but demand that your child remains abstinant until marriage. In some cases, your child may comply. In a lot of cases, your strict and strong attitude on the matter will only encourage them to have sex as soon as possible. It’s kind of like the age limit on drinking. Because it’s there, teenagers are going to drink themselves stupid. Compare how teenagers and College kids drink in America compared to other countries with less strict rules about it. We look like idiotic children in comparison.
This is a mentality that needs to be understood. The more you try and tighten a leash onto a kid, particularly a teenager, the more they will think it’s a noose and fight you to set themselves free. If you try and force your child to behave, they will only want to lash out and fight back. If you let your child know the rules, but also let them know you trust them to obey, then they will be more likely to comply.
And if they break that trust, you are free to whoop some ass.
So to summarize: if you demand that your child remain abstinant until marriage, it will only make them want to do the opposite.
The second problem is the parents themselves will not take the responsibility to educate their child. Most kids have learned about sex by time they are ten anyway. I remember being in grade school and hearing all the other kids talk about Playboy magazines they grabbed from under their dad’s bed. By time kids are old enough to learn about sex, they already understand some of the basics.
However, parents are, as stated previously, irresponsible jack asses. They will either expect their kids to learn on their own, or they will just insist that they don’t have it until marriage. This generally leaves them to learn about sex from what is in movies (which is typically “it’s completely fine to have sex on the first date…assuming you have a first date”), in pornography (let’s count everything that is wrong with this method of learning) and their friends (who likely learned from the first two and tried to apply it to personal experience…or is simply talking out of their ass).
If Christian parents really want their children to be responsible and intelligent about sex, then the best thing they could do is allow schools to educate them. My highschool had a sex education program my sophomore year that taught about multiple forms of protection, as well as various STD’s. They basically teach teenagers how to be responsible, how to avoid catching and spreading diseases, and how to appropriately use the different forms of protection. It turns out that there are incorrect ways to put on and use a condom! It may seem simple, but this is a nation where Pop-Tarts need instructions on the box.
I have heard some parents assume sex education also means they teach teenagers how to have sex. This is untrue. The furthest they really got was oral sex could be a bad idea if the other person had STD’s. Which is kind of common sense at this point, but again, Pop-Tarts. They do not hand out the Kama Sutra as a textbook, or go over the intricasies of how many places to place a penis. It is simply about how to avoid pregnancy and the spreading of STD’s.
Also, they mentioned that abstinance is the only 100% sure way of avoiding said difficulties so much that it could be a drinking game.
Of course, with Christians wanting their children to avoid sex until marriage, why should they worry about all these things? Well, as should be made obvious by now, you cannot control your children. You can do your best, but in the end they are left to make their own choices. That choice may be to have sex, and you sure as Hell didn’t teach them how to do it safe since you spent so much time telling them not to do it.
But the primary issue is that not all parents care if their children wait until marriage or not. That’s not to say most non-Christian parents are fine with their children screwing anything with two legs that looks remotely human that comes their way. However, not all parents worry about their children having sex before marriage, and to demand that schools do not teach sex education means the children of those parents aren’t learning to be safe, either.
Parents, it is completely possible to separate your religious values from your political beliefs. As I said, I do not believe in wanton sex personally, and part of that comes from my religious background. However, I support sex education in schools because, in a nation where religious belief is a freedom, not everyone is going to agree on when someone should have sex and when they shouldn’t. In the end, it’s best to take a road that both sides are fine traveling.
Everyone hates the new Facebook layout. At least, I don’t know a single person that enjoys it. Personally, I’m not much a fan either, though I don’t seem to hate it nearly so much as anyone else. Still, my first reaction was “How the Hell did this pass usability testing?”. Trying to find the familiar links was a pain at first, and the very look of it just gave a queasy feeling.
It isn’t often that I get addicted to Live Arcade games. I don’t know why, but most of the games end up being fun for a little while, but don’t have any lasting appeal. I wasn’t even sure about grabbing Castle Crashers at all, but a friend of mine had purchased and given me a 1600 MS Points card with which to buy the game. Gratefully, I accepted and downloaded the game. I played it briefly single player, and found it to be enjoyable enough, but as usual didn’t find it to be all that amazing.
After almost a year, I have finally finished reading the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy by Tad Williams. As a short summary, it is excellent. While many look at The Lord of the Rings as the ultimate fantasy trilogy, typically because it was the first major fantasy epic of its kind, Tad Williams has easily written a story that tops it in every angle. Instead of trying to imitate Tolkien, Williams takes the cliche and turns it on its head, making the world of fantasy feel new, fresh and exciting again.