New Year's Resolutions

The news stories from the US and the rest of the world about the consequences of unwed sexual activity are escalating in frequency, in unmitigated tragedy and in worthless, bullheaded, political agenda-driven responses. Anyone reading these stories needs to decide what is really happening. I would like to offer the following New Year's Resolutions to those embroiled in the debates:

1. Resolve to almost force every sexually active female to receive annual gynecological exams, STD tests and keep appointments for all followup tests and exams. If you "grant" girls and young women the maturity and responsibility to have unwed sex, realize that supposed maturity and responsibility may not also apply to their own healthcare. Whether an adult is a parent, teacher, counselor or healthcare provider, by accepting a child's "choice" for sexual activity without going to the greatest lengths to convince her that choice comes with a critical healthcare requirement is cruel and dangerous behavior for an adult of influence. Any clinic or physicians office, that does not involve a parent in a minor girl's reproductive healthcare, should have a procedure in place that puts another adult in charge to make appointments, make reminder calls and even pickup the girls for appointments if necessary.
2. Resolve to know exactly what you are promoting for sex education. Read every word of every curriculum, brochure, handout and preview any films, videos or tapes before making a decision. Do not male a decision based on descriptions, evaluation, testimonies or studies. Study the actual product.
3. Resolve to provide all teachers, counselors, and healthcare personnel with the spectrum of education offered by professionals in the field. In Wisconsin, adults of influence are restricted in their government-provided training to the comprehensive approach. Presentations on abstinence are non-existent or conducted by non-abstinence educators. Adults should demand their own comprehensive education not what a state agency force feeds them.
4. Resolve to evaluate the social or political agenda motivating the position a spokesperson takes on sex education or reproductive health care. For instance, if the position is that sex education should be value-free. ask what is the motivation for that. Child indoctrination can be shrouded in innocuous terms.
5. Resolve to use the health, wellbeing and happiness of children at their present stage of development as the sole determinant of what is taught. Making young teens role play "partner" conversations about using condoms is inapproriate for children in a classroom format. Currently, sex education rarely occurs beyond ninth grade. Statistics show that, except in rare venues, most children at that age level are virgins. That is a good thing and should be encouraged. OR....
6. Resolve to eliminate sex education from the schools. Solves all issues of indoctrination, values, in loco parentis, teacher training, and the fact that positive health and social impact is non-existent anyway.

World AIDS Day

Richard Holbrook's Op-Ed piece scratches at the surface of the failed AIDS strategy. Put bluntly the strategy is based on ideology, not sound medical practice. Millions of people are dying and testing is voluntary. 12,000 people are infected each day but identification and isolation are not options.

The underlying ideology is this: Everyone has the right to have sex with whomever they please without any personal responsibility for outcomes. Ain't nobody's business! The government (or AIDS groups) must protect individual anonymity, privacy and confidentiality to preserve that right from any criticism, restriction or prejudice. It is also the government's job to protect the irresponsible exercise of this right by picking up the tab for prevention, treatment and vaccination.

One person's right to have sex is now greater than another's right to life and pursuit of happiness. What's the point to testing? Treatment of the infected won't stop this epidemic. The infected have to stop having sex. But will that be done? Nope, we're just going to sacrifice people until there's a vaccination. "Protection" is a joke. The value of condoms is a theory based on a very big usage IF that has never been tested or proven.

When are we going to wake up and see that AIDS is not the only danger of this free-sex ideology. Laws are being changed so that "government" alone decides what is taught in our schools on all things sexual. Medical personnel are pitted against each other and forced to adopt contraceptive startegies even for children. Research without the right slant can't find funding. Voices of reason are being marginalized through trumped up criticism, restriction of access to decision-making, and an orchestrated worldwide effort. Clergy, physicians, teachers, legislators and citizens who take time to voice concern are labeled as "hate-mongers", "users of scare-tactics", "dangerous", "irresponsible", "non-scientific", "without evidence", or the "radical right".


Kenneth Cole has started a PR campaign with the slogan "We All Have AIDS" aimed at removing the "stigma" of the disease. While I appreciate the attempted sentiment, I disagree with the premise. Disease cannot be stigmatized and we are way past blaming its victims. Perhaps the slogan would be truer as "We Will All Have AIDS". If we knew that our sons and daughters would get this terrible disease, infect our daughters-in-law and sons-in-law and our grandchildren, maybe waiting for the magic drug wouldn't be an option we could live with.