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Abstinence and the Left (Why does the New York Times hate teen Abstinence?)
National Review ^ | 02/12/2010 | Ralph Rector

Posted on 02/12/2010 8:37:11 AM PST by SeekAndFind

Alarmed by a recent well-publicized study showing that abstinence education succeeded while “safe sex” and “comprehensive” sex-ed programs failed, the Left has abandoned its “abstinence doesn’t work” claim and drawn up a new line of defense.

Consider what the New York Times had to say. According to its editorialists, the newly evaluated abstinence program succeeded because it was “freed from the moralistic overtones and ideological restrictions” of prior abstinence education.

You can bet that anyone who pontificates about “moralistic overtones” in abstinence education has never held an actual abstinence curriculum in his hands, let alone read one.

Why does abstinence education come under unending, if completely uninformed, attack? In part, because abstinence was strongly associated with the Bush administration — and anything tied to Bush has always been fair game to liberals.

In addition, real abstinence curricula teach three things that are anathema to the sex-education lobby running things in Washington, D.C.

First, abstinence programs teach that teens should abstain from sex until they have at least finished high school. Ninety-one percent of parents agree. But the “comprehensive” sex-ed programs promoted by House Speaker Pelosi and President Obama teach that it’s okay for teens to have sex as long as they use a condom. Only 9 percent of parents agree.

Second, abstinence curricula teach that sex should be linked to “love, intimacy, and commitment” and that these qualities are most likely to be found in marriage. Again, 90 percent of parents support this message. But the Left is appalled at “privileging” marriage over casual relationships, cohabitation, or “hooking up.” The “ideological” message of abstinence has to go!

Finally, abstinence education teaches (with special emphasis for poor, at-risk youth) that marriage can be beneficial to children, adults, and society. The black out-of-wedlock birth rate in the U.S. now hovers at 70 percent; the overall out-of-wedlock birth rate is nearly 40 percent. Non-marital births overwhelmingly occur to the least-educated parents, and out-of-wedlock childbearing is the strongest cause of child poverty in the United States. Therefore, one might think that mentioning the benefits of marriage to at-risk youth would be good idea.

Wrong! Nothing outrages the Left’s sex-ed advocacy industry more than telling at-risk youth that healthy marriage might be a good thing for them. (Safe bet: No sex-ed curriculum funded by the current Congress will say anything positive about marriage.)

Now, to return to the Times editorial, it’s true that the recently evaluated abstinence program urged abstinence but apparently did not contain the three themes outlined above. However, there is no reason to assert, as the Times does, that this abstinence program succeeded precisely because it lacked these themes. There had been eleven prior evaluations documenting the success of traditional abstinence programs, which the Times neglected to mention to its readers.

The bottom line: The sex-ed industry’s successful effort to kill federally funded abstinence education was about liberating teens from “ideological” and “moralistic” messages. The dilemma for the Left is that parents overwhelmingly approve these messages and condemn the core values of the “comprehensive” sex-ed programs currently pushed by Congress. Teaching teens that “hooking up” is a fine idea so long as you use a condom just doesn’t fly.

Hawking a product no one wants, most left-wing sex-education advocates conceal their agenda with smoke and mirrors. Since most liberal pundits have never read the actual curricula they condemn or applaud, it’s no surprise the pundit class sometimes ends up deceiving itself.

— Robert Rector is a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: abstinence; antiabstinence; conservatives; cspc; culturewar; hedonism; indoctrination; liberals; newyorktimes; plannedparenthood; pravdamedia; reeducationcenters; seicus; sexeducation; sexpositiveagenda; sexualizingchildren; taxdollarsatwork; teenpregnancy; youpayforthis
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To: SeekAndFind

If abstinence is an unattainable goal, how does the left expect repealing ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is going to work?


21 posted on 02/12/2010 9:05:29 AM PST by Spok (Free Range Republican)
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To: SeekAndFind
The aging, amoral left hates the idea of abstinence because they view it as a personal affront--a rejection of their entire philosophy. It is literally a blasphemy to them.

Imagine! Teens behaving more maturely and responsibly than 50 year old NY Times columnists. They are signs of contradiction--and God bless them for it!
22 posted on 02/12/2010 9:08:45 AM PST by Antoninus (The RNC's dream ticket: Romney / Scozzafava 2012)
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To: chs68

My friend’s Mom was a college prof. who told her students, “You’d be able to stop if your parents walked in. Don’t tell me you just can’t control your passion.”

Self control is not impossible and she was so tired of young adults being treated as though they were animals in heat. She didn’t understand why her students weren’t offended by that sort of treatment.


23 posted on 02/12/2010 9:11:06 AM PST by Spudx7
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To: SeekAndFind

At its core are a rejection of both the idea of God and the concept of an ultimate right and wrong. Liberals want to believe that God does not exist so that they are free to live as they please. They bristle at the very thought that there is an ultimate Authority telling them what they should and should not do.


24 posted on 02/12/2010 9:11:11 AM PST by Nevadan
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To: nmh

The left is doing the bidding of their ideological “father”, whether they are doing it purposefully is up for debate.

Abstinence until marriage and marriage for life are God’s will for human sexuality. Of course His enemy does everything he can to thwart that will here in his principality.


25 posted on 02/12/2010 9:13:28 AM PST by MrB (The difference between a humanist and a Satanist is that the latter knows who he's working for.)
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To: Nevadan

The lies told in Gen 3:4-5 are still with us -

you can be like God, knowing/deciding right and wrong for yourself.


26 posted on 02/12/2010 9:15:05 AM PST by MrB (The difference between a humanist and a Satanist is that the latter knows who he's working for.)
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To: MrB

The LEFT promotes evil from every angle.


27 posted on 02/12/2010 9:32:58 AM PST by nmh (Intelligent people recognize Intelligent Design (God).)
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To: nmh
Rom 1:29-30
29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;
28 posted on 02/12/2010 9:35:38 AM PST by MrB (The difference between a humanist and a Satanist is that the latter knows who he's working for.)
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To: Clemenza
Thanks!

I’l’ read through the link.

Right now we are devouring the politically incorrect books like,

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and Environmentalism by Christopher Horner and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science by Tom Bethell.

Your link will fit right in with our lessons to our kids at home.

29 posted on 02/12/2010 9:36:09 AM PST by nmh (Intelligent people recognize Intelligent Design (God).)
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To: SeekAndFind

The left hates abstinences simply because it presumes we are not simply animals and we have control over our urges and desires... this flies in the face of the siccophants and malcontents who let their base desires rule their lives, often to destructive ends.

To accept the notion that we are not a slave to our desires is completely unacceptable to the left, there entire world view is based on self gratification and feelings, the idea that those things should not rule our every action is blasphemy to them.


30 posted on 02/12/2010 9:57:38 AM PST by HamiltonJay
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To: MrB

Rom 1:29-32
29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;

Absolutely RIGHT!

Rom. 1:22-28

22] Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

[23] And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

[24] Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

[25] Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

[26] For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

[27] And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

[28] And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

[29] Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

[30] Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
[31] Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

[32] Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Is it any wonder they hate the book of Romans?

That’s no “obscure” passage either.

It’s very clear.


31 posted on 02/12/2010 10:12:38 AM PST by nmh (Intelligent people recognize Intelligent Design (God).)
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To: MrB

It’s an uphill battle to make sure kids and adults stay on the right course. Too many identify with this evil or are EMPATHETIC to evil. Humanism often replaces Christianity.


32 posted on 02/12/2010 10:13:58 AM PST by nmh (Intelligent people recognize Intelligent Design (God).)
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To: SeekAndFind

Leftists don’t like to be reminded that they are spiritually and morally bankrupt. They want to feel guiltless over their hedonism.


33 posted on 02/12/2010 10:42:31 AM PST by TexasRepublic (Socialism is the gospel of envy and the religion of thieves)
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To: chs68

The ideological Left does not understand the concept of self-control, because they don’t possess it themselves. Their motto is live like hell, do unto others and then split.


34 posted on 02/12/2010 2:01:02 PM PST by pray4liberty (Liberalism is the religion of narcissists. You read it here first.)
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To: TexasRepublic
They want to feel guiltless over their hedonism.

Remember "if it feels good, do it"??? They have created a generation of narcissists, and then wonder why they have such rebellion when a group of self-absorbed young people give them the Up Yours?

35 posted on 02/12/2010 2:04:07 PM PST by pray4liberty (Liberalism is the religion of narcissists. You read it here first.)
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To: SeekAndFind
must be somehow connected to the "NYC Condom" initiative.

God help us.

36 posted on 02/12/2010 2:43:43 PM PST by the invisib1e hand (governance is not sovereignty [paraphrasing Bishop Fulton Sheen].)
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To: Spudx7

There was a movement in 2004 and 2008 to withhold sex if the girls’ partner wouldn’t pledge to vote Democrat.

Seems they can say “no”.


37 posted on 02/12/2010 3:31:04 PM PST by a fool in paradise (DON'T SAY "Happy Valentines' Day". It's Happy Holidays! This is the Holiday Season (Prez Day Feb15))
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To: pray4liberty
You got it, pray4.

Sex Education is equivalent to giving a classroom full of middle-schoolers guns and ammunition and relying on a 40-minute gun safety video to reduce fatalities.

"So remember children, when you lock the magazine, retract and release the slide, flip off the safety and pull the trigger, be sure your guns are pointed in a safe direction."

It's like the Teen Healthy Habits program handing out packs of cigarettes, after making scrupulously sure that they all have filter tips.

38 posted on 02/13/2010 7:44:06 AM PST by Mrs. Don-o (So, what is the speed of dark?)
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To: Nevadan
Liberals want to believe that God does not exist so that they are free to live as they please. They bristle at the very thought that there is an ultimate Authority telling them what they should and should not do.

Isn't that easy....deny the existence of God, instead of growing up. /sarc

39 posted on 02/15/2010 1:45:17 PM PST by pray4liberty (Liberalism is the religion of narcissists. You read it here first.)
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To: pray4liberty
re: Isn't that easy....deny the existence of God, instead of growing up. /sarc

It is not as easy as they want to believe. Just because they deny His existence doesn't mean He does not exist. There will be a time when they, along with everyone else, will come face to face with their Creator. It is not going to be pretty!

40 posted on 02/15/2010 2:39:51 PM PST by Nevadan
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