Social Responsibility
Dear Editor,
Time Magazine recently reported that 65 million Americans are infected with some kind of STD and predicted 15 million new cases this year. Time also recently ran a heartwrenching story about the continent of Africa where AIDS runs rampant: in some countries as much as 65% of the adult population is infected. A growing social class of HIV-orphaned children develops there. What has been our nation’s answer to the rapid spread of STDs and unplanned pregnancies?
On Valentines Day, Planned Parenthood advertised a condom giveaway promising more if one were to go back later and fill out a survey about the condoms. Proponents of such programs believe that the condom’s 99% effectiveness can halt the spread of STDs and stem the tide of children born into unprepared homes. That must be a wondrous little bit of latex. Many would have us believe that the solution to STDs is one of mechanics: better condoms, better medicines, earlier abortions, etc; but that is simply not true. The problem facing America, and the World, is a social problem; and its only solution, education.
There is something fundamentally wrong in the way we treat each other. Let’s look at little picture: A boy goes to a party and meets a girl. They party a little, then they dance a little. Sometime later they become intimate, and then they leave. Sadly, this picture was not painted from a surrealist’s distorting mirror, but rather photographed in black and white among us.
“Who are you to impose your morals on me,” I have been asked. These aren’t so much morals, as they are respect. The peptides released in our bodies during arousal are chemically very similar to the opiate family, only much stronger. Inside of a loving, caring, monogamous relationship the sex act becomes a way of showing love, and sharing our most intimate feelings. Outside of such a relationship it becomes nothing more than a high-satisfaction of a biological drive. Who would tolerate the use of another’s body just to get off? At best this is reckless, and at worst, it is a form of abuse.
We seem to have erected a latex wall between the most intimate moment a couple can share, and the responsibility that love and commitment in a true relationship require. I have news for everyone. If you are part of a monogamous relationship and think that these things don’t affect you, think again. If you have several partners and think using a condom will shield you from STDs and parental responsibilities, think again. After all, the Berlin Wall took only half a lifetime to fall, and it was made of concrete.
Sincerely, Ricky Fieldingrlfielding@cc.usu.edu519-17-2316