While many organizations may exclaim that having contraceptive sex-ed taught in school will increase the teen sex-rate, in September of 1997 Lynda Richardson wrote a piece for the New York Times about a study that says otherwise.  And while the study didn’t claim to decrease the number of sexually-active teenagers, it did show that there was an increased number of teens who used condoms during their sexual encounters.

In October of 2008, The Heritage Foundation published an Article by Christine Kim called, “Teen Sex:  The Parent Factor.” In this article she discusses the statistics of communication between parents and teens on sexually issues.  I would like to share with you some of the data from the study she was reporting:

• Teens who reported greater satisfaction in their relationships with their mothers were less likely to have sex and become pregnant (and were also more likely to use birth control during their most recent sexual experience.)

• For teenage girls, but not for boys, higher quality father-daughter relationships, but not mother-daughter relationships, tended to postpone sex­ual activity.

• Younger teenage girls and boys as well as older teenage boys who felt more connected to their mothers tended to delay sexual activity com­pared to similar-age peers who felt less con­nected to their mothers.

Even among families with disapproving parents, many teenagers ignored this advice.  And many parents were completely clueless to the fact.  Many parents are also unaware of their teens’ actual behavior. “In a study of 700 teens in Phila­delphia, 58 percent of the teens reported being sexually active, while only one-third of their mothers believed they were.”

Teenagers are going to have sex.  Let us not try to shove that notion out of our brains.  And yes, there are a few strong willed, strong faithed students who will remain abstinent till they marry, but often that is the exception, not the rule.  Teenagers are going to have sex.  They always have.  They always will.  Society can try to coax them in one direction or another, but in the end, there will always be teen sex.  The best thing to do is to work with what we are given.  Teach those who will listen not to have sex, and implore those who will not to atleast be safe.  For their own sake, and the sake of others.

The latest HUFF assignment was to write an argument supporting to the other side.  So to take a stand on the “Yes” side, I searched the net to find this array of information.

In March of 2004, Robert E. Rector wrote an article for The Heratige Foundation promoting the teaching of abstinence-only sex-education.  His article was written mostly from an emotional standpoint displaying the critical issues of pre-marital sex, such as increased depression and limited adult happiness.  He also commented on practical issues such as hightened rate of infections from sexually-transmitted diseases as well as decreased maternal stability and increases in abortions.

His argument states that nearly two thirds of teens who engaged in sexually activity reported to regret starting so young.  He declares it a FACT that sexually-active teens are more likely to be depressed and commit suicide.  He goes on to back this argument with the parental imput statistics including that parents would rather have their children taught abstinence education rather than a contraceptive or comprehensive course.  In fact, he goes on to attack comprehensive courses calling them, “safe sex programs wrapped in a deceptive label.”

I was unfortunate enough to be unable to find anymore data backing this claim from a credible source, so we will leave it at that.

Much of the cyber community that may have stumbled upon my latest blog post might brush it off as teenage ramblings or perhaps just someone “bs-ing” to pass a class.  No.  I truly feel strongly about this topic.  However, strong feelings only cover one third of the rhetorical triangle that my dearest Huff demands of her students.  Now I must give you a little credibility.  And whilst I am naught but a silly teenage girl, my sources have much more credibility than I.

CBS did a report on Abstinence-Only education in January of 2008. Under the Bush administration Congress pushed “abstinence-only” funding into schools.  There were many objections to this including the first rise in teen births in fifteen years.

At the time, a reported  fifteen states rejected the funding because as the governors are saying, ”Even if this administration is going to continue to push abstinence-only, we in the states are going to do the right thing by teens and actually give them the information they need to actually prevent an unintended pregnancy.’  But the states are split on what is required to be taught for sex-ed.  Fourteen require a comprehensive class, nineteen require only abstinence, but contraceptive is allowed to be taught, and seventeen don’t have guidelines for their school boards teaching.

Another site that I found in my recent research is an article from The Washington Post from April of 2007. It portrays a study authorized by Congress that followed two-thousand students from primary school into high school.  All these students received family life services in their community and more than half received abstinence-only education.  At seventeen, half of these students admitted to being sexually active.  Less than a quarter of these groups stated that they had used a condom or other form of contraceptive.  More than a third of them had two or more partners.

As you can see, some very reliable sources agree with me.  Abstinence-only education is an epic-fail.  The best method for protecting the adolescents of America is a comprehensive course.

Many programs promote sexual abstinence in their teachings.  But is this right?  Do abstinence-only programs work?  The American Public Health Association says “No.”  While abstinence is the best form of protection against sexually transmitted diseases such as Syphilis, Herpes, AIDS, etc., often times these programs do not ensure abstinence in their pupils.  Most abstinence-only programs prohibit the teaching about condoms and other contraceptives for preventing unwanted pregnancies and STDs.

Programs such as “True Love Waits,” in which teens pledge to be sexually abstinent till marriage, have good intentions, but 88% of teenagers who took such pledges admitted to having engaged in sexual intercourse before marriage.  These teens that have slipped from their pledges not only engaged in sexually intercourse, but many of them did so unsafely because they were never taught in their abstinence-only programs the safe way to do it.

On the Opposing Views Argument I have been following, the two main opponents in this discussion have been APHA and Life Way, a Christian organization.  While Christianity takes a whopping 76% of the country’s population, it is not the only religion in this great melting pot of ours.  Christians are not the only people that enroll in public schools.  While abstinence from sex is the most effective way to keep one’s self safe from the previously stated nasty, horrific diseases as well as unwanted pregnancies, who are we to force our beliefs on others?  What right do we have to tell others how to live their lives?  As Americans, we have “…certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” and in those unalienable rights somewhere, you’ll find the liberty to choose for yourself what you think is right.

The best solution to this ethical dillema is a comprehensive sex-ed course.  Or atleast, offer both courses and allow the parents of the child to decide the best method for their children.  Comprehensive?  Sounds like a good compromise to me.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Based on the DC Comics character, Batman, this sequel to the movie Batman Begins (2005) is one of highest grossing movies in box-office history and THE highest grossing superhero movie ever.  It is the second movie ever to earn over $500 million at US box-offices.  Why all the hype?  It is an excellent movie.  State-of-the-art special effects and technical equipment, all-star cast including the final performance of the amazing Heath Ledger, beautiful soundtrack, and incredible plot.  But most importantly of all, the script was written, no, created by the intelligent minds of Jonathon and Christopher Nolan who carefully and painstakingly meshed the magic of rhetoric into their story.

PUN:

“Gambol gets up, moving at the joker, who casually opens his coat, revealing explosives wired to his chest.  Gambol stops.

JOKER:  Let’s not blow this out of proportion.“

METAPHOR:

“JOKER:  Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught it. You know, I just… do things. The mob has plans, the cops have plans, Gordon’s got plans. You know, they’re schemers. Schemers trying to control their little worlds. I’m not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how, pathetic, their attempts to control things really are.”

ANECDOTE:

“ALFRED:  I was in Burma.  A long time ago.  My friends and I were working for the local government.  They were trying to buy the loyalty of the tribal leaders, bribing them with precious stones.  But their caravans were being raided in a forest north of Rangoon by a bandit.  We were asked to take care of the problem, so we started looking for the stones.  But after six months, we couldn’t find anyone who had traded with him.

WAYNE:  What were you missing?

ALFRED:  One day I found a child playing with a ruby as big as a tangerine.  The bandit had been throwing the stones away.

WAYNE:  So why was he stealing them?

ALFRED:  Because he thought it was good sport.  Because some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money… they can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with.  Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

ANTITHESIS:

“DENT:  The night is darkest just before the dawn.”

EPIZEUXIS/RHETORICAL QUESTION:

“JOKER: I don’t want to kill you! What would I do without you? Go back to ripping off mob dealers? No, no, NO! No. You… you… complete me.”

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I am ever fond of NASA’s open information policy with the public and press. Every new discovery is posted quite clearly on their website. Editors “dumbing-down” all the technical talk into layman’s terms allow the public to easily understand the going-ons of our country’s space program.

NASA Breaking News was, by far, my favorite of the three required RSS Feeds. On average, it publish about one or two articles per day, so when I checked my Reader, I was pleased to be able to have time to carefully read over all the information I was given. I will keep this feed, to keep me informed of any new developments in NASA’s space program as well as it’s many outreaches into our colleges and communities.

I was very disappointed with this feed. While it gathered an excess of information as USAToday’s feed had, I found myself staring at an endless stream of statistics that my self-diagnosed ADD couldn’t concentrate on for more than a few fleeting minutes. The nightmare of numbers was occasionally broken into by a ray of light in the form of the battle between presidential candidates Obama and McCain. Even then, the writing was -at best- boring. I found none of the presented topics insightful in the least.

Reading Yahoo! News: Policical News reminded me not to bore the reader. Had I not been required to follow this feed, I would have dumped it on the first day. If I am faced again with choosing a RSS Feed to follow, it will undoubtedly never be one associated with politics.

This feed, while extremely informative, left me somewhat overwhelmed. Reading a couple times a week, some days I would find my Google Reader filled with over a hundred stories from this single feed. Engulfing myself in the plethora of information at my finger tips, I did my best to skim the titles and weed out the less interesting/important stories.

Besides the petty political articles, I enjoyed the reading provided. From the less enticing political articles, I found that like most news providers, USAToday was biased in favor of our two major parties, in this case, I assessed it to be the Republican party.

The writings provided by this feed were clear and easy to follow, although I will not keep this feed due to the excess of information cluttering my already busy lifestyle.

Like Alice found herself wandering around in the confusing world of Wonderland, after reading the summer assignment for AP English class, I was whisked away into the wonderland of the blog world. I found myself intrigued by some people’s thoughts and ideas but also repelled by others. Page after page, blog after blog, I delved into the minds of more experienced bloggers and reveled in their opinions.

One of the most fascinating blogs I came across was entitled, “I Think I Have Restless Mind Syndrome.” It belonged to a former student of Mrs. Huff’s and has been in existence since January of this year. Approximately twice a month for three months, the author blessed the internet with her refreshing opinions. She touched on topics such as hypochondriatic self diagnosis influenced by commercials for drugs and how advertising companies take advantage of humanity’s tendency to flock to a miracle product no matter how bogus the results actually are. While a majority of people concentrate on a very narrow view of issues in the world, this blogger discussed subjects that while important, are often overlooked when other problems are amplified by the press such as “The War on Terrorism” and other stories. This author focuses mostly on what interests her and not necessarily the general public.

“I Think I Have Restless Mind Syndrome” is laid out in a very mannerly fashion that allows me to easily find the various articles she has written without any hassle or confusion. Her blog is both practical and visually pleasing with a black background and artistic photography in the header that ties into her opinionative writing on a simple layout that even the most blog-illiterate can understand. It was enjoyable and invigorating to read her posts and hope that she continues to bless the internet with her intelligent, refreshing comments on the world.

A blog by the name of “The American Patriot” caught my eye as I researched for this assignment. As one could imagine, all the posts and comments had to do with the United States and it’s government, history, and future. Although I am usually drawn to more abstract ideas than this authors practical opinions, I found that he was extremely well read and an excellent writer. This person wrote about the problems in the United States and brought to light proposals to boost the economy and allow prosperity through out our fine nation. A lot of these proposals I haven’t even heard of such as the adoption of the “Amero”, the American equivalent to the European “Euro”, which would allow easier trade between countries and supply us with a more stable currency. I haven’t heard of any of this on the news, yet this amazing author provides legitimate sources with every article he writes.

The blog has a very simple, practical, almost boring layout that lets you know the author means business. It gives the impression that he has no want, need, or time for silly embellishments that would only distract from the topic at hand. It is not displeasing to the eye, but does not stand out either, like a brief case or a well kempt office giving the impression of hard work and intelligence like a well dressed executive at a wealthy company. For six months, “The American Patriot” has brought the world of blogging insight on politics, history, economics and pure patriotism that I hope to enjoy in future articles.

“I Lived Through The End of the World and All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt” is the title of an intriguing blog that most other people would glance at it and say that it is mediocre, haphazardly thrown together, and perhaps it was, but the beauty of it is in its mediocrity. This blog appears to have been written by a well learned under-achiever, doing only what he feels is necessary to achieve and acceptable grade. While the topic he wrote about on his blog has much controversy, the battle between Creationism and Evolution, that storm has lost its thunder on me. I have heard arguments from one side and the other and some that come from nowhere in particular a hundred times over praying that the opponents will figure out that humanity cannot give precise details of how and when the vast and mighty universe came into existence, but I digress.

The author chose an eye-catching title for his blog and a simplistic yet pleasing format to post his work on. He only posted for three months, September, October, and Novermber of 2007. These months, I assume, are when he had assignments due, like myself. I praise this author for his simplicity and proud mediocrity in his lack of drive in his assignment and I feel that I will be likely to follow in his footsteps, doing only what I am obligated to.

So like Alice in Wonderland, I found very interesting specimens in my exploration, but also like Alice, I have come to dislike this world that I am in, because while these authors have mastered the way to live in this world, I still have not tamed my blog, but perhaps someday, other students will be reading and praising my work as I have done today.

Throughout history, there have been many attempts at “cleansing” the country of the “evils” of alcohol, but has anyone noticed that the cure is worse than the disease?  Drunk-driving stories haunt the papers.  Alcoholics tear families apart.  College students flock to dorms and secret meeting places to binge on illegal drinks, many of them dying from over intoxication.  These problems, although still present, were not as prominent as they were before the legal drinking age was raised to age twenty-one.  Decreasing the drinking age lowers alcohol abuse.  Not all spirits are demons.

As most people know, the legal drinking age in the United States is twenty-one.  In the eyes of the law, at eighteen one is considered an adult and responsible for his actions.  That person can be tried in court as an adult, vote, buy cigarettes, enter into legal contracts, join and even be drafted into the army, and get married, but are not allowed to leisurely drink a single drop of alcohol. Dr. Ruth Engs, an expert in the field of alcohol, stated fiercely that we currently do not even allow twenty-year-olds to drink champagne at their own weddings (Engs, 2007).  Even more absurd are the choices minors have opportunities to make, but are not considered responsible enough to drink alcohol.  At sixteen, citizens of the United States are given driver’s licenses and sixteen-year-old girls can make the decision to end a human life in a hasty abortion, but drinking is much too much responsibility for them (Balko, 2007; Engs, 2007).

At twenty-one, the United States has the highest drinking age in the world.  Most countries place the drinking age at eighteen, many at sixteen, and a good number with none at all.  Some of the most prominent and respected countries are on the list with the logical drinking age of eighteen including Australia, Canada, Ireland, The United Kingdom (who allow drinking at sixteen in restaurants), and many more unnamed here (Engs, 2007).  High school students in these countries with lower drinking ages oddly do noticeably better on standardized tests than students in the U.S. (Balko, 2007).

There is a common saying, “History repeats itself.”  We are repeating our own history through fruitless efforts at a second Prohibition, making the same mistakes our great-grandparents made in the 1920’s.  By lowering the drinking age to eighteen, we would be making a logical and reasonable action for the betterment and benefit of our country.