Abstinence: An Abstract Concept? | Teen Ink

Abstinence: An Abstract Concept?

September 4, 2010
By -Kal- GOLD, Carthage, North Carolina
-Kal- GOLD, Carthage, North Carolina
14 articles 0 photos 244 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and recieves the impossible"
-Anonymous


Allow me to begin by saying that while I have a very definite opinion on this matter, I do respect the views of others and am willing to listen to those views.

We have all heard about, “abstinence until marriage,” but is there substance in this heavily solicited practice? The government is largely pro teaching our nation’s student population that the only acceptable course of action is to abstain from sex until marriage. This is highly ironic for many of the government officials who back this plan of action have been found guilty of sex outside of marriage. This extends to both officials who are married and those who are single. Not only is a repercussion of this that our government looks bad, but also those children who are sitting on the fence about this serious issue may be swayed into having sex before they are ready because the “role models” are not living up to their words.

Not only is the government not behind their laws, but the celebrities do not back their plans. A prime and very recent example of this is the famous golfer Tiger Woods. Anyone that has pretended to pay attention to pro-golf in the last decade has heard of Tiger. Many people revered Tiger as the best in golf, but now the general population has discovered that he had many affairs with women with whom he was not in a relationship. If neither the government nor celebrities can back this plan of abstinence only, then the student population is not going to pay much attention to it.

Instead of just having an abstinence only program, we must have a plan that incorporates not only that, but also a safe sex plan. In the state of North Carolina, a teacher may not discuss condoms or any safe-sex practices in class or they could potentially be fired or brought up with charges. Many schools are given bonuses to only discuss abstinence in Sex Education classes when clearly there is no support for this practice. If our government were truly concerned and had the best interests of our youth in their hearts, they would support a program that goes not only with their beliefs, but also our natural human desires and instincts.
Many people have heard this famous quote by William Alexander which states, “Knowledge is power.” Give our youth the power to combat our natural instincts for to fight such a thing, one must contain a wealth of knowledge. Why deny them even a fraction when the tiniest portion could be monumental?


The author's comments:
I wrote this mainly in responce to the policy of my school in regards to teenagers and sex. *Collective gasp from audience* Yeah guys, teens like sex. People like sex.

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This article has 14 comments.


on Oct. 16 2011 at 5:48 pm
RedvinesWTHCantTheyDo GOLD, Zephyrhills, Florida
10 articles 0 photos 154 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You make one more comment like that I will wrap you in a tortilla shell and eat you as a snack, maybe with some nice pico de gillo."~ Lauren Lopez in Starship
"If you don't die for something, I'll kill you for nothing."~ Lauren Lopez in Starship

I completely agree. I mean I have my own opinions on the matter obviously. But I agree, who is going to listen when all the figures we look up to are tdoing the exact opposite and then bragging about it. I mean let's put it aside that they even do it, but to go out and publicly talk about when you now people who look up to you are watching your every move and you're telling them that this is okay. Are they just stupid, I mean really. If you're going to have s.ex, be my guest but keep it in the bedroom, I don't wanna know, maybe some people do, but it's not their business. I will stop my rant now. It was good Kaleb :)

-Kal- GOLD said...
on Sep. 28 2010 at 3:39 pm
-Kal- GOLD, Carthage, North Carolina
14 articles 0 photos 244 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and recieves the impossible"
-Anonymous

Thanks!!!

 

Hey, just so you guys know, NC has modified their laws to where teachers can teach both a.bstinence AND pr.otection! :)


on Sep. 28 2010 at 11:42 am
writerscramp01 GOLD, Green Bay, Wisconsin
11 articles 6 photos 51 comments

Very good, Kal!

 


ehhhhh said...
on Sep. 23 2010 at 9:49 pm
ehhhhh, Wyoming, Ohio
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
Your best bet is your congressman or senator, good luck!

-Kal- GOLD said...
on Sep. 20 2010 at 7:20 pm
-Kal- GOLD, Carthage, North Carolina
14 articles 0 photos 244 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and recieves the impossible"
-Anonymous

Thanks so much! I would argue that you can't really change the government at all, but I am still insane enough to try :)

J. Rae said...
on Sep. 20 2010 at 4:09 pm

I think that you should send this! But first, let an adult who has experience in writing persuasive essays read it and revise it.

You can't make hollywood or the government change it's actions just because they're being bad romodels. Your last two paragraphs would make an extremely good point though if you turned them into a new essay! Good luck!


-Kal- GOLD said...
on Sep. 19 2010 at 8:03 pm
-Kal- GOLD, Carthage, North Carolina
14 articles 0 photos 244 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and recieves the impossible"
-Anonymous

Thanks!!!! :)            

on Sep. 18 2010 at 8:37 pm
Just.A.Dream SILVER, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
7 articles 0 photos 430 comments

Favorite Quote:
Part of the J7X team. :)

I completely agree with this. The government and Hollywood are so hypocritical with what they say and do, but they expect the people that admire them to listen to them. And I definitely think you should send this to someone in government. :) Great job stating your point of view!

-Kal- GOLD said...
on Sep. 17 2010 at 10:13 pm
-Kal- GOLD, Carthage, North Carolina
14 articles 0 photos 244 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and recieves the impossible"
-Anonymous

Thank you!!!! :)

on Sep. 17 2010 at 10:12 pm
Supernova7 GOLD, Redford, Texas
16 articles 6 photos 394 comments

Favorite Quote:
Let me cry my tears let me live in sorrow as long as you promise to be with me tomorrow
By Me:)

I say go for it if there's one thing I've learned in debate it's that you need to make the right people here you cuz if you just mumble to your friends in the corner nothing will change. You're a good writer Kal people on here respect you and the government will too in time make them listen

-Kal- GOLD said...
on Sep. 17 2010 at 9:58 pm
-Kal- GOLD, Carthage, North Carolina
14 articles 0 photos 244 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and recieves the impossible"
-Anonymous

I've thought about sending it to someone in government and pushing for reform. What do you guys think?

on Sep. 17 2010 at 9:50 pm
Supernova7 GOLD, Redford, Texas
16 articles 6 photos 394 comments

Favorite Quote:
Let me cry my tears let me live in sorrow as long as you promise to be with me tomorrow
By Me:)

I agree. You stated your opinion very clearly and you had evidence to back it up. Good job:)

-Kal- GOLD said...
on Sep. 16 2010 at 8:47 pm
-Kal- GOLD, Carthage, North Carolina
14 articles 0 photos 244 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and recieves the impossible"
-Anonymous

Thank you both so much!!!! :)

on Sep. 16 2010 at 8:37 pm
Healing_Angel SILVER, Sydney, Other
8 articles 2 photos 509 comments

Favorite Quote:
Live for today, not for tomorrow

Great sentence structure, and wording. Overall a great article! I also love how you give clear opinions and reasons for them. Great job! Keep writing! 5/5!