Politics

Author: Richard R. Tryon and others

Compassionate Conservatism and Sex Education
or What is moral in dealing with human sexuality?
by Richard R. Tryon

Recently, in August of 2000, a bus load of bright high school children were awarded a chance to travel from Traverse City, MI to Stratford, Ontario to take in some real culture- a dose of Shakespeare acting on the stage of the much acclaimed Stratford Theaters. Tired and happy children along with chaperones dozed on the way back from Canada. Well...not all slept.

In fact one 15 year old girl, who may have read a bit about the sexual play of the U.S. President with a young girl named Monica, and who may have seen a bit of pornography on the internet or elsewhere, was able to find herself in the back of the bus with four boys a year or two older, who didn’t mind letting her find out what Monica did to the President while he was ‘hard’ at work. She found out as did the boys.

Somehow some of the other students became aware and the activity somehow became known to the adults supervisors or chaperones! We do not yet know what the repercussions will be at the school, among the students, among the participants and their families. Or in the Courts and legislatures that make the laws governing youthful sexual behavior. Its a case made for TV! Some or all of the illicit(?) behavior may have happened before the bus crossed the border into the U.S. Who has what jurisdiction over what laws and what citizens?

But, perhaps the real issue has nothing much to do with any of the participants of this play- they may just be the victims of a changing culture that is driven, as is all change, by liberal thinkers, who challenge the established ways of the conservatives. Inasmuch as not all, who proclaim themselves to be either Liberal or Conservative are truly loyal to the concept on all matters, it is not fair to say that the changing mores of youth and adults about human sexuality is consistent with all thinkers. However, it is fair to say that the ‘sea-changes’ of the last twenty years do not reflect ideas put forth by those anxious to conserve the rich understandings of the past on matters of sexuality.

If in the past, real men respected the chastity of virgin females, it is fair to say that these men did not encourage a new morality where a President is pardoned for his lying as well as his improvident acts. It must have been some liberal thinkers who decided that sex is a recreational sport - not a part of the Holy Sacrament of marriage, blessed by God the Fathers and Son. Of course, for liberals to win the idea that sex is a recreational sport only, they first had to separate Church and State establishing that only civil and criminal law needs to be considered.

Next, they had to convince the leaders of the educational system that to conform to the civil liberties of the nation, it is imperative that they not interfere with the rights of the students to learn about all types of sexual expression in order to determine which kind is the best for them! How else can children grow up with a healthy mind, free of any tendency to show concern or hatred for those that seem to center their lives around sexual activity of a sort that was once thought to be non-standard.

With an anything goes type of thinking, it is logical to assume that the parents of the children involved on the bus will be encouraged to ‘shrug-off’ any sense of concern about what the effects might be on the participants or the witnesses or those in charge. Why not just forget it all? Why not just allow that it was no ‘big deal’. Just one way for several to learn while traveling home. Perhaps in another few years, what went on in the bus can be demonstrated in the sex education classes! At first, it may require parental permission and supervision may need to take steps to control any action that might lead to pregnancy not protected in some lawful manner.

Is this futuristic thinking more likely to gain support from the Liberal than the Conservative candidates running for office?  One might think so. Of course, one can allow that an Al Gore is after as many supporting voters as he can find, and as a liberal, it is hard for him to stay away from those in a variety of special interest groups that are advocating changes in our morally accepted practices.

Of course, it is hard for Conservatives, steeped in the traditions of the Church and the Bible to look upon the liberal position regarding sexuality and not be revolted by the advocacy groups that are slipping into the scene revealed in the story of “Soddom and Gamorrah”. But, it is safe to say that few of the advocates of the new ideas of human sexuality have any knowledge of what the Bible teaches about those who make sexuality the center of their life. Apparently the young 15 year old girl is on the way to finding out and she may have pulled four boys along with her unless some good counseling somehow undoes their recklessness. An old labor negotiator once said about jurisdiction....”You know it is a lot like virginity...once you give it away, you can’t ever get it back again!”

What Compassionate Conservatives need to sell is the idea that if we can find a way to let the words “In God We Trust” stay on our coins and money to remind us that His Law stands above those that we make to control our secular world of materialism, we can find a way to teach young people that you don’t rush to promote sexuality in school or out until you can do so in a way that is consistent with conservative principles.

An Al Gore can’t help but promote a federal control of education. His support among teachers is pushed by the NEA. He himself is not known to be a radical liberal in sexuality like his partner in the White House. But, can his instinct for big government avoid a push for standardized sex education as well as everything else? One good thing about 300,000 school districts and many mores schools- as long as they are decentralized, they can’t all be wrong!