I'll be talking to Sean Herriot tomorrow at 6:30am (CT) on the Morning Air Show. If I understand our planet's rotation, that means it will be a more civilised 7:30 here on the East Coast. (If I get a call at 5:30am, you'll realise I didn't pay attention too well in school.)
UPDATE: Podcast is here, scroll down to Nov. 28th, first hour (it's the second half). Book can be ordered here.
No matter who she talks to--parents, teachers, doctors--they all seem to think that birth control will make her life better:
Pediatricians should actively counsel
teens about “emergency contraception” and even provide them with
prescriptions or products ahead of time, to ensure they have the
pills if they need them, the American Academy of Pediatrics says in a
policy statement released online Monday.
AAP members also are urged to advocate
lifting the age restriction for these products. Currently, girls 16
and younger need a prescription to obtain the “morning-after pill,”
as these products are sometimes called.
Products such as Plan B, Plan B
One-Step and Next Choice are most effective in preventing pregnancy
if taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex, but they can work even
if taken five days later.
Several of the AAP’s policy positions
were stated “softly” in its 2005 emergency contraception policy,
said Dr. Cora Collette Breuner, a member of the trade group’s
Committee on Adolescence.
The new language is stronger, she said,
because it went through more than 15 AAP committees — including
those on safety and child abuse — for more than a year. The result
is a “well-thought-through, researched and supported document,”
said Dr. Breuner, who is an attending physician at Seattle Children's
Hospital and professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington
School of Medicine.
There are so many questions on each girl's mind, and it's increasingly difficult for her to find the answers she needs:
Who will help her live a chaste life with integrity and confidence?
Who will help her to get the boys to stop pressuring her for sex?
Who will explain to her that intimacy should be reserved for marriage?
Who will tell her about what carcinogens do to young bodies, or how many times birth control devices fail to prevent pregnancy?
Who will insist that the intricacies of sexual relationships will totally distract her from all the beautiful/maddening things that should be a part of junior/senior high?
Who will explain the life-long complications of STD's and that these birth control pills won't guard against any of them?
Who will tell her that she'll permanently bond with these boys physiologically (carrying their DNA for life) but after many sexual partners she'll find it increasingly hard to bond emotionally?
Who will explain how hard it is to get to know a person when sexual intimacy preceeds a natural friendship?
Who will tell her that sexual relationships short-circuit normal relationships and make it harder to see the red flags of dysfunction?
Who will tell her that she's worth more than the one-dimensional thrill that hormonal boys want -- and how can she say it's wrong when every authority around them says, "Have Fun, Be Safe!"
God help us if we don't guide the children better than this!
Pediatricians
should actively counsel teens about “emergency contraception” and even
provide them with prescriptions or products ahead of time, to ensure
they have the pills if they need them, the American Academy of Pediatrics says in a policy statement released online Monday.
AAP
members also are urged to advocate lifting the age restriction for
these products. Currently, girls 16 and younger need a prescription to
obtain the “morning-after pill,” as these products are sometimes called.
Products
such as Plan B, Plan B One-Step and Next Choice are most effective in
preventing pregnancy if taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex, but
they can work even if taken five days later.
Several of the AAP’s policy positions were stated “softly” in its 2005 emergency contraception policy, said Dr. Cora Collette Breuner, a member of the trade group’s Committee on Adolescence.
The new language is stronger, she said, because it went through more than 15 AAP
committees — including those on safety and child abuse — for more than a
year. The result is a “well-thought-through, researched and supported
document,” said Dr. Breuner, who is an attending physician at Seattle Children's Hospital and professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Pediatricians
should actively counsel teens about “emergency contraception” and even
provide them with prescriptions or products ahead of time, to ensure
they have the pills if they need them, the American Academy of Pediatrics says in a policy statement released online Monday.
AAP
members also are urged to advocate lifting the age restriction for
these products. Currently, girls 16 and younger need a prescription to
obtain the “morning-after pill,” as these products are sometimes called.
Products
such as Plan B, Plan B One-Step and Next Choice are most effective in
preventing pregnancy if taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex, but
they can work even if taken five days later.
AAP
members also are urged to advocate lifting the age restriction for
these products. Currently, girls 16 and younger need a prescription to
obtain the “morning-after pill,” as these products are sometimes called.
Products
such as Plan B, Plan B One-Step and Next Choice are most effective in
preventing pregnancy if taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex, but
they can work even if taken five days later.
I'll be talking to Teresa Tomeo
in the morning on Ave Maria Radio (Monday, 9:30am). Topic is my new book on forgiveness: Set Free. (Hope she's rested after her splendid trip to Poland!)
ADDENDUM: podcast is here. If time passes, look for November 26th, Hour 2, second half.
Although I missed living in the 1950′s by a hair’s breadth, that
decades’s culture was long celebrated in movies, books, and music.
Whatever may have lain in the hearts and minds of that generation, from a
distance the prevailing word that comes to mind is “convention.” Skirt
lengths, hair cuts, meal preparation, school discipline, and cultural
tastes were widely chosen by convention, and those who didn’t conform
(due to choice or poverty) felt the opprobrium of those around them.
Even church attendance on Sunday was highly conventional, and the pews
were filled on a regular basis. [cont.]
Only now? Shocker. And the fact that Planned Parenthood was the driving force behind accusing the Republican Party of waging a "war on women" is a mere coincidence? Dissemble and deflect. Attack wildly and distract from the facts. Appeal to emotions and lust, no matter the harms to women and children. Even strongly pro-abortion columnist Ellen Goodman wrote in 2004, the link connecting breast cancer to abortion "keeps reappearing, no matter how many scientists drive a stake through its heart."
Add this to the numerous studies already on file here, and ask yourself what Planned Parenthood stands to lose if the truth were known. Just their entire business.
[Don't miss this USCCB brochure (PDF) that provides essential information. Perhaps your parish could use a few in the racks for women who have not been told the truth.]
...in the gender wars, that is. Suzanne Venker gives a good outline of what has gone wrong in the last 50 years:
Women aren't women anymore.
To say gender relations have changed
dramatically is an understatement. Ever since the sexual revolution,
there has been a profound overhaul in the way men and women interact.
Men haven’t changed much – they had no revolution that demanded
it – but women have changed dramatically.
In a nutshell, women are angry. They’re
also defensive, though often unknowingly. That’s because they’ve
been raised to think of men as the enemy. Armed with this new
attitude, women pushed men off their pedestal (women had their own
pedestal, but feminists convinced them otherwise) and climbed up to
take what they were taught to believe was rightfully theirs.
Now the men have nowhere to go.
Ms. Venker is pretty blunt in explaining why women--many of whom want to get married and start families--cannot find men who will cooperate, for the number of men wanting to rear families is diminishing by the year. Perhaps they've retreated into the world of uncommitted (sterile) sex and video games, which certainly doesn't tax them or call out their better selves.
It's all so unfortunate – for women,
not men. Feminism serves men very well: they can have sex at hello
and even live with their girlfriends with no responsibilities
whatsoever. It's the women who lose. Not only are they saddled with the consequences of sex, by dismissing male nature they're forever seeking a balanced life. The fact is, women need men's linear career goals -- they need men to pick up the slack at the office -- in order to live the balanced life they seek.
So if men today are slackers, and if they're retreating from marriage en masse, women should look in the mirror and ask themselves what role they've played to bring about this transformation.
I've read the author's book, The Flipside of Feminism, which was good as far as it went (using an entirely secular framework) but didn't review or recommend it because the Christian worldview goes so much deeper. Furthermore, at first glance it would seem that men have come out the winners since they escape both sexual frustration and responsibility -- but we know better. They are also losers, for their manhood has been sacrificed to vice and mediocrity, which will never fulfill their heroic hearts.
Still, many wonderful young women have simply inherited this mess and are at a loss of how to proceed. We didn't get here overnight, and turning it around will take more than a generation. Imagine one chaste, determined girl trying to pursue a more healthy relationship with men. They have all been raised in a milieu saturated with lust, and they've learned that women are culturally bi-polar: saying they want one thing, but themselves used to rampant individualism and elastic morals; they say they want to be pampered by knights in shining armour, while insisting that men pitch in and do the dishes while they're at it. (Even the Catholic mom blogs spend a lot of time wondering about how to balance modern motherhood with traditional wisdom and older marital constructs.)
Recovery isn't impossible, but it will take time. For now, we must drill it onto our own heads and those we mentor that we have to be counter-cultural, we must live without the normal safety net of a large peer group or understanding institutions. We walk by faith, and not by sight, and in these "gender wars" that faith may be singular and counter-intuitive -- but it's the only way to true happiness.
Women aren’t women anymore.
To say gender relations have changed dramatically is an
understatement. Ever since the sexual revolution, there has been a
profound overhaul in the way men and women interact. Men haven’t changed
much – they had no revolution that demanded it – but women have changed
dramatically.
In a nutshell, women are angry. They’re also defensive, though often
unknowingly. That’s because they’ve been raised to think of men as the
enemy. Armed with this new attitude, women pushed men off their pedestal
(women had their own pedestal, but feminists convinced them otherwise)
and climbed up to take what they were taught to believe was rightfully
theirs.
To say gender relations have changed dramatically is an
understatement. Ever since the sexual revolution, there has been a
profound overhaul in the way men and women interact. Men haven’t changed
much – they had no revolution that demanded it – but women have changed
dramatically.
In a nutshell, women are angry. They’re also defensive, though often
unknowingly. That’s because they’ve been raised to think of men as the
enemy. Armed with this new attitude, women pushed men off their pedestal
(women had their own pedestal, but feminists convinced them otherwise)
and climbed up to take what they were taught to believe was rightfully
theirs.
To
say gender relations have changed dramatically is an understatement.
Ever since the sexual revolution, there has been a profound overhaul in
the way men and women interact. Men haven’t changed much – they had no
revolution that demanded it – but women have changed dramatically.
In a nutshell, women are angry. They’re also defensive, though often
unknowingly. That’s because they’ve been raised to think of men as the
enemy. Armed with this new attitude, women pushed men off their pedestal
(women had their own pedestal, but feminists convinced them otherwise)
and climbed up to take what they were taught to believe was rightfully
theirs.
To
say gender relations have changed dramatically is an understatement.
Ever since the sexual revolution, there has been a profound overhaul in
the way men and women interact. Men haven’t changed much – they had no
revolution that demanded it – but women have changed dramatically.
In a nutshell, women are angry. They’re also defensive, though often
unknowingly. That’s because they’ve been raised to think of men as the
enemy. Armed with this new attitude, women pushed men off their pedestal
(women had their own pedestal, but feminists convinced them otherwise)
and climbed up to take what they were taught to believe was rightfully
theirs.
The Church of England recently voted on whether ordain women as bishops, and the answer was No. The current bishops were overwhelmingly in favour; it was the laity that hasn't yet embraced the idea. Many outside the Church were deeply unhappy with the vote and there are indications that another vote will be taken soon (and they'll be pressed until they "get it right.") This quote by Caitlin Moran, columnist for London Times, is rich beyond telling and explains why the C of E has come to this particular spiritual cliff:
Look, I know nothing about the Church — other than that, in the 1980s at
least, it held the best jumble sales. I don’t know the rules of the
Church, or the stories, or the history. I don’t know the 2,000 years of
context… But then, this week’s vote against women bishops seemed like
such a clear failing of logic that you didn’t need to know the laws,
stories or history, in the same way you don’t need to know the wider
context of seeing someone brutally mug someone else in the street.
Whatever the whys or the wherefores, it’s just always gonna be wrong.
How blazingly, perfectly, acutely honest she is. Her first seven words said it all, and therefore we understand how one arrives at the this point. People who treat religious dogma like Rotary Club statutes, classroom experiments, or adventures in pluralism are simply ignorant of the rules, which spring specifically from its history and stories -- stories (parables) told by Our Lord himself, who entered time specifically so that we could enjoy eternity with him.
The Church is not a mundane creation, which is why when Henry VIII interfered with the Divine Mandate, it was only a matter of time before the new trajectory in his realm carried the C of E to the point where its members cannot agree whether Jesus was God or even rose from the dead.
Consider marriage. Anglicans still stress that marriage is between a man and women, but this invitation on their website shows that one need not believe anything to stand before an Anglican priest and make promises:
You’re welcome to marry in
the Church of England whatever your beliefs, whether or not you are
christened and regardless of whether you go to church or not. It’s your
church, and we welcome you!
Futhermore, the site encourages people to choose churches because they're cost
efficient, there's a "feeling" of God, a sense of history, and vicars
provide a "personal touch." This video that they offer never even mentions God:
Indeed, not only do they neglect the reason that "historical" building was even built, they insist:
When you choose to marry in a church, you are the hosts and the church is your guest.
Good heavens, really? God is in man's image if even allowed in the door!
Of course, it should come as no surprise that today Anglicans don't disparage same-sex activity, allow abortion in certain circumstances, and accept cohabitation as a contemporary fact of life (but dads should be encouraged to put their names on their kids birth certificates!) Since the Church refuses to proclaim the Gospel or stand as a conduit to God, it's no wonder that those on the outside "know nothing about the Church."
As for Ms Moran's analogy provided above, it's interesting, but misapplied -- and deeply ironic for a church that can't bring itself to apply a profession of faith to those who call themselves Anglican. Just as you don’t need to know the wider
context of seeing a mugging, I'm going to guess that those lovely old buildings weren't built with widows mites over the centuries just to create nifty photo-ops for faithless couples.
It's precisely the history and the stories that teach us who God is, what our obligations are, and what we need to do to remain in his graces. A study of Christian theology over the centuries would reveal a magnificent nuptial prism through which new life blossoms. It is that very prism that says there's more to priesthood than an equal opportunity career, and shepherds have a fatherly obligation to guide their flocks. Some things are obvious -- but it takes a supernatural world view to make out the layers.
It would seem that there's no shortage of ignorance in England, but not all would admit it so candidly. Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for us.
The election was an enormous tip-off that American values have shifted away from their Christian roots into troubling territory. If you weren't sure about what sort of virtues we've been teaching in school, then maybe these Drudge headlines will give an indication of what two generations of full-bore secular materialism produces:
Prayer and sacrifice are in order, and shopping online looks like a safe bet. Or donate to Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief and call it a wrap -- Jesus is the reason for the season, after all.
I hope your Thanksgiving feast was pleasant. Here are a few links to various items that may be of interest:
Last week, I was the guest blogger at American Catholic, the parent company of Servant who has published two of my books now, the last found here. That post will be the starting point of an upcoming talk at Saint Theresa's in Tiverton, RI (December 1st, 8:30am), called "All is Calm, All is Bright."
Last week, I was on the Son Rise Morning Show (EWTN) and I'm waiting for the podcast to be posted (11/20). It will be repeated this coming Monday at 8:20am, but that morning I will also be chatting with Teresa Tomeo in the 9:30-10am segment at Ave Maria Radio.
Heading to Florida and Maryland in December. The schedule is here. Enough of me, go rake leaves!
From Benedict XVI “People have realized that the complete removal of the feminine element from the Christian message is a shortcoming from an anthropological viewpoint.
It is theologically and anthropologically important for woman to be at the center of Christianity."
Anger and Patrimony (from Donna) This is just another of the unintended consequences of the cultural acceptance of contraception and abortion! Men's sexuality has been robbed of its creative essence. It is now viewed as something that imposes a burden on women (when conception happens to occur), something used to control women or something that is purely recreational. Why would men bother?? In taking away their responsibility, we've also robbed them of their significance! In the big picture of humanity, men have been made into nothing more than a nuisance women have to figure out how to control in order to bring about the next generation. Men don't see it as their task to protect the vulnerable because they see themselves as the vulnerable ones. A few well preserved vials of sperm would make men entirely obsolete in the world's ethos today!!
Excellent, Dom! (from Teresa) That is astounding Robin, and good for you for standing up. At the heart of that matter, I think, is even worse than a gender mixing message. There is an increased sharper and sharper focus on the "self." Solid Catholic teaching returns our focus away from ourselves to Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The original sin, Eve denied her womanhood when she desired to be like "gods." Since the only god she knew was the Father. Where was Adam? He stood impotent... in other words, they were divorced. There's a young girl at Robin's son's high school who was just told that she is the center of the universe and it's a tragic disservice to her.
Find the logic (from "me") Ditto what Mary said! A lot of high schools have very poor math and science depts, for boys and girls. I also am educated as a chemical engineer, but chose to teach the two years before we had children because its hours were more suited to spending time with children. (I was looking ahead). When it came time and I was pregnant with our first, I realized that I did not want to leave him with someone else, and was able to stay home full time. I am not sure it would have been that easy if we were used to another engineering income and not just a private school teacher income. Also some of my first job offers were out on oil rigs - I had no interest in that at all even though I enjoyed my engineering classes and did well in them. No one discouraged me from an engineering job, on the contrary I got a lot of flack for my decision not to pursue an engineering career.
Find the logic (from Mary) I've been lurking, but this is one that irritates me. Beats the heck out of me what these "barriers" are. I was educated as a chemical engineer, where 1/3 of our class was women. However, in electrical engineering, only 1 or 2 out of 30 were women. Is it possible that women are Just Not Interested in some areas? Nah, it must be The Man keeping us down so we must legislate (and, I agree -- when they say "legistlate", I hear "quota"). And actually, I have a friend that was also a chemical engineer. When she lost her job, she decided not to go back into engineering and started working from home so she could spend more time with her 3 kids. Also, if nothing else, there are all kinds of incentives for women to enter science and engineering -- scholarships not available to men, guaranteed housing on campuses that do not guarantee housing to the general population, etc. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that schools in general are not preparing students for the hard sciences. It is truly a sad state of affairs, the lack of science education these days.
Comments
“People have realized that the complete removal of the feminine element from the Christian message is a shortcoming from an anthropological viewpoint. It is theologically and anthropologically important for woman to be at the center of Christianity."
This is just another of the unintended consequences of the cultural acceptance of contraception and abortion! Men's sexuality has been robbed of its creative essence. It is now viewed as something that imposes a burden on women (when conception happens to occur), something used to control women or something that is purely recreational. Why would men bother?? In taking away their responsibility, we've also robbed them of their significance! In the big picture of humanity, men have been made into nothing more than a nuisance women have to figure out how to control in order to bring about the next generation. Men don't see it as their task to protect the vulnerable because they see themselves as the vulnerable ones. A few well preserved vials of sperm would make men entirely obsolete in the world's ethos today!!
That is astounding Robin, and good for you for standing up. At the heart of that matter, I think, is even worse than a gender mixing message. There is an increased sharper and sharper focus on the "self." Solid Catholic teaching returns our focus away from ourselves to Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The original sin, Eve denied her womanhood when she desired to be like "gods." Since the only god she knew was the Father. Where was Adam? He stood impotent... in other words, they were divorced. There's a young girl at Robin's son's high school who was just told that she is the center of the universe and it's a tragic disservice to her.
Ditto what Mary said! A lot of high schools have very poor math and science depts, for boys and girls. I also am educated as a chemical engineer, but chose to teach the two years before we had children because its hours were more suited to spending time with children. (I was looking ahead). When it came time and I was pregnant with our first, I realized that I did not want to leave him with someone else, and was able to stay home full time. I am not sure it would have been that easy if we were used to another engineering income and not just a private school teacher income. Also some of my first job offers were out on oil rigs - I had no interest in that at all even though I enjoyed my engineering classes and did well in them. No one discouraged me from an engineering job, on the contrary I got a lot of flack for my decision not to pursue an engineering career.
I've been lurking, but this is one that irritates me. Beats the heck out of me what these "barriers" are. I was educated as a chemical engineer, where 1/3 of our class was women. However, in electrical engineering, only 1 or 2 out of 30 were women. Is it possible that women are Just Not Interested in some areas? Nah, it must be The Man keeping us down so we must legislate (and, I agree -- when they say "legistlate", I hear "quota"). And actually, I have a friend that was also a chemical engineer. When she lost her job, she decided not to go back into engineering and started working from home so she could spend more time with her 3 kids. Also, if nothing else, there are all kinds of incentives for women to enter science and engineering -- scholarships not available to men, guaranteed housing on campuses that do not guarantee housing to the general population, etc. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that schools in general are not preparing students for the hard sciences. It is truly a sad state of affairs, the lack of science education these days.