The Idiocy of Popular Media

well, most days i don't know whether to laugh or get really ticked off when i read the news headlines at cnn. today was no exception. of course i had to click on the headline "commentary, pope wrong on condoms." and let me tell you, this commentary piece by mr. martin is about as classic of an example of 'having no real information or background about the topic you are writing' as one can find. he starts off by telling us

"The church has long been opposed to the use of condoms and other forms of birth control because it strongly believes that sex is for procreation and enriching the union of a married couple."

ok, yeah, so he glossed over some pamphlet he found which actually correctly states the church's position on birth control but then he must have nodded off for the rest of the explanation because he goes on to say...

"What we need today are our church leaders preaching, teaching and imploring their members not to go to bed with anyone and everyone. We also need church leaders who are willing to stand up and tell folks that if they do choose to sin -- that's what the church and other faith leaders consider sex outside of marriage -- then you had better take the necessary precautions to protect yourself."

oh, so i get it now mr. martin. you acknowledge that the largest reason this disease is spreading so rapidly is that people are having sex outside of the bonds of matrimony and that the act of premarital sex is a sin. yet, if people are going to sin we should help them to feel safe and secure about doing it. super. i would imagine it's highly probable that you are also of the same camp that says, "well, i hope my teenage daughter isn't going to have sex but just in case she does i'm going to put her on the pill." it seems to me that these two mindsets usually walk hand in hand. and it also seems to me that those are the same people who are so distraught in a few years and can't understand why their daughter has five different sexually transmitted diseases and why she is leaving home to live with her boyfriend.

first, do i claim that the above scenario can't happen to a young lady from a strongly rooted, faithful Catholic family. no. i don't live in a cave somewhere. what i am saying is, we cannot promote sin and make it look attractive and like you can't possibly live up to what is being asked of us. i firmly believe that people will, for the most part, live up to the expectations you put before them. if you expect somebody to miss the mark and provide an easy out for them to do so, then they probably will. if you hold someone to the gold standard, usually they will try their hardest to make it. i think our world has gotten to where it is today largely in part by not expecting too much from people and allowing them to sin and fall in comfort. and that is a shame.

i see this whole condom issue like this. let's say you have a fourteen year old son who is really infatuated with your new sports car. you are leaving the house for a few hours and say to him, "son, you know that you aren't allowed to drive the car, but i also want you to know that the gas tank is full, i sat the keys on your pillow and i won't be mad if you drive it." let's go for another example. how about the parents who tell their underage child that they don't want them to drink and get drunk but heck, if you want to do it, please tell me so i can provide the alcohol and you can do it in my house.

enough said. simply put, we cannot be proponents of sin. we cannot provide an easy out. we are all to strive to be saints and making sin cushy is not the way to do it.