The Social Butterfly's Garden

Friday, March 31, 2006

"Atshooo!! " Said the Yellow Chick..

After lately hearing about some cases of bird flu in Tyre in the south of Lebanon, and lacking all faith in my government to take proper action to combat, let alone prevent bird flu from spreading in our farms, (in fact, according to PM Saniora and Mr. Berri, the people chosen to run our country, Lebanon's population and its chicken are immune to the virus- PRAISE THE LORD!! who knows, we might also be immune to HIV and not know it!), I was thrilled to get this text message on my mobile phone:

Breaking news !!
In an attmept to thwart the spread of the bird flu virus,
George W. Bush has bombed the Canary Islands!


Why otherwise would they call them the Canary Islands if they didn't have feathered creatures! DDDUUUHHH PEPOPLE!!!!!! THINK!!

Well at least he is doing something to save the chicken in the world, while our politicians are being.. well.. just themselves.. a bunch of bickering chicken!!

Bon Appetit!

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

To Educate or Not To Educate!?


To educate or not to educate.. that is the question. When I speak of education, I am not talking about regular language and math classes usually given in schools, I am talking about sexual education. Whether our youth choose to be responsible, be it through abstinence or playing it 'safe' is all well and good across the continuum of social values of course. But let's look at the facts here. With the rising age at marriage, the 'unrealistic optimism' of our blossoming generations, and the prevailing promiscuity of our societies, it is becoming quite hard to assume that teenagers are always making the right choice. Illegal and self induced abortions, honour killings, suicide, HIV/AIDS, STDs in addition to many other looming signs indicate that something is wrong. Obviously something is going on, and it we would only be in denial if we think of those symptoms as alien symptoms, as imported distractions from west and having no roots or origins in our modern reality and local communities. Human beings are the same everywhere, and in the spur of the moment, I guess it is unlikely that a sexually curious kid from USA would act any differently than his peer in Lebanon. I shall not generalize on that point; it is after all my own personal opinion.
What I am trying to do here is just raise an issue. I don't think there is one answer to what is going in my mind. And even if there were, I am in no position to judge whether it is correct of false. On the one hand, opponents of integrating sex ed. in school curricula may think of it as delivering the wrong message to kids, "Have sex, but use a condom" instead of elaborating on the dangers of engaging in early sexual activity. Studies have shown however that the opposite is actually true: sex education has actually decreased the rates of teenage sexual activities. Besides, it is worthy noting that this approach is not just limited to sexual education. Many communities, Vancouver for instance, where there are many injecting drug users and a high risk of HIV/AIDS, the attempts have focused on providing those drug users with clean needles so that they won't have to share and risk further spread of HIV/AIDS. For anyone living in a community that is not sensitized to this problem might think "… What is wrong with those people?? Providing addicts with clean needles to do drugs!" But in fact they are solving one side of the problem. Behavior after all is a matter of personal choice, and people won't stop having sex or doing drugs just because knowledgeable doctors and public health practitioners tell them it is bad. Recognizing the problem, admitting that is exists and trying to work around it should give good results.

In my opinion, what is given in school as "reproductive heath" is a very lame excuse for sex education. Teenagers don't want to know about little details that they can read in any biology or physiology book. They need to know what the significance and size of the problem. What does it mean to have STDs? What are the dangers of teenage pregnancies? What is abortion? Framing information in a cultural manner is also crucial, but also is perhaps the greatest barrier in implementing such programs, because matters of morals, religion and upbringing are very personal and vary between one household and the other. So what to do? Look away as if everything is fine and dandy??! Or talk about it, handle at least the basics. On the internet, you can find a wealth of information that indicates what is it like really in the world. On one website, there's an online detailed guide on how to perform an abortion.

..they(women) thought of abortion as something only a doctor could do,
something only the most trained specialist could perform without endangering
the life of the woman. They were deceived -- much like you have probably
been deceived. An abortion, especially for an early pregnancy, is a
relatively easy procedure to perform..

On the other hand, there are websites, like SIECUS, where you can find resources and information on the subject matter and how to present the information in an age-appropriate manner. Look where they are, and look where we still linger.

I am actually looking forward to that time when I have children of my own, and it is time to have "the talk" with them. Not only will I be bonding and communicating with my kids, but I will be helping in shaping them as mature individuals who are capable of knowing what is right and what is wrong. I just hope that by that time, I might get a little help from the pros at school!