So today I am going to take a little break from all the Gonzo talk and write a quick blog about a story I just read on Raw Story. Apparently there is a trend sweeping the nation, including an evangelical church right here in Colorado where the trend started, wherein fathers and daughters attend these annual "Purity Balls" vowing celibacy until marriage.

Ok, so once I finally got finished with all the initial snickering (seriously, the words purity and balls in the same sentence?!), I read the article and checked out the local church's website. I would first like to start off my saying this; although I would have loved her if my wife and I would have had her, I am relieved on some level to not have any daughters! Ok, that sounds bad, let me explain. I can empathize with a father's fear of letting his little girl out into a world of predatory, hormone filled boys (because, come on, most all fathers were those boys when they were younger). With that in mind, I can see how an event such as this could lull the father into a false sense of security and allow him to sleep better at night knowing at least his daughter is off the market.

I think you can see where I am going with this. I really don't care one way or another how another parent wants to raise their children. I don't care what beliefs or values or morals they choose to instill in their children. I don't agree with some things that other parents do, but as long as they are not abusing their children in any way, who am I to stand in judgement. With that said, this story just goes along with a whole crop of other stories regarding evangelicals' (and hence, the Bush administration's) insistence on abstinence only education. This is where I start to have a problem with this kind of stuff. While my wife and I do plan on doing the majority of the discussing and educating with our boys on sex issues, it would be nice for them to get reinforcement from their educators in the form of a more comprehensive approach that goes beyond abstinence. My worry is, the more pull that these evangelical groups gain in politics, the harder it is going to become for that to be possible.

I probably don't need to say that there are numerous studies out there that can point to the failing of these types of programs. Often these studies show that these programs do more damage than good. And I probably don't need to talk about the need for that wall separating church and state. I will save all of that for another time. I just found this article interesting and wanted to share!

Thanks for reading...