Speaking Out (of his mind!)	Speaking Out Archive

Mom always pointed out to new parents that no child was ever too young to start learning about the evils of sex.

Sometimes when changing a diaper she might catch a male infant displaying an erection. A few gentle swats on the behind would help this bad baby begin to understand that such behavior is not to be tolerated.

The culture's general permissiveness has encouraged unfortunate sexual displays on the part of children in the most unlikely settings.

While I was growing up, we lived down the street from a local parsonage. We should have suspected trouble when one young minister moved in with his family and kept the drapes drawn. This prevented interested and concerned neighbors from being able to check that things were as they should be when they passed by the house.

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One summer afternoon the minister's three-year-old daughter was playing in a little plastic swimming pool in a fenced-in area in the parsonage's back yard. Of course this would have been fine except for one thing-- the girl was completely naked! She had gotten out of her swimming suit.

Naturally, Mom immediately rushed over to inform the minister's wife about what her daughter was doing. Mom explained that she would be happy to lend the family a swimming suit she had made for her children that was impossible to get out of. To our disbelief the woman refused Mom's kind offer. I shudder to think of the sexual values this poor child grew up possessing.

Unfortunately even a strict religious upbringing is no guarantee that a child will avoid sinking into depravity as a teenager.

I live near a family of staunch Roman Catholics. From my pantry window, if I bend my neck just right and use binoculars, I can see into the bedroom of one of the boys. He must be it least 16, so he's old enough to know right from wrong. Anyway, one evening when I happened to be looking into his bedroom, I noticed that he had taken all his clothes off and was lying on his bed. Suddenly I realized he wasn't just lying there, but he was engaged in self-abuse. The next 15 to 20 minutes (I lost track of the time) were some of the most difficult and uncomfortable I've ever been through. And I don't just mean because of the painful crick I got in my neck from having to hold so awkward a position in order to clearly observe what was happening. I'm referring to the disgusting display that just seemed to go on and on. He repeatedly stroked and fondled his genitalia until he finally ejaculated.

I can not for the life of me figure out where this young man picked up such foul practices. One thing is certain-- this behavior could not have originated from him. He had to have learned it from some older filthy-minded adult.

I think it is a pretty well established fact that teenagers on their own do not experience sexual thoughts or feelings. That is why an adult having sex with a teenager is the most despicable of all crimes. Not only is the adult forever polluting the body of the unsuspecting youth, but at the same time, he is forcing sexual thoughts and feelings onto a child no doubt heretofore wholly innocent of such loathsome emotions.

It is certainly right that the state recognizes in its laws that no child under the age of 16 could knowingly consent to sexual activity. Such behavior is always adult-instigated and is always rape.

Yes, I know we have laws that allow children, with parental consent, to marry at age 12. But marriage is hardly the kind of life-altering experience that one encounters when one is tricked into having an orgasm. It is quite conceivable that a 13-year-old, for example, is mature enough to marry. It is patently ridiculous to suggest a 13-year-old is ever ready to enjoy sex.

Fortunately, most of us have grown up receiving healthy sexual messages and values. It is up to us in this "Anything Goes" culture to make sure that future generations will continue to be taught just how dirty sex and certain parts of their body really are. Otherwise there's no telling what kind of world we'd end up with.