Dear George,

The question is whose rights are we more concerned about, the children's or the parents [when parents find their values under seige]. Being a brand new parent, I can empathize with the concern of parents. Since I regularly work in public high schools implementing arts in education programs, I equally empathize with the predicament of the student.

The delusion on this point I think is that parents can teach children a system of rules and "values" that will cause them to resist the temptation or rather natural instincts of sexual connection. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but history since Neanderthal Man shows that the emergence of the sexual impulse creates sexual connection. A force greater than Planned Parenthood is at work, and the arrogance that the this force can be disciplined with religious rhetoric is simply misplaced faith.

That doesn't mean the values shouldn't be taught if they are what is held, but holding Planned Parenthood responsible for the spread of sexual behavior is a little like holding the the fire house responsible for the fire. Does the presence of a fire station make arsonists feel more at home? Fires happen because wood burns - all kinds of things cause it to, even if we don't want it to. I'd rather have a fire station in my neighborhood.

And as far as abortion goes, unless we are ready as a society to provide whatever social support is necessary for an individual to bring a conceived life into the world, to insist that an organization not provide information to students is incredible short sighted for the fact that it is the students whose lives are impacted.

Sincerely,

Joe Clancy (electronic mail, November 12, 2004)