It seems the Department of Health and Human Services has put up a new website. According to the homepage, “4Parents.gov is a guide to help you and your teen discuss important, yet difficult, issues about healthy choices, sex and relationships.” The page of conversation-starters is rather amusing, but once I was finished laughing, I re-read their suggestions, and found a couple of them somewhat disturbing, particularly:
I heard a commercial on the radio about always being prepared by having condoms. Do you or your friends think that condoms really make sex safe?
and
I was at the store yesterday and ran into Kendrick, Mrs. Jakes’ son. He joined the military after high school. What do you think you want to do when you graduate from high school?
Now, last I checked, the volume of data demonstrating the effectiveness of condoms as a means of preventing pregnancy and the spread of disease could only be classified as humongous, and yet here we have a government agency actively suggesting that they are not, in fact, effective. As to the other suggestion, I can’t help but think that it’s not a coincidence that of all the careers that might have been available to the fictitious Kendrick, he picked the military. Let’s see—war in Iraq not going so well, recruitment numbers are down… why not take advantage of this website to suggest to parents that their kids might join the Army?