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Gabriel Garnica The recent story regarding a so-called ‘pregnancy pact” among at least 18 girls at Gloucester H.S. in Massachusetts and the media’s coverage of the situation tells us all that we have to know about this society’s moral and social mess.
Trivialization of Pregnancy and Motherhood
To begin with, this absurd situation reveals to what degree this society has trivialized pregnancy and motherhood. If the girls entered this pact to mimic the glamorized unexpected pregnancies in Juno and Knocked Up, then they have converted pregnancy and subsequent motherhood into some game, contest or status symbol, devoid of its sacred and unique meaning and character. However, have not adults done the same in a different way? Do not the media treat pregnancy like a cold, annoying and best treated with some “remedy” to “remove” the problem?
If teens need film depictions to see pregnancy as special, it is because our society has effectively stripped that state of its unique and special character, turning it into a self-inflicted disease or illness. In fact, when Brittany Spears’ sister became pregnant, most of the media seemed to define her irresponsibility not in terms of having sex outside of marriage but, rather, as having unprotected sex and then, for crying out loud, of being crazy enough to actually carry the child to birth!
If the media depicts pregnancy in anything but a positive light, then what of its portrayal of motherhood? Ad after ad show mothers as overworked, underappreciated fools, slaving for everyone but themselves and finding fulfillment in clean shirts and well-fed kids. The message seems to be that the best reward for anyone stupid enough to give birth is slavery at the service of ungrateful people.
Twisted Sense of Responsibility and Accountability
Media coverage of this bizarre situation centered on the absurdity of such a pact, seemingly incredulous of the fact that any teen would ever want to have a baby much less keep the child. Statistics show that national teen pregnancy rates are spiking, and anyone who wonders why needs counseling. Irresponsible sexual activity is glamorized by the media. Sexual immaturity is glamorized by the media. The consequences of unwanted and teen pregnancy are trivialized by that same media. Sexual responsibility and conscience are mocked by liberal activists spewing privacy and other concerns at the sacrifice of parental, religious and traditional authority.
The media cannot possibly seriously wonder why teen pregnancies are up, can they? That would be like leaving ten kids in a room full of candy and then wondering why they are it all. If the fact that teen carelessness or irresponsibility has led to more pregnancies is not the shocker for the media, then could it be that many of these teens actually want to keep their babies? After all, pregnant teens that give birth do not have abortions and tend to have less time and money to keep on fooling around, thereby costing people like Planned Parenthood and others lots of money.
Liberals bash us over the head with claims that contraception is the answer to this problem, yet a new study found that the number of teens claiming to have used a condom the last time they had sex dropped from 63% to 61%. Contraception does not work because the real problem and issue here is attitude, and attitude does not fit snugly over this problem to prevent foolish decisions or mistakes. In fact, this society and its media’s attitude toward unwanted pregnancy is what lead to increased teen pregnancy rates.
It’s My Party
More and more, teens seem to respond to news that they are pregnant with parties and celebrations. Such is the twisted moral and social face of this society. Under normal circumstances, where a pregnancy occurs within a stable marriage, pregnancy certainly is a reason for celebration. Within an unmarried teen situation, however, that same pregnancy becomes a difficult situation resulting from poor judgment. While people can certainly celebrate the potential birth of a child, irresponsibility of this kind is nothing to celebrate. At that point, the objective must be helping the mother; child and hopefully father cope with and overcome this tough spot to everyone’s benefit, which certainly leaves the likes of Planned Parenthood out in the cold where they belong.
Our society’s moral and social barometer is so delusional that it is shocked when the obvious consequences of its diluted responsibility occur. Furthermore, that same barometer is so confused that it is more shocked that said teen would ever rather keep a child than abort it. Under this culture’s pathetic moral measure, anyone who lets herself get pregnant is careless and anyone who then decides to carry said unexpected child to birth is an idiot deserving of her fate. Such is the state of what passes for moral responsibility and a rational moral conscience in this society.
Conclusion
If 25 kids in one school were left in a room full of candy and each gained 20 lbs as a result, nobody would be shocked. If those kids and their parents decided to deal with this weight gain responsibly, naturally and rationally by doing exercise and dieting, nobody would be surprised or dismayed. If, however, all 25 of these kids and their parents opted to undergo liposuction surgery to quickly and conveniently remove their fat, people would be shocked and wonder why kids and parents would be willing to opt for such risky and invasive procedure to deal with their candy binge.
Switch sex for candy and suddenly you get a different result. Our media, society and culture shove sex in the face of teens, glamorizing it and its results, and then wonder why they fool around. Then, once these kids get pregnant, that same media, society and culture wonder why they would be stupid enough to actually do the responsible thing and have the child which, like exercise, is the natural and responsible way to go.
Instead, these people expect these teens to take the easy way out, not for the teens or their unborn children, but for society, so said society can go on selling sex without burdens. Abortions, like liposuction, aim to eliminate what is unwanted conveniently and quickly.
If the Gloucester H.S. incident reveals anything, it is just how twisted and delusional our society, culture and media have become. While teens see pregnancy as some game or status symbol, our society has aborted personal responsibility, moral integrity and common sense. Worst of all, it is continually giving birth to precisely the opposite.
Copyright by Gabriel Garnica Copyright © MichNews.com. All Rights Reserved.
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