Sex Ed.

Since my opponent has now refused to outline arguments in a clear fashion, I have grouped the issues discussed in his round 2 posting as best as I can. Since he abandoned case arguments of mine, I have extended where I see fit. Obviously, most of my benefits (Africa & Rockdale County contained these benefits) need to be extended, as does much of my rebuttals of this case. I urge readers to consider the cost-benefit analysis of ignoring sex vs. educating responsibly about the reality of sex within the round. 1. On the issue of urges: I'm not sure that my opponent properly understands puberty or how it works. Puberty is, by far, the most difficult emotional and biological stage for a person to experience (with the possible exception of facing one's own death). You can't choose to release hormones like testosterone or estrogen into your body. Biologically speaking, it's akin to breathing. At that stage in life, we don't "choose" to become sexually attracted to other people. So, to lay blame on teenagers for puberty is ignorant. Granted, they are at a point when decision-making is easier as the children grow older, but the point is that teens are far more likely to want to have sex and to have a warped decision-making process due to those biological factors. Sex education arms them with the proper tools to resist that urge. If teens don't know the dangers of sex, it becomes far easier to justify having sex. 2. On the maturity issue: I think my opponent fundamentally misunderstands my purpose in discussing maturity, and I would ask the readers to extend all of my arguments regarding the arbitrariness of attempting to legislate anything based on age, especially the administration of sexual education. To assume that acceptability translates into biological readiness is dangerous and unwarranted. Some members of society can object to people under the age of 18 having sex all that they want. Their railing will not change human nature, nor will it change the stages of puberty. 3. On legality: I'm really not sure what my opponent was talking about when he references the legality of having sex as a minor, but we get into this "changing the age of consent" business again. If my opponent would like to clarify this in round 3, I will more than happily rebut it. For now, I really don't understand how changing the age of consent affects the merits of sex education. The age of consent for most states in the US is actually under the age of 18 (as low as 14 in some states), and generally sex between 2 minors will not be prosecuted (clearly). So, there really is no reason to consider this within the debate, as I don't understand how it provides any sort of affirmative solvency. 4. On legality and sex education (education encourages sex): please extend my arguments in regarding how sex education is designed. You will never find a teacher standing in front of a classroom telling kids how fun sex is, and encouraging them to have sex. My opponent equates learning about sex with having sex, which he does not warrant in any way. As I demonstrated in my Rockdale County & Sub-Saharan Africa examples, education leads to less sex and more overall health. Ignoring the problem exacerbates it, which my opponent failed to refute. Hence, his world actually leads to more unprotected sex, more STI spread, more teen pregnancy, and more overall detriment than a world with sex education. Not only that, but by my opponent's rationale, we shouldn't learn about the dangers of drugs or alcohol, either, since they are either conditionally or entirely illegal. Sending kids through D.A.R.E programs or anti-substance abuse programs in school will clearly lead to them using drugs, according to my opponent, so we should stop using such programs. Instead, society should bury its head in the sand, ignore real life, and hope that children just "adjust." As my opponent still has not proved a viable link between sex education and increased unsafe sexual activity, and since my opponent cannot give you an accurate portrayal of the goals and curriculum of a sex education program, whereas I can, I urge a vote for Pro. The Pro represents an educated, safer, and more sensible world.