Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Writer (April 25, 2008) An Indiana high school senior is becoming famous for the letter she wrote to a local newspaper about the shocking epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) among teens. Calling it “shameful” and “scandalous,” she faults a selfish society and calls upon so-called “sex experts” to “get their heads out of the clouds” when it comes to “safe-sex” education. Patricia Roeder, a senior at Goshen High School in Goshen, Indiana is in the process of making herself famous for a lively and yet poignant letter she wrote to a Elkhart County newspaper about the STD epidemic currently raging among her peers. “I feel the STD rate is shocking,” she writes. “What I mean by shocking is scandalous, or shameful. I am not very surprised the STD rate is high. Sex is everywhere. I can't watch one hour of TV without flipping the channel. It's rare that I remain on the same station during a commercial break. I stare at the floors during previews in a movie theater. I can't randomly pick a book out of the teen section at the library because nearly every book has sex references and/or a sex scene. My generation is getting so much sex, it's pathetic. That one in four girls is infected is hardly a surprise. I'm quite sure the average teenager sees some form of sex every day.” Roeder then takes aim at the many “expert” commentators who weighed in on the subject after the March 12 release of the latest statistics on the nationwide STD epidemic by Centers for Disease Control. “Sex education ‘expert’ (if there is such a title) Nora Gelperin said, ‘Those numbers are certainly alarming.’ Well, duh. As I read the article, I thought that at least people are finally realizing how our society hinders our personal lives (and sanctity), right? “Wrong. According to Gelperin, ‘Sexuality is still a very taboo subject in our society.’ I am not buying that garbage. Sex is as common as grocery shopping nowadays. “Gelperin continues, ‘Teens tell us that they can't make decisions in the dark and that adults aren't properly preparing them to make responsible decisions.’ There is some truth in this statement. I think teenagers are more sensible than Gelperin makes them out to be, but adults could be giving teenagers the wrong message. ‘If you're going to do it honey, you'd better take this condom’ is the wrong attitude. “That’s not what Gelperin was referring to, apparently. The numbers reflect ‘the sad state of sex education in our country,’ she said. Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood said that ‘the national policy of promoting abstinence-only programs is a $1.5 billion failure.’ Dr. Ellen Kruger chimes in, offering that teens need to hear that STDs are prevented by abstinence and condoms. “Such talk infuriates me! Richards needs to get her head out of the clouds. If you don't have sex, you won't get STDs, plain and simple. I don't know what Kruger is trying to say. You can't ‘use’ condoms and practice abstinence at the same time!” Roeder then goes on to reveal a surprising grasp of the facts about condoms. “Condoms don't stop STDs anyhow. Studies show that in preventing HIV, condoms fail 31 percent of the time. Condoms offer very little protection against HPV, provide no protection from herpes, and there is virtually no difference in chlamydia diagnoses between persons who use and don't use condoms. Latex is manufactured. It has holes 5 microns wide. The HIV virus is a tenth of a micron.” The real problem, she says, is not the kind of sex education a teen is receiving, it’s a self-centered society that raises their children to believe premarital sex is okay.  “Our society is focused on self. What makes you happy? How do you feel? What do you want? A self-centered society is an immoral society. “Before we can blame sex education programs for the STD rate, we need to repair society. Sex is everywhere and it is encouraged, regardless of the circumstances. Pre-marital sex guarantees many grave consequences, including STDs. My generation needs to stop listening to the lies of society and Planned Parenthood.” She considers chastity to be “cool” because it allows a person to have sex in certain conditions. “If you are married and remain faithful, you could have sex for years and not get sick. . . . I, personally, would rather wait five years, get married and have much happier relations with someone who really loves me and will be with me the rest of my life. Statistics shows those who wait for sex have happier personal lives, anyway. “It’s difficult to live chastely in a society that encourages immorality, but if you want happiness, you need to wait. If your partner doesn't want to wait for you, they probably didn't love you to begin with.” Out of the mouths of babes . . . © All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly/Women of Grace. http://www.womenofgrace.com Teens respond positively to the message of chastity - if only someone will give it! See “If You Really Loved Me: 100 Questions on Dating, Relationships, and Sexual Purity” by renowned teen chastity educator, Jason Evert, available in our store at www.womenofgrace.com/catalog