President Bush's war on science

When I heard that President Bush had returned to Africa, first to the Tanzanian capital, bearing Shaq's shoes, before dancing awkwardly onwards with a 'Liberian girl' grinning as he disseminated his message of abstinence, I was once again infuriated. The fact that his moralizing missive was at least accompanied by a wad of cash should have mollified me; but my annoyance comes from the constant denial of a good body of empirical evidence debunking the efficacy of abstinence only and even ABC (Abstinence, Be Faithful...and Condoms) programs.

Science is not blasphemy, and sometimes blind faith is the real sin. The fact that science has theories that have been or will be debunked is not a weakness; the fact that science posits a hypothesis that is then open for challenge is the very root of itʼs strength. Serious questions should be raised when any idea is discussed as somehow beyond reproach, beyond question, unchallengeable. I believe that any theory or opinion that makes the people who question it somehow unethical or immoral is truly problematic.

Even within the developed world and indeed within the US, these ABC and abstinence only programs are springing up everywhere. In California, recently there was coverage of entire school districts that had turned their sex education over to outside contractors who were, apparently unbeknownst to district officials, telling absolute untruths to our children. One news report had a parent recounting that their son had not heard anything about condoms"...except that they break...." It is a travesty that this type of mis-education goes on. Whilst I have no choice but to respect what I see as regression in parts of the country that continue to believe the world was intelligently designed in six days, we should not have to tolerate our children getting only one side of any opinion - one side short for them to use their faculties to make an informed decision.

Africa is going through a horrific HIV/AIDS crisis as men and women are being infected at shocking rates, children being born with HIV - 12 million orphaned due to AIDS - and nearly 30 million adults living with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa alone. The situation in the US, whilst not so graphic, is also dire, especially within black and African-American communities and people of color in general. Only making up 13% of the US population, blacks account for over 50% of new HIV infections; and whilst amongst black women the primary transmission category is still high-risk heterosexual contact, overall it is high-risk sexual contact by men with other men.

Still, in the face of this tragedy, we tolerate abstinence-only and ABC programs teaching one side of the story in the mode I have come to expect from FOX News "fair and balanced" coverage. We countenance men and women "of God" both in front of and behind the pulpit vilifying and mystifying heterosexual sexuality making it ever more guilt inducing and ever more tantalizing for our kids. For too many people, all forms of sexuality are prohibited so zealously and mentioned with such nebulous and salacious language that our children are far less likely to seek the counsel of adults and professionals; people who might guide them towards smarter decisions and better protection, including delaying having sex.

Those who advocate the marginalization, persecution and forced invisibility of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people, inside and out of the black community, have a hand in the ravages of HIV and AIDS. Those who look to forge ahead with a blind and scientifically unsubstantiated abstinence only message to our children have a hand in the rise in unwanted pregnancies and HIV and AIDS. Those who support and propagate the artificial machismo in our young men that necessitates objectifying our women and denigrating our black, gay brothers, in lieu of less spectacular, but ultimately more sustainable and affirming achievements; they too have a hand in this crisis.

This 'moral majority' needs to examine themselves as another major contributing factor to acclimate of fear and isolation where seeking advice can seem like the ultimate risk-taking behavior, where unplanned pregnancy will be a constant prospect and where HIV and AIDS infection will form a perpetual backdrop for black and urban communities.