Just Something to Think About

There's been a lot of back-and-forth in recent days about the firmly established anti-condom stance possessed by Pope Benedict XVI (and, yes, I think we can now say quite conclusively that he does look like the Emperor from the Star Wars films).

One side paints the sometimes-ineffective contraceptives as dangerous in that they provide a false sense of security and encourage promiscuity; the other has said that they do say lives and, essentially, the Pope needs to stick to matters of Heaven and Hell instead of meddling in the nightmarish realm of the STD.

Here's what I say.

According to the anti-condom camp, mankind can resist their animal urges to engage in adult scenarios. For numerous individuals across the globe, this is true. Just look at all the multitudes of nuns, priests of various religions, and even protesters who live entire lifetimes of abstinence with a startlingly high degree of success. However, as a rule, this is not true. The force that draws two people together is intensely stronger than the various forces that keep them apart. Humans are, essentially, animals, and as a species, celibacy is not a viable option.

Here's the other part. HIV and other STDs are spread through the transmission of bodily fluids (I know, it's disgusting; bear with me). This transmission occurs during human mating. Now, wouldn't it be neat if there were a way to form an artificial barrier to block those fluids from moving from person to person? Oh, wait-- there is! Condoms! They are not accurate 100% of the time at preventing pregnancy, and at preventing infection transmission, that accuracy rate, I've been told, drops over twenty percent.

Let me finish.

That still leaves a likelihood somewhere in the mid-to-high seventies that the spread of disease will be stopped! But when sex is unprotected, there can't be any escape from the risks. The invisible condom has an accuracy percentage of exactly 00.

You can't stop people from doing what people do. Maybe on a small scale, but not every member of the freaking human race. So encouraging people not to use condoms encourages people to think their situation is hopeless. People shouldn't be forced to choose between loneliness/life and love/possible death.

I believe Benedict's "condomnation" (excuse the pun) should be referred to as his message of death. It won't do anything at all to prevent one human life from being extinguished; it may even spur it on. I say bravo to all the people who pass out contraceptives in impoverished nations, and the non-impoverished kind as well. You are preserving a chance for life in the most sacred of all human arenas: love.