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Belonging
to a generation that was brought up to think of sex outside of marriage as
unacceptable behaviour, I look with horror on the lifestyle of some of the
present youth. No doubt my generation as is true of previous generations did have sex before marriage but it was hushed up and only rarely did you hear of a teenage pregnancy. It was all swept under the carpet so maybe today’s young people are more open in their relationships and sex is no longer a dirty word. Somehow though I feel that sex has become the new religion and all are expected to worship at the shrine. There no longer seems to be a time for getting to know one another, the first meeting seems to end with the sexual act, not as an expression of love but literally a bodily function that gives a few moments of gratification. The respect for one’s body either male or female no longer seems to be the norm. The peer group rule the behaviour and as most teenagers wish to belong they follow the peer group and succumb to its pressure. Those who don’t give in are shunned and quite often ridiculed or classed as gay rightly or wrongly. One man, one woman is not the way of present youth; marriage is the last thing on their minds. Yet when I questioned one of my grandsons as to whether he would marry a girl who had slept around he was astonished at my question and replied "no way". So despite all their promiscuity some of the young people of today do appear to have some standards and we should not judge them by our rules. I have often felt that we older folk don’t take time out to listen to the younger generation and perhaps we judge them all by the behaviour of some. Sex and promiscuity have always been part of human nature. It is not a new thing the Old Testament in the Bible is full of stories of such behaviour and the consequences. Now that we have the threat of Aids which is killing thousands in the third world and becoming more prevalent in our own country, we may even think of following the idea coming from America where a vow of chastity before marriage is being taken and acknowledged by the wearing of a small badge. Children are imitators and maybe it is our own behaviour we need to look at before we start condemning the younger generation. When sex becomes an act of love and not lust it is a beautiful thing and one worth saving for the right man or woman to share it with. |
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