Doritos sells sex

Let me respond to Mr. Piersimoni's obviously clouded opinion piece ("Bush promotes abstinence," Sept. 16) in reference to President Bush's and other 'anti-choice' views on sexual education and other sexual options. We live in a sexually driven society, one laced with sexual over- and undertones on everything from cartoons to commercials to videogames. Mass media has become a tainted daycare for our youth.

To sit there and assert that abstinence is the only option isn't just ignorant; it's dangerous. You self-proclaimed 'pro-lifers,' though you would be much more aptly titled 'anti-choice,' seek not to better the moral disposition of society, but rather to first deny the issue at the heart of it, and the sweep it under the rug with an obviously flawed and unrealistic blanket option such as "abstinence only."

A recent New York Times article described the results of a new government survey among teens age 15 to 19 and their sexual activity level. Would it surprise you to know that almost 80 percent of teens are engaging in sexual activity of one sort or another? I can almost imagine the retort to that, that sexual education shows these kids that sex is ok if you have a condom. I can't imagine that Mrs. Smith, a nice old health teacher gave these kids more of a push to try sexual activity than the actresses on Desperate Housewives, or the videogame Playboy: The Mansion. I know my health teacher didn't turn me on.

Now let's tie all this together shall we? We pump out sexually laced products, geared at the lucrative youth market, make sex linked to absurd things such as eating Doritos and then in the same breath tell kids that there is no option other than abstinence. Look I like to escape from reality every once in a while, but to completely abandon reason is moronic. How about a couple that doesn't know about condoms because they've not been presented as an option? Well the percentage of prevention goes from 98 percent to zero percent. And that's just pregnancy. Sexually transmitted diseases are another story. You seek not the betterment of society, but rather a limit of choices, and to go down that road will only lead to disaster.