Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Mon, Dec 01 2003
World AIDS Day Thoughts
I thought this article from UNAIDS director Peter Piot said things in a way that was bold, powerful and honest, and left none of us out of the equation for this battle. If you think you lead an insulated lifestyle and have very little chance of being affected by this disease, you are lying to yourself. This is a worldwide epidemic that will affect each of us socially, spiritually, politically and economically in the future.
Soapbox alert here: A lot of us who think of ourselves as spiritual people would do well to get off our high horse and deal with the real world. Young people today still often have no "adult" to talk to honestly about sex, drugs and other issues that are crucial to their life. They often get an embarrassed mumble, or they get a sermon. Neither works. Your life, your integrity and your example as a responsible person give kids hope. But they also need to know you care enough to reach out to them on the big issues. If you have kids of your own, it might go against your religious beliefs to give them knowledge about sex, drugs and other "taboo" issues. But who else do they have? If you don't help them, and they make uninformed choices that lead to consequences that may even include their own death, will you just tell yourself that you did the right thing by not encouraging their "immoral" choices? Dead is dead, people. A dead child cannot be brought back and made to fit our idea of what moral behavior is. Let's choose to be responsible spiritually and be there for kids now so they can still be here with us tomorrow.
posted at: 06:39 | category: /Religious and Spiritual | link to this entry
I thought this article from UNAIDS director Peter Piot said things in a way that was bold, powerful and honest, and left none of us out of the equation for this battle. If you think you lead an insulated lifestyle and have very little chance of being affected by this disease, you are lying to yourself. This is a worldwide epidemic that will affect each of us socially, spiritually, politically and economically in the future.
Soapbox alert here: A lot of us who think of ourselves as spiritual people would do well to get off our high horse and deal with the real world. Young people today still often have no "adult" to talk to honestly about sex, drugs and other issues that are crucial to their life. They often get an embarrassed mumble, or they get a sermon. Neither works. Your life, your integrity and your example as a responsible person give kids hope. But they also need to know you care enough to reach out to them on the big issues. If you have kids of your own, it might go against your religious beliefs to give them knowledge about sex, drugs and other "taboo" issues. But who else do they have? If you don't help them, and they make uninformed choices that lead to consequences that may even include their own death, will you just tell yourself that you did the right thing by not encouraging their "immoral" choices? Dead is dead, people. A dead child cannot be brought back and made to fit our idea of what moral behavior is. Let's choose to be responsible spiritually and be there for kids now so they can still be here with us tomorrow.
posted at: 06:39 | category: /Religious and Spiritual | link to this entry
