Now Showing: 'Abstinence in the City'
We’ve all heard of “Sex and the City,”
the award-winning television show featuring four single women who seek
love, fulfillment and happiness in the New York landscape. More often
than not, however, they end up unfulfilled, less happy and more bewildered
than they were at the beginning. As the song goes, they were looking
for love “in all the wrong places.”
Believe it or not, there are some connections between Healthy Respect,
which is based in New York and promotes “Abstinence in the City,”
and the popular television show. After all, the four TV characters are
looking for things that are natural to the human heart: love, fulfillment
and happiness. And they pursue them in ways that the culture says is
best: free sex and little commitment.
Healthy Respect knows that you cannot change the heart’s need
for love, or even the human desire for sex. What can be changed are
the choices young men and women make to satisfy their deepest needs
and desires, as well as the culture that encourages them to make poor
choices. At Healthy Respect, we don’t say sex is bad; we say sex
is awesome, in fact sex is so awesome that Healthy Respect teaches students
about the power and fragility of their reproductive systems. Like the
"Spiderman" mantra states "with great power comes great
responsibility." Healthy Respect teaches students to regard their
reproductive power in light of the statement "Do NO Harm (to yourselves,
others or your future)."
The Healthy Respect vision for youth may go against the prevalent message
of our media; but it is in keeping with the deepest longings of the
heart. We find that New York’s young people respond positively
to our message of true love, self-respect and respect for others. They
see the common sense of it all.
Another popular song says, “Don’t worry, be happy.”
Young people who practice abstinence don’t have to worry about
a lot of things that are driving teens crazy these days: an alphabet
soup of sexually transmitted diseases, from AIDS to HPV, and pregnancies
that can knock them off the education track. And teens can be happy
with the Healthy Respect curriculum as they learn to create healthy
relationships, achieve high self-esteem, stay off the heartbreak roller-coaster
of hook-ups and break-ups, and save themselves for marriage –
because they are worth it.
At Healthy Respect, we call this vision the achievable dream. Through
character education, the setting of high yet realistic goals, and the
study of good and healthy lifestyle choices, the Healthy Respect curriculum
gives young students the tools necessary to plan for their dreams and
goals by teaching them specific decision-making skills.
That’s what “Abstinence in the City” is about. The
message is positive, the method is proven.
New York’s young people deserve respect – Healthy Respect!