You will all just have to excuse me, but your judgemental comments on this topic are insipid.

I would not have subjected my daughter to a public ceremony of this nature, but she has been wearing a “promise” ring since she biologically entered the ranks of womanhood.

She has been taught in a very old-fashioned way. She will not more than hold hands with a boy (and that only in a public, chaperoned setting), with whom she is not engaged to marriage. She believes in that, so she certainly will not destroy the mystery and romance of the marriage bed through pre-marital sex. Her mother and I have not tried to scare her about this topic, that’s a fool’s errand. Instead, she has been taught that the physical acts of marriage are wonderful, sacred gifts to be exchanged only between those who have made a lifetime commitment to each other.

Why girls? Because they are the ones to say no. Unfair? Perhaps, but the facts are the facts. The very reason this sort of purity ceremony is being done today is because society is trying everything in its power to make girls feel guilty if they don’t put out. And some of you who have commented in step with that sentiment should be ashamed. Allowing ourselves to be ruled by our appetites, and then claiming that it’s only natural, is the weakness in man that leads to the destruction of society, and has been throughout history, some commenters’ existentialist swill notwithstanding.

I have a son also, and he is taught the same things about romance and marriage, but he is taught something else. Respect, very strong respect, for all women. I have exactly as much expectation that he will remain innocent until his wedding night that I have for my daughter. I’m not in the habit of deluding myself, and I believe that they both have an excellent chance of accomplishing that goal. Would I be able to even hope for such if I “went along with society”? No, of course no.

We don’t pound shame and guilt into our children’s heads, we show them how much better life is when you do it right. We give them good reasons to make the right choice, not dishonestly scary reasons not to make the wrong choice.

Above all else, they know that they are God’s creation, and that His way always leads to the greater blessings. Roark, the thing you forget about the Al Pacino character is that he is the Father of Lies, and all of that garbage about “look, don’t touch, touch, don’t taste…” was just that, lies. That’s not what God does and anyone who allows themselves to believe such is already on Satan’s hook.

Anyway, I’ll finish as I started. All of you who judge these families who take a devoted, active interest in their daughter’s purity as kooks and scary, but who watch shows like Family Guy, take a long, long look in a mirror.

Freelancer on March 26, 2007 at 3:58 AM