Normandy High School, Part 1: Neither Racial Nor New, But Moral
AP Photo
The sexual lives of Normandy High School students have become the talk of the world. From India to the Great Britain, the world is buzzing with the startling news that up to 50 students in my neighborhood’s high school may have been exposed to HIV infection. While the details of how the virus may have spread are inconclusive at this point, we’re all aware, in most cases, that the virus spreads predominantly through drug use and sexual activity.
Since the St. Louis area is racially self-segregated, and Normandy High school is predominantly black, one of the most alarming outcomes could be possible stigmas connecting any stereotyped sexuality inferences associated with blacks. Let’s be clear: if the virus entered the high school because of sexual activity, this story will be one more fundamentally about adolescent sexual morality than cultural stereotypes.
Many of you will remember “The Lost Children of Rockdale County” documentary on PBS. “The Lost Children of Rockdale County” explores how a 1996 syphilis outbreak in a upper-middle class, predominantly white Atlanta suburb affected over 200 teenagers and revealed their lives unknown to parents: group sex, binge drinking, drugs and violence. Some were as young as twelve and thirteen years old.
In a possibly similar scenario at Normandy High School, like the upper-middle class whites in Atlanta’s suburban Rockdale County–who spread syphilis around their high school like students going trick-or-treating–this is a story about moral formation. Normandy High School is not responsible for what happened.
The Post-Dispatch reports that needles from Tatoos have now been ruled out as a source of the potential outbreak at the high school. This leaves the usual suspects.
If the virus was introduced through sexual activity perhaps the idea that sex was created and designed for marriage continues to make more and more sense. Because high school students are human beings, and not animals, it is quite reasonable to expect people to wait for sexual intercourse until marriage. People have made choices to preserve sex for marriage in Judeo-Christian contexts now for centuries. Again, people are not animals–we can control our impulses.
Given the normalcy and glamorization of non-marital and extra-marital sexual activity in our culture, there will be more high schools like Rockdale County and Normandy in the future unless our culture embraces the moral wisdom to preserve sex for life-long committed love with one’s spouse–not someone you think you “love” this semester.
The ancient wisdom of the book of Proverbs reminds us about God’s desire for men and women to enjoy designed sexuality within the context of marriage and the warnings of ignoring how we were created:
Verses from Proverbs 5:
May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
A loving doe, a graceful deer—may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love. . .
For a man’s ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths.
The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; The cords of his sin hold him fast.
He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
Anthony Bradley, 36, is assistant professor of apologetics and systematic theology at Covenant Theological Seminary (Creve Coeur) and Research Fellow at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty. He holds a PhD in Historical and Theological Studies from Westminster Theological Seminary and is frequently called upon by members of the broadcast media for comment on current issues and has appeared on NPR, CNN/Headline News, and Fox News, among others. 
Anthony-
Good post. You are definitely a welcome addition to this blog.
Thanks, Anthony, for your comments. I’ve been thinking about this, and how it is connected with the other posts recently about abortion politics, gay marriage, and other issues like sex education and birth control politics.
Our whole cultural attitude towards sex is fouled up. And it plays out in all of these areas. And when it enters the political realm, it just gets surreal. My position is that we, the supposed adults in the conversation, have never grown up sexually ourselves. All we have to say to our youth is “you better not….”, and the conversation stops there. I haven’t got a clue about what to do about it, or where to start. We do, however, need to find a way to have the conversation.
Anthony,
I have been enjoying your thoughtful posts. Welcome to the blog.
You are a great writer.
HS, I am with you, more needs to be said, though I am not sure how. I am opening up for more substanative conversations with my children. I am sharing my thoughts and values with them on the topic, beyond just the typical birds and bees dialog, though I struggle for the right words. I just feel the times require more conversation.
Dana
The most important sentence of this blog: “Normandy High School is not responsible for what happened.” Absolutely correct! Schools are not here to babysit our kids, and teach them morals, and all of these other things that people want them to be. Parents need to be extra vigilent given all the sex in media these days and be the ones to make sure that their kids understand that ALL actions have repercussions, and sometimes the worst ones can kill you.
Well said Anthony.
Anthony,
Thank you for this great post.
People need to here this aspect often including the reasons always according why, because the Bible, God’s Word say’s so and this is how it was intended for us to live our lives as human beings.
I wish more religious leaders would concentrate on this aspect instead of the after affects of not understanding these truths that you have spoken; we would all experience and witness great change.
Wowee, thanks for kudos!
hs you said, “All we have to say to our youth is “you better not….”, and the conversation stops there.I haven’t got a clue about what to do about it, or where to start. We do, however, need to find a way to have the conversation.”
ABSOLUTELY!!!!! This is the core of the problem. We need a city-wide conference on this!
Dana, thanks for the encouragement!
You said, “I am opening up for more substantive conversations with my children. I am sharing my thoughts and values with them on the topic, beyond just the typical birds and bees dialog, though I struggle for the right words. I just feel the times require more conversation.”
This is a most excellent first step. I wish more parents would move in that direction. The more you talk about this with your kids, the more comfortable both you and your kids will be with the subject matter which will make the words less difficult in the future.
I find what youth need more from parents than anything else is honesty about their own stories and willingness to disclose why they would have done things differently. The wisdom that shared from one-generation comes from the experience, at times, from lots of pain. Our kids need vision casts in the context of parental pursuit, love, and affection. You’ll be surprised how far you get.
Tim, you’re spot on regarding the parent’s role is helping kids to discern media.
The bottom line is that most kids in America learn about sex from pornography, movies, music, and television programing–not their parents or their religious leaders.
I think there are two things that work together to set up this sexual mess we’re in (or maybe more than two)…
First, I think many of us, as adults are still very ashamed of sex. The attitude of shame is what prevents the ‘conversation’, it’s what makes it headline news when some public figure or celebrity has an affair, etc.
Second, and I think the shame feeds this, we do not celebrate puberty in this society. We lack a common rite of passage, if you will, that welcomes children into the world of adults. As a Religion blog, we should always remember the basic thing that happens at a Bar Mitzvah, for example: The Boy becomes a Man in the eyes of the congregation. We, as a larger society, don’t do that. Every time we talk about College “kids”, we’re not treating those 18-22 year olds as if they were adults. And so on. What do we do, as a society, to say to a young man or a young woman: Ok, as of TODAY, you are an adult? This is certainly the parent’s role…but there is also a societal role, a church community role, to make this happen.
Somewhere we lost this. I’m not sure where. How many fathers take their sons to be with their friends, to do things with other men and their sons? How many women do the same with their daughters? And to be fair, how many fathers take their daughters out to meet his friends? And mothers their sons? In what we term primitive cultures (and maybe THEY have something to teach us), boys as young as 8 or 9 are apprenticed and start dealing with adult men who teach them and guide them. Same for girls.
Where does the Church and Civil Religion become a part of this? My take is this: I come from a Church background where the adults of the congregation make a serious commitment to all the baptized children: at the time of the baptism, one of the Elders will address the Congregation and ask if We, the congregation, will take on the responsibility to help raise, guide, and teach this child, by name. I take that seriously. As a parent, I certainly was glad many times that there were other adults around to help with MY youngsters.