As I was headed back to school yesterday after a much-needed week off, we stopped for gas near Roanoke. In the restroom, there was one of those one-dollar condom dispensers. It got me wondering: why would anybody spend a dollar on an unknown brand of condom in a convenience store bathroom in rural Virginia, when he could buy a whole pack of Trojan or Magnum condoms for about seven dollars in that same store? The only possibly reason I could fathom as to why somebody would buy a condom in the bathroom like that, is if he intends to have sex right there in the bathroom! I know, it sounds disgusting, but in some ways it is perfectly logical. Obviously gas stations do not promote their bathrooms as miniature hotel rooms. However they know that people will use them for that purpose, anyways. Therefore, if they make condoms readily available in the restrooms, they could use this unspoken taboo as a source of revenue.
I think intentional ignorance of reality is one of the more interesting aspects of our society. People obviously know full well what happens in gas station bathrooms… at least well enough to try and profit off of it, anyways. However, it is not something that is actually acknowledged. There is not a sign posted over the door of the Men’s room that says “Please Have Sex in Here!” The accommodation is just there. It is like censorship in the media. On network television, the word “fuck” is always bleeped out. Why do they do that? Everybody knows exactly what the speaker is saying! Nobody’s mind is going to be warped for life by hearing the word “fuck” in its correct context. However, we have created these standards by which certain words and concepts become taboo to speak about, despite the fact that they undeniably exist! I believe the epitome of this culture was seen during the 2004 Super Bowl, when a huge uproar was thrown because Janet Jackson’s nipple was exposed for a few seconds. People demanded compensations for the “indecencies” they were exposed to. Excuse me, but nipples exist whether or not they get airplay. The fabric of society and the basis of family life will not become undone because their child has seen a female breast. Heck, what with the internet and all, a child seeing a breast should be the least of their worries!
Why is discussion of sexuality such a taboo in American society? After all, it is the most basic of human instincts save for eating and drinking. It is how we all got here, and obviously everybody enjoys it! However, sexuality is far more taboo than something destructive, like violence. Think about it for a second: children are given G.I. Joe dolls and toy guns to play with then they are about six years old! From an early age, they are taught that it is cool to carry a gun and shoot people (but only if their nationality and belief structure is different from your nationality and belief structure.) However, there are forces at work to keep children from getting a balanced sexual education at school! Obviously I am talking about the “Abstinence-Only” crowd. I have a problem with abstinence-only education, because no matter how much emphasis you want to put on abstinence, young people are still going to have sex. It is a primal instinct! Therefore, young people should be taught about the precautions that can be made to make sex safer. This is not to say that you should not teach them about the risks involved; just teach them about ways to lower those risks. By doing this, you are saving lives! By discussing sexuality with young people in an open and non-hostile environment, you are reducing the chances that one of these young people will end up pregnant or with a sexually transmitted disease. Unfortunately, the powers that be would rather keep hush-hush on the subject so as to not be “offensive.” I honestly do not understand the logic in this, but it is so deeply engrained in American culture that nobody questions it. Opposing this type of sexual education is like ignoring the big elephant in the room!
Something else that I have noticed time and again is the willingness of people to deny the truth if it does not fit their agenda. For example, many Conservatives will deny global warming despite OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE OF ITS EXISTENCE, because accepting its existence means to accept responsibility for it. It is more convenient simply to deny it. A for more extreme example is something that hits close to my heart: Holocaust denial. Anti-Semites will try and advance their agenda by downplaying the historical persecution of the Jews. One of the ways they do this is to contest that the Holocaust was a hoax perpetrated by the Jews. This is despite the facts that the leaders of the Nazi regime admitted to committing said atrocities, there are Holocaust survivors that can confirm the stories, the physical remnants of the death camps, and other overwhelming evidence. Sadly, people will only believe what they want to believe, regardless of the evidence.
I do want to make the distinction between acknowledging the existence of truth and ignoring it, and outright denying it, though. In some ways the two ideas are very similar. In both the sexuality and Holocaust examples, one is presented with overwhelming evidence of something, but chooses to ignore it. However, they ignore the truth in different ways. In the first example, the person will accept the truth, but choose to turn it into a taboo. For example, the viewer knows that the angry redneck on the “Jerry Springer Show” said the word “fuck,” but he would prefer not to hear it. In the Holocaust example, though, the person will not accept the truth regardless of what evidence he is presented with. His mind is set on a certain belief system, and nothing is going to change that. He might know deep down that he is wrong, but he will never admit it.
I believe the both instances are dangerous in their own right. By making subjects taboo, you create a hostile environment where people do not feel safe asking questions. The only way to prevent ignorance is to make dialogue possible, which means eliminating social taboos. Obviously outright denial is even more dangerous. If everybody put his agenda before the facts, then nobody would be able to distinguish the truth from lies. Being able to be objective and look at the reality of situations is the first step to true understanding. Sometimes reality can be a scary or undesirable thing, and ignorance is bliss. However, the acceptance of the truth is the only way that we will be able to progress as a people. In the immortal words of Fox Moulder: “The truth is out there.”
