David Ancell / Monday January 22, 2007
I always find stories of secular writers who have managed to demonstrate what the Catholic Church has known all along to be very fascinating. Perhaps some of you have read about the former Dr. Anonymous who is now known to be Dr. Miriam Grossman of UCLA. She is not someone who could be described as a pro-life activist by any stretch of the imagination.
However, let’s look at the interview in the National Review article that I have linked to. Dr. Grossman wrote about how political correctness has allowed her profession to ignore the effects of the on-campus sexual activity on the people engaging in it. Dr. Grossman herself doesn’t appear to be a chastity advocate, but maybe some day she will be. She is at least asking that we are at least giving people appropriate information for whatever choice they make.
This book may cause her to lose esteem among colleagues or even lose her job. Some may cite political correctness, and this is no doubt a huge element of the problem. However, I have to think that a large part of the problem is that those in charge of most secular (or even most Catholic institutions which are practically secular anyway) have the wrong idea about the well-being of their students. Granted, the students are technically adults, but in today’s culture, we are often not fully prepared to be adults. It’s appropriate to allow people to make some mistakes so that they can understand the consequences, but there are limits.
Let me cite a case in point. A few months ago, I got an e-mail from my alma mater, the University of Mississippi. The University was beginning a new “get tough” policy on alcohol violations. Were they doing this in response to rampant alcohol abuse that was no doubt well-known at the time that I was in school. No, it was in response to the alcohol-related death of university police officer Robert Langley. No, Officer Langley wasn’t abusing alcohol as far as I know, but, rather, the person responsible for his death was. My point is that it took the death of a police officer for the University to issue the policy. This problem existed long before then, and I refuse to believe that something couldn’t have been done about it.
Granted, the job isn’t just the job of the administrators. One reason why people may seek consolation in alcohol or in basically anonymous intimate encounters is our isolation from God and from each other. Many people may be together and appear to be having a great time at a party. However, how much fun can we really be having together with some bass booming so loudly that we can’t hear each other talk and with many so darn drunk that they don’t know who they are talking to? Dr. Grossman has uncovered an important aspect of the problem. Doing so has led many people, and may one day lead Dr. Grossman, to the answer.
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