The inner republican in me(ri)

I have decided to post a speech I wrote for a communication seminar impersonating a Republican, again, just impersonating...OK!? I am risking my political career (and maybe marital life) with this blog...
In the process of writing this I discovered two things:
- How much you can play with statistics and numbers to support or refute your arguments
- Right wing America makes me sick, literally...listening to other classmates' Republican speeches kept me in tension for an hour, my stomach was hurting while a Greek classmate was defending pro-life policies.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4 victims. As I speak today 4 children under the age of 15 will die from AIDS.
Every 15 seconds, a young adult is infected with HIV. Just imagine,1,2,3,4…15. One person less.

We all know about the HIV epidemic, about the prevalence rates and the cost of anti-retroviral drugs, but do we know about the efforts of America in decreasing the deaths and social unrest caused by sexually transmitted illnesses at home and abroad?

Let’s start with the issues at home. During the 80s and the 90s this country experienced rampant teenage sexual activity, an increase in teenage pregnancies, high-rates of out-of-wedlock childbearing among the young ones. Is this the kind of society that we want our children to grow up in? Is this the country that we want to portray to the rest of the world?

The answer is no. For us, Republicans, this is not the America we want. WE manage to curve this national crisis through different policies, among them, policies helping our children to SAVE THEMSELVES FOR THE RIGHT PERSON before having sex, to think that abstaining themselves from having sex until marriage was the right thing to do.


It is this conviction in abstinence and faithfulness promoted by our party and so many MILLIONS of parents that managed to curve those terrible statistics from the 80s and the 90s. Statistics that show a generation that was growing up without the values of true love and respect.

A dozen of studies show how abstinence-until-marriage education programs have been successful in reducing teen sexual activity. Programs such as “Not me, not Now” have been replicated across the country and America’s MOST TRUSTED medical and scientific institutions have confirmed what we Republicans think: that sexual education has to talk to our teens about abstinence AS A HEALTHY OPTION to preserve themselves.

At present the federal government spends ten times as much to promote contraceptive use as it does on abstinence education, we believe this is a mistake. THIS BUDGET SHOULD BE REBALANCED.

BUT now let’s go abroad. It is partly with this success in mind that President Bush announced in 2003 his will to increase America’s involvement in fighting the battle against HIV/AIDS around the world.

Many of you in this room are probably familiar with the PEPFAR/Emergency Plan, PRESIDENT’S EMERGENCY PLAN for AIDS Relief. PEPFAR has funded thousands of NGOs in Africa promoting abstinence, financing HIV treatment and prevention campaigns.

The United States now leads the world in its level of support for the fight against HIV/AIDS. When I hear some at home and abroad saying that America does not do enough to help Africa or other less fortunate parts of the world I remind those that at least 1 million African get life-preserving anti-retroviral drugs largely thanks to America, no other country in the world pays more bills than the US in this specific battle.

And this battle is being won with policies that have been proofed at home such as abstinence-until-marriage combined with sex education. The programs at home and in Africa encourage a behavioral change, A CULTURAL CHANGE I would dare to say that ALLOW OUR CHILDREN TO THINK TWICE BEFORE HAVING sex and risking their LIFE

Scientific studies have shown that a drop in HIV prevalence in Uganda in the 90s resulted from increased rates of abstinence and fidelity as well governmental efforts to encourage these behavior changes. It is true that abstinence was not the only behavioral change…but it was an important one in decreasing HIV rates.

It is NECESSARY for policymakers to understand that handing out condoms and drugs will not solve the problem. Abstinence and fidelity instead, are a good beginning for change.

In America and outside of our borders, going back to THE VALUES OF TRUE LOVE AND RESPECT can lead to change.

Finally there are some things that bring Republicans and Democrats together, President’s Bush PEPFAR program is one. Today, I asked you for a larger appropriation for abstinence-plus education in the US and I equally would like to ask to continue spending 1/3 of PEPFARs budget on abstinence campaigns.

It is our responsibility to define in which kind of society we want to live in.
Amen

Ouch!