By DONALD DeMARCO
“With [Premier] Wynne’s sex education curriculum, we have at last splashed down in a miasmal sewer in which it’s hard to sink any further.” So writes Harley Price, who has taught philosophy at a number of prestigious universities. Many, including outraged parents and indignant members of the medical establishment, agree with him.
Among the misguided, on the other hand, Kathleen Wynne’s new sex education curriculum is seen as “comprehensive.” The omission of love, marriage, and other essentially positive features of human sexuality have, in truth, made it exceedingly narrow. It is akin to an allegedly comprehensive study of the alphabet which concludes with the letter C. With regard to masturbation, for example, children are taught: “It is common and is not harmful and is one way of learning about your body.”
This approach is an example of moral minimalism which rises no further than the ground floor.
In the interest of being comprehensive, we would do well to consider a single paragraph from the pen of that most formidable apostle of reason, feeling, and moral imagination, C.S. Lewis. What the esteemed scholar states in three sentences exceeds both in scope and wisdom all that is contained in the more than 200 pages of Ontario’s new sex education curriculum:
“For me the real evil of masturbation would be that it takes an appetite which, in lawful use, leads the individual out of himself to complete (and correct) his own personality in that of another (and finally in children and even grandchildren) and turns it back into the prison of himself, there to keep a harem of imaginary brides. And this harem, once admitted, works against his ever getting out and really uniting with a real woman. For the harem is always accessible, always subservient, calls for no sacrifices or adjustments, and can be endowed with erotic and psychological attractions which no real woman can rival.”
Here briefly stated, are references to nature, order, realism, evil, and love, factors that are excluded from Wynne’s program:
Nature: Because nature is prior to feeling and action, it serves as a good starting point. We find in the nature of the human person an appetite, or inclination. Sex is an appetite that directs the person toward something other than himself. But the nature of sex, is not complete at the level of appetite. It is intimately associated with other facets, just as the various organs of the human body unite to form a functioning organism.
Order: The sex appetite is ordered to intercourse, pregnancy, and childbirth. It is wise to recognize the order of nature and have respect for it. Because of the serious ramifications of sexual expression, it must come under moral control. Actions that could lead to conception should be restricted to married couples who are prepared to accept children and raise them properly. It belongs to wisdom to honor the order of nature.
Realism: Sex, because of its nature and its order, is inclined toward another. When it is turned back on itself, in the case of the male, the reality of the woman is replaced by the unreality of one’s imagination. For self-indulgent sex, in which the imagination reigns, any number of fictitious imaginary women of unrealistic proportions can be summoned. This lack of realism can seriously hinder the growth of the person.
Evil: C.S. Lewis dares to employ the word “evil.” This moral term is appropriate since it accurately describes the ruin of a personality. Evil is opposed to good. The meaning of good is associated with personal wholeness. Sexual wholeness is good; its opposite is evil.
Love: A study of the nature and orientation of human sexuality receives its moral quality when it is protected by love. The essential meaning of love is to promote and protect the good of another. Sex must be conjoined with love so that the good of the other is affirmed and the harm to the self is avoided. The genuine love for one woman is infinitely greater than the lust for any number of imaginary women.
The implications of what C.S. Lewis has written in one brief paragraph offer a fairly comprehensive picture of the morality of human sexuality. They are the points that should be included in any sex education program worthy of the name.
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(Dr. Donald DeMarco is a senior fellow of Human Life International. He is professor emeritus at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ontario, an adjunct professor at Holy Apostles College in Cromwell, Conn., and a regular columnist for St. Austin Review. His latest work, How To Remain Sane in a World That Is Going Mad, is available through Amazon.com. Some of his recent writings may be found at Human Life International’s Truth and Charity Forum.)
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