The Cameron Method - Newsletter Archive
23 February, 1999 - What if we were Dutch?
While driving along the week before last, I (Sharon) heard an interview on Public Radio about the success Holland has achieved in cutting its teen birth rate by 40%. It is currently at 10% of the U.S. teenage birth rate.
They have also lowered their incidence of abortions by 60% in the past 10 years, and that was with free and unfettered access to abortions. They have almost 100% usage of contraceptives the first time a person is involved in heterosexual sex. They have created an incredibly responsible attitude in the general society. And they have lasting marriages.
It seems years ago, in looking at this goal of lowering the birth rate by teens, the Dutch decided to take a different tack than other societies had. Instead of repression, they decided to encourage the enjoyment of sexuality with information given from a young age - before children got to the door of puberty. So at government health information centers, they even have vibrators on display for suggested use.
They also said that they consciously chose not to demonize sex. It is not lumped in with evil deeds or sins the way it is in more puritanically based societies. It is encouraged as a positive healthy activity.
It was mind boggling hearing this. It still is as I write it.
With The Cameron Method, we are always speaking about the effect of our mental programming upon our attitudes and actions. As you remember, we have different keys to this learning that we unconsciously acquire. There are also many assumptions we incorporate from the society in which we are raised. We are all like the fish in water not being aware that it's in water. It is simply "the way things are."
In our societal environment, we have incorporated all sorts of beliefs to help us live and grow. We have incorporated rules and assumptions that allow our society and us in it to function. Many of these rules or judgments we incorporated have been very helpful. However, with this new information from Holland, we might want to reconsider our beliefs about sex.
Think about how different our society might be if a generation ago, we had somehow thought like the Dutch. Would we be so sex scandal obsessed if it were not such a taboo? Would we have just spent a year at it with all the concentration of our government and media? Would our politicians still want to make more and more laws to control people's sexuality? Would people be shooting doctors over abortions? Would our country be stopping any contraceptive information being given when we give foreign aid? Would our teen birth rate be so high? Would violence against babies by their teen parents be so high?
How would your own life have been different if the Dutch attitude was the "way it was" when and where you were growing up?
Almost right after hearing this interview, we read that Alabama has made a law against the selling of vibrators for possible sexual use. Isn't that just what we need lawmakers worrying about? Will police next be breaking into homes to confiscate them? If you are from Alabama, we hope you are embarrassed about it.
If you feel that you are not in a political position to change laws, remember, society's attitude begins with each of us. If the politicians start to believe that we really want them to be reasonable, they might start looking at solutions that work instead of trying to demonize each other about sex for votes. Maybe we can get sex out of the political realm and let it be an issue of individual privacy. And maybe someday, we can grow up and our children can grow up to be free of our prudery and unhealthy obsession about the subject.
Here are some Releasing Statements to help clear your mind of this old programming.
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