Strangely Familiar BedFellows

 “Vice is nice, but… “

I’m sure that most of you above the age of 12 know the rejoinder to that cute quip. It has been with us for centuries. It is a seemingly harmless anecdote, but take it from me, it just happens to be a lie of monumental proportions.

Our greatest resource is our youth and in a rapidly aging society, they are even more valued. We must be ‘ en garde’ to protect these precious beings. They are under attack not only from “The Evil One,” but from drug dealers, sexual predators, human traffickers and foreign entities even family members bent on exploiting their innocence and naivete.

It is no wonder, with all that is bombarding them, drugs, porn, sex and violence become seemingly viable outlets for the Fear, Frustration, Desolation and Anxiety. To whom will they turn? In whom can they place their trust? With whom will they seek comfort? The answer, more often than not is each other, especially in these “COVID” times, when isolation and loneliness mark their intimate hours.

I am particularly concerned with young ‘GenZ’ families whose children and their siblings are approaching puberty and beyond. These are very vulnerable bodies seeking comfort and confidence that even the most unspeakable secrets will be kept between them.

While parents struggling with their own demons of how to raise a family responsibly, pay the bills, navigate the workplace, handle their own loose desires, bad habits, substance abuse and yet still provide an adequate education that will enable their offspring to cope with an unstable future, at best, they seek greater solace in each other.

Lacking sufficient evidence from their elders that there is any real danger in so ‘educating themselves’ or their siblings in the ways of the flesh, they embark on some rather daring,  tenuous and perilous adventures that may lead them down some very dark paths on the way to adulthood. They may ultimately be ones that they are unable to contain, control or even comprehend, as the experiments become more profound and complex. Many times, their initially ‘harmless explorations’ can result in the worst possible outcomes, promiscuity, pregnancy, frustration, violence (both self-inflicted and against others), jealousy, mental illness and possibly, murder or suicide.

I know that this a bleak view of our current social and sociological circumstances, but I implore all parents with children between the ages of 10 and 20 to be diligent and vigilant for signs of abhorrent behavior in your children, their friends and others. And, as the saying goes, “if you see something, say something.” If you are victimizing your own with your prurient pursuits, STOP IMMEDIATELY and seek out help in dealing with these issues in counselling, at church, in school or privately, but DO NOT IGNORE the signs. You will know them when you see them. You will feel them in your gut. Don’t let your strange feelings make ‘stranger lovers’ of them. GET THEM AND YOU HELP!