I am not Believing This

I just read this news update and couldn't let it pass without a comment:

"Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston have called off their second engagement after he told her he may have fathered a baby with another girl. The other girl was not identified, but a pregnant ex-girlfriend of Johnston has publicly denied he is the father."

Apparently Bristol learned about this turn of events the same day they announced their engagement - July 14th - but didn't act on it until now. According to the news story, she decided to call off the engagement in part because obviously Levi does not know how to keep his pants zipped. But the primary reason cited was because he lied recently about going on a hunting trip. Instead he went to California to be in a music video that made fun of her family. 

Okay, I can barely suppress a laugh here. Are not all these stories about their on-again off-again relationship and all the reasons why just a tad embarrassing?

I think our society is more than a little skewed when one can become a celebrity by making all the wrong decisions in life and airing the dirty family laundry.

Doing the Right Thing?

Okay, so Bristol and Livi are finally getting married. Bristol Palin and Livi Johnston, that is. This is so they can raise their son, Tripp, who was born out of wedlock, with a mother and a father in the same house. Oh, goody. Who cares if the father has posed for Playgirl? Does it matter that the couple is notorious for their fighting? And what about the reality show they want to start? Will it be like reruns of "Father Knows Best?" Or will it focus on all the sordid details of their relationship, while this innocent child sits in the middle of all this mess?

I'm sorry. I'm trying to be happy that they are finally "doing the right thing," but I am not so sure it is the right thing.

Having children first is becoming more and more popular, and a recent column by Georgie Anne Geyer talked about the proud unwed mothers and fathers who display their children before the world. What is wrong with these young people? These babies are not like those cute little purse dogs that are also gaining in popularity. These are children who will be severely impacted by the behavior of their parents and the decisions made by them, and that impact has more consequences than just a problem of an untrained dog.

Don't they get that? Has having babies out of wedlock  become the latest fad?

Reports from the Centers for Disease Control show a huge jump in the percentage of teen boys who say it is okay to have children and not be married. Statistics from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy also showed a significant change in attitudes. The percentage of boys who say they do not have sexual relations with a girl for fear of pregnancy fell from 25 percent to 12 percent.

Shame, shame on a society that devalues something so precious as the gift of life.