I saw a soccer medic rushing onto the field in aid of his team’s limping player who writhed on the pitch while holding his thigh in agony as he tried to wobble his way to the touch line.
After catching the injured player in a hug, the medic, to my surprise, started pounding on the player’s thigh. And I mean real pounding.
It was infuriating to see the medic punching an injury to “cure” it.
It worked.
The player had suffered a cramp and, as I later found out, punching on it helped in the same way as a massage does.
Most times, the results of our efforts go astray because things are not what they seem to be and we have so many examples.
Nowhere are the results of our painful efforts to shield ourselves clearer than in the innocent campaign to use and distribute condoms.
The distribution of condoms means different outcomes in countries where they are distributed. Culture plays a role as it relentlessly tries to defend its peoples.
In Africa, the distribution of condoms means a totally different thing from what we see in other countries, like Europe or America.
But even there, there are problems as well.
The South African parliament recently debated the issue and, to me, the outcome was not convincing.
They settled on the “lesser of two evils” solution which does not help at all.
The lesser of two evils philosophy is a situation when we are presented with two bad choices and are expected to choose and adopt one of the two.
No.
We should make a stand and stick with it.
Evil is evil and we must chose none.
Governments always say that they are forced to choose “the lesser of two evils” as an excuse to do what people do not want.
This has become a major concern because it has become a cope out where a government declares choosing one of lesser evils while not pursuing what the people want.
The role of Parliament is to make legislation and legislation governs people. This means the government that is in power, in every country, is meant to pilot and give direction to the people they are governing. There is no room for choosing a lesser evil because people will decide what they want and the people will not choose among any evil selections.
Back to the South African Parliament that recently debated the issue of condom distribution.
We, as the world, have a problem.
The distribution of condoms has consequences of its own.
You give condoms to prisoners, you imply or suggest that they use them.
You give condoms to students, you suggest that they overlook the traditional moral governance and can use condoms when they are not supposed to even dare think about it.
Yes, the world has changed but our remedies encourage more than they discourage bad behavior.
Zimbabwe also faced a similar situation in 2013 when the State decided to dispense contraceptives to minors in order to stem an upsurge in teen pregnancies.
Teenage pregnancies are rising.
In the parliamentary debate mentioned above earlier this year, the South African Parliament was told that 717 Primary School pupils and 20,116 High School pupils had fallen pregnant in 2014.
That is a lot of mothers with unemployed fathers for which the state has to jump into. Botswana is also in the same predicament.
A few weeks ago it was reported that 51 girl students dropped out of Mmadinare Senior Secondary School due to pregnancies. This is just one of many cases of teenagers being impregnated and dropping out of school. This should long ago have rung alarm bells.
This is a problem that has to be stemmed.
However, I would like to pose a question to our legislators: Is providing condoms to grade 7 students the very best we can do for them?
Yes, families are fragmented.
Yes, there are more single-parent (mostly female) households than ever before.
Yes, parents and children do not spend enough time together because of work, school and TV.
Yes, the traditional family and social support we used to enjoy is gone.
So, what are our leaders saying?
Chiefs want authority and demand to be respected while traditional values are being eroded.
Government is concerned about collecting taxes and pays cursory attention to traditional families.
Parliamentarians seem to have exhausted their thinking capacity enough to settle for the distribution of condoms where aunts and grandmothers could have been encouraged to educate their own. The grandmas are being given condoms as well and compare the quality of condoms with those the granddaughter brings from school.
Giving condoms prematurely to primary school children does not address the problem.
And giving condoms to prisoners is worse; they are already enjoying medical coverage, three meals a day, accommodation, time in the sun and when they claim for their rights, they are listened to more than a citizen on the outside.
Society should pause and introspect.
We must start looking at single mothers who, if employed, spend little time with their children. After all, they also have a problem having become single mothers.
Teenage pregnancies is not a problem that should be left out for teachers to solve, but should involve the whole community, especially parents.
The students of whatever age require the presence of parents (or parent), teachers, society and government. We cannot run away from this.
Sexual activities among teenagers is a reality that should be considered and it is the parents who should take an active and leading role in educating their children about the need to shun and abstain from premature sexual activities.
The use of condoms is just a diversion. The reality is unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases because traditional authority in the home is all but gone.
Offering condoms is just a lesser of two evils which still remains an evil.
We must not punch our injuries to cure them; our decisions must be about values without compromise.
We must choose no evil at any level; we must just teach our children well.
