September 17, 2014
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Page 7
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Vital Role to Care for the Good of Sexuality
not harmful
by
M ichael S chuenemeyer
It is n 't th a t we
aren't getting an edu
cation about sexual
ity; the question is who
is doing the educat
ing. Although parents
and caregivers are
and should be the primary sexu
ality educators for our children,
we learn about sexuality from
other sources, too.
Media and advertising is one
such source. The marketers of
the world are likely counting on
members of the religious com
munity to quash age appropriate,
comprehensive sexuality educa
tion, so that the values in their
ads can effectively shape how
we make decisions.
In fact, increasingly market
ers use sexually charged ads
with images that communicate
messages about self-worth, body
image and what is impor
tant in relationships. How
ever, the more educated
you and I are about sex
and sexuality, the more dif
ficult it is for marketers to
successfully exploit and
distort our sense o f self, body
and relationships for the sake of
making a sale.
Growing up in a Christian
home, I was taught that sexual
ity is a good gift from God. I've
always had the sense that my
sexuality is a good and integral
part of who I am. As a sexuality
educator of the Our Whole Lives
curriculum , I believe we are
called to enrich our lives by ex
pressing our sexuality in ways
that enhance human wholeness
and fulfillment, and express love,
commitment, delight and plea-
sure.
To take good care of this good
gift, each of us needs to have
accurate information about sexu
ality and to be grounded in the
healthy values of self-worth,
sexual health, and what it means
to be responsible, just and inclu
sive.
Developing a healthy sexuality
cannot happen in a vacuum. We
cannot expect to acquire accurate
information, develop strong val
ues and have the capacity make
healthy and responsible decisions
by being complacent. To do so is
to put the good gift of sexuality into
the hands of those who are more
concerned about selling theirprod-
ucts than what creates health and
wholeness.
Faith leaders and faith com
munities have a vital role to play
by encouraging the creation of
safe spaces for people of all
ages to engage in age appropri
ate, com prehensive sexuality
education. K now ledge about
human sexuality is helpful, not
harmful. Every individual has the
right to accurate inform ation
about sexuality and to have their
questions answered.
A few years ago a colleague
and I met informally with a hand
ful of researchers and officials
at the World Health Organiza
tion in Geneva, Switzerland to
talk about comprehensive sexu
ality education. We shared our
vision and experience in doing
this work in our houses of wor
ship and other settings. We talked
about the guidelines for age ap
propriate sexuality education
developed by the Sexuality In
formation and Education Coun
cil of the United States. It didn't
take long before they were talk
ing about themselves and their
children.
Some in that meeting indi-
cated they had had to figure it
out for themselves; a journey
they often found lonely, difficult
and fraught with misinformation.
That was not what they wanted
for their children, but in spite of
their own medical training, they
were keenly in tune with the
challenges of providing good and
accurate inform ation to their
children, desiring to instill in them
the values for making good,
healthy and responsibly deci
sions. That is what com prehen
sive sexuality education is all
about - honoring and valuing the
good gift our sexuality, and equip
ping one another with the infor
mation we need to make healthy
decisions that impact our entire
lives.
Michael Schuenemeyer is
executive fo r H ealth and
Wholeness Advocacy in Jus
tice Ministries fo r the United
Church o f Christ.
These Machines Senselessly Endanger Your Health
Ì U
T”
4"*
The Leaf
Blower Divide
by
S arah A nderson
When new neigh
bors moved in next
door, I didn’t hold off
long before broaching
the Big Question.
E ven though we
live in Washington,
D.C., this had nothing to do with
politics. For me, neighborly har
mony hinges on where folks
stand on this divide: leaf blower
vs. rake.
You see, I’m one o f those
otherwise calm individuals who
goes totally bonkers at the sound
of a leaf blower. It would be
different if this infernal racket
served some useful purpose.
When I go to the dentist, the drill
doesn’t make my blood boil. I
accept that without it, my teeth
would rot.
When a leaf blower cranks
up, I can find no logical justifica
tion for my suffering. In a recent
article for AlterNet, former Con
su m er R ep o rts e d ito r C liff
Weathers presents a frightening
litany of their multiple hazards.
“Leaf blowers don’t just blow
nurrt"
_!•_•
«•
away leaves ~_11___
and lawn clippings,
Weathers wrote. “Their 180- to
200-mph air output blasts away
topsoil, microbial life forms, ani
mal waste, allergic fungi,
spores, herbicides, pesti
cides, and even heavy
metals such as arsenic,
mercury, and lead.”
That’s gross and scary,
but the worst part is what
•
-
companies have worked to block
anti-leaf blower efforts. A fa
vorite tactic: Make it seem like
opponents are all extremely rich,
and possibly even racist. With
low-income Latinos making up a
large share of landscaping work
ers, these are sensitive charges.
It’s true that wealthy white
enclaves were among the first to
ban blow ers. In C alifornia,
ers cites a competition the Los
Angeles Department of Power
and W ater organized that pitted
a grandmother with a rake and
broom against a professional
landscaper with a leaf blower.
Granny gave him a run for his
money.
Detailed analysis of the em
ployment impacts of blower bans
is hard to find and enforcement
toxic cocktail of engine emissions and
dust particulates can exacerbate allergies and
asthma in children and adults, and aggravate
acute pulmonary disorders. - Cllff
A lte rs former
Consumer Reports editor
these gizmos do to your health.
“This toxic cocktail of engine
emissions and dust particulates
can exacerbate allergies and
asthma in children and adults,
and aggravate acute pulmonary
disorders,” Weathers explained.
The American Lung Asso
ciation says we should all steer
clear of gasoline-powered blow
ers, the most popular type. So
why are they still in use?
For decades now, manufac
turers and many landscaping
Carmel and Beverly Hills made
the move back in the 1970s. But
in most of the country, the higher-
income set continues to drive
dem and for these dangerous
beasts.
Industry lobbyists downplay
the risks while claiming that regu
lations will lead to higher costs
and fewer jobs. But good old
non-motorized tools are cheaper
than leaf blowers and, according
to several tests, nearly as fast.
In his AlterNet article, Weath-
median in Florida and Texas.
Nationwide, the areas with
the highest concentration of land
scaping and groundskeeping jobs
include some of the hoity-toitiest
holiday and retirement spots. No.
1: N a n tu c k e t Isla n d and
M artha’s Vineyard, where the
Obama family vacationed this
year.
If a critical mass of these
communities banned leaf blow
ers, it would transform the land
scaping industry away from re
liance on m achines that are
senselessly endangering health
and welfare — especially for
the workers who operate them.
In response to my Big Ques
tion, our new neighbors laughed
and assured me I didn’t need to
worry about which side they
were on. This was a relief. But
in a city that restricts leaf blower
hours but hasn’t banned them,
I ’ m still dreading the fall season.
As in past years, I’ll probably
hear three or four machines blast
ing within a few blocks of my
yard, while I — quietly raking—
try to maintain my sanity.
is tough. But it’s clear that in
California, where about 20 cit
ies, including Los Angeles, have
banned blowers, the landscap
ing industry has hardly collapsed.
About 103,000 Californians
are employed in this industry,
and landscapers make up a larger
share of the workforce there
than in other big states like Texas,
N ew Y ork, and Illin o is.
OtherWords columnist Sa
California’s median wage in this rah Anderson directs the Glo
business is $ 13.75 per hour, more bal Economy Project at the
than 20 percent higher than the Institute fo r Policy Studies .