Sex and the single girl

Lately I've been thinking about Sandra Fluke and wondering what it is about her that I so dislike, above and beyond the obvious. It occurs to me that Sandra Fluke represents the worst of modern American womanhood.

I mean, here's a woman who is reasonably attractive and presumably intelligent. She has a lot going for her – or could have, if she applied her natural gifts toward anything decent.

Instead, she has sunk to the lowest common denominator and is trying to drag other women down with her. I mean, c'mon … you want the government to pay for your birth control? Since when is it the government's business to fund what goes on in your bedroom? Why can't you simply keep your knees together? Or, barring that, why not collect aluminum cans from the side of the road to pay for your hobbies?

Historically, women have been the standard-bearers of decency. We were admired for our morals, our virtue, our civilizing effect. By our behavior, we turned men into gentlemen.

But all that changed with the advent of modern feminism. Suddenly, women are no longer expected to control themselves and require government-sponsored freedom to "express their sexuality" without consequences. Spare me the rhetoric about how oppressed women used to be, because you'll have to admit that when women didn't act like cats in heat, the costs upon society were far less.

Abortions and illegitimacy have skyrocketed since women decided they were "liberated" enough to act like unrestrained males. Yet perversely, such women want taxpayers to cough up all the more for the repercussions of their "sexual expression," whether it's welfare, abortions, or contraceptives. Whatever happened to keeping one's knees together?

Do you recognize the damage the feminist movement has done to women? Rather than having society admire us for our minds (which, presumably, was a central tenet of feminism to begin with), women are admired for their ability to "express themselves sexually." And this is an improvement how …?

When women demand that someone else pay for their base animal urges, you know society has reached a new low. Once again, spare me the lament that "poor" women can't control themselves, because they can … if they want to. Don't condescend to poor women by implying they're incapable of moral behavior. I know plenty of people who are dirt-poor, but their morals are sky-high.

Look, there are women all over this nation who spend their whole lives doing the right thing. They restrain their animal urges. They moderate the baser urges of men. And if they make a mistake (and don't we all?), they don't repeat it. Instead they work harder to raise the children that result from misplaced sexual activity. They handle single motherhood with dignity, not by putting their hand out for welfare, but by working even harder to provide.

And yet here's a woman who says, "Forget it. None of that is important." Here's a woman whose self-control is so minimal that she wants the government – the government, for Pete's sake! – to pay for her rutting.

When "the Pill" was celebrating its 50th birthday, Letty Cottin Pogrebin (a founding editor of Ms. Magazine) remarked, "For the first time in human history, a woman could control her sexuality and determine her readiness for reproduction by swallowing a pill smaller than an aspirin. Critics warned that the Pill would spawn generations of loose, immoral women; what it spawned was generations of empowered women who are better equipped to make rational choices about their lives." [Italics added.]

Control her sexuality? Isn't that what Sandra Fluke is saying she can't do? Doesn't she want ME to pay for the "rational choices" of her "empowerment"?

It's fairly obvious that Sandra Fluke isn't urging Americans to pay for contraceptives for married women planning families with their husbands. Most contraceptive users are like Sandra Fluke – single and just wanting to rut like animals at taxpayer expense.

Whenever I touch on the issue of self-control in my columns, I'm viciously attacked by liberals who insist that self-control simply isn't possible, especially among "the poor" (despite the fact that Sandra Fluke is anything but poor). That's why, they argue, we must eternally fund bad choices and behaviors. They never explain why "the poor" are incapable of intelligent decisions, particularly when I see poor-but-moral people all the time.

"For a single mother with kids, a woman making minimum wage, or a student living on loans, a high monthly co-pay could be the difference between buying contraception or one week of groceries," whines Ms. Fluke in a CNN opinion piece. "And imagine the financial burden of unplanned pregnancy and raising a child. For women without insurance coverage or with insurance that doesn't cover contraception, the costs create a significant financial burden."

OK, how's this for a concept: KEEP YOUR KNEES TOGETHER and none of this would be an issue. If you're a single mom, you shouldn't be sleeping around. If you're a (presumably unmarried) woman making minimum wage, you shouldn't be sleeping around. If you're a student living on loans, you shouldn't be sleeping around.

Why is this concept so hard to grasp? If you're single, don't have sex.

Folks, there comes a point when you have to grow up and become responsible for yourself and your own behavior. Everyone has made mistakes in the past, but that doesn't give you license to continue making mistakes in the future, especially when you expect someone else to pay for it. Get a roll of dimes and put one between your knees every time you feel like acting like an animal. Your sex life should not be subsidized by taxpayers.

This has far larger implications than one woman's sexual immorality. It's all about self-control, which is lacking in today's culture. In fact more than just about anything else, this lack of moral, sexual and financial control will lead to the downfall of our nation. It is not the business of government to pay for bad behavior. That is entirely antithetical to the purpose of our government as outlined in the Constitution.

Yes, Sandra Fluke represents the worst of American womanhood. And yet this – this! – is who the DNC called upon to give a major speech. Go figure.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I really don't give a rip what people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms. But I'll be darned if I'll pay for it.