A few months ago in The 21st Century, Tricia Hurley wrote about the F Word, whichseemed to get some excellent responses. I thought I would continue the serieswith the C Word. Yes, the C Word. I can say the C Word if I want to say the CWord. In fact I don't think the C Word gets enough use. It is about time we tookit out of Webster's and dusted it off. What kind of word are you expecting? CornChowder? No. Collegiate? Please, Condom? AAh!! NO. NO. NO!!! The word is ...CHASTITY!

Do you think I am nuts? I hope not. The word chastity is comingback in style. Would I lie to you? Never. Chastity is not old fashioned. Chastityis smart. Am I smart? Not always. Unfortunately, we all make mistakes and get insituations we should not be in, but if you know what you believe in, saying noshould never be a problem.

Sexual responsibility could be a great NewYear's resolution. Do you really want to worry about AIDS or othersexually-transmitted diseases? Don't laugh and think it can't happen to you. AIDSdoes not discriminate. AIDS does not know if you are black or white, wealthy orpoor. There are over 9.5 million teenagers with sexually-transmitted diseases. Idoubt any of them thought they would ever become a statistic.

What hasbeen done to combat these problems? Sex education classes, condom programs, moresex ed classes, more condoms. Has it done any good? Arguably, no. The condom isfound to be less and less reliable as the years pass, yet the government andschool systems say that it is the only possibility at hand. Nonsense! Knowing howto use a condom is well and good, but you have only an 80 percent chance that itwill work. That percentage makes me a bit uncomfortable. I thought they told usit was safe sex!

Safe sex. Safe sex. Safe sex. Don't believe it. There isno such thing. Safer sex: maybe. Safe sex: no way! Here is where the great wordcomes in: CHASTITY. It is the only answer. It really is. Being a virgin is notan evil thing. It should not be embarrassing. Maybe you will inspire a few peopleto be smart. There is nothing wrong about protecting yourself and yourfuture.

Do you believe me yet? If not, read this a few more times. It willsink in eventually. Some people take longer than others to absorb this importantinformation. As soon as you understand - start a Virgin Club. (Just kidding!). Iam really not crazy - really. Believe me. Believe me. Would I lie to you?