Conservatives are to blame! Again!

Her’s something new that “experts” are blaming on “conservative ideas.” This time it’s the rise of syphilis. It’s rising in rural areas, supposedly due to a lack of access to health care and conservative ideas about sex.

Hm. Funny. I guess I just didn’t realize that promiscuity was a conservative idea.

Of course it’s not. If we were really talking about conservative attitudes about sex, STD rates would be falling, because those attitudes about sex include saving it for marriage and not sleeping around.

Here’s how the the Daily Mail explains it:

In small towns people might be afraid of seeing a doctor they know personally, or doctors who have never seen syphilis before may struggle to diagnose it, experts suggest.
….
Experts believe this could be because people in the country have less access to healthcare, less knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases, and potentially more conservative opinions on sex outside of marriage or gay sex, KHN reports.

And, in small towns, people’s embarrassment may be made worse by having to see a doctor who is also their Sunday school teacher or knows members of their family.

I’m unclear on who, exactly, the experts are that came up with “conservative ideas about sex are to blame for rising syphilis rates,” but if they had taken a look at their own map, they’d have noticed that the state with the lowest rate is Wyoming. Last time I checked, Wyoming wasn’t considered to be a bastion of progressive thought and it’s also mostly rural, yet they’re somehow managing to hold the line on syphilis.

They might also have noticed that California and New York are among the states with the highest rates. Correct me if I’m wrong, but California and New York are also among the most liberal states. And Nevada? Hey, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, unless you take home a nice case of syphilis as a souvenir. Apparently.

If you read the article, you’ll also notice the thinly veiled contempt the [experts or the author of the article, Sam Blanchard; not sure which] have for rural residents. They’re too stupid understand that sexually transmitted diseases are, in fact, sexually transmitted. Rural doctors must surely be the dregs of the medical world because, really, who else would actually choose to live outside of a major city?

Here’s the deal. The only thing driving rising STD rates is promiscuity, and I think we all know that it’s the left, not the right, pushing the idea that promiscuous sex is free. It’s not and rising STD rates are only part of the cost. To claim that conservative attitudes about sex are a primary driver is dishonest and counter-productive.

But as long as the “experts” can get away with saying this is the fault of conservatives, they can continue to use it to flog their favorite whipping boy.