The more I hear from Meghan McCain, former Presidential candidate John McCain’s daughter, the more I like her. Meghan has been trying to help the Republican party move forward and become focused on solutions instead of clinging to absolute positions on abortion, sex, gay rights, and other issues that polarize our nation. In a new editorial on the Daily Beast, Meghan says that the GOP is completely out of touch when it comes to sex education.

In contrast, teen mother Bristol Palin, the daughter of VP candidate Sarah Palin, is a new advocate for abstinence-only sex education. We all know how well that worked out for Bristol, who had her first baby at 18. Meghan writes that by presenting abstinence as the only alternative, The GOP is doing a disservice to young people and to the party, which is increasingly becoming marginalized by its extreme positions:

Here’s what I’ve never understood about the party: its resistance to discussing better access to birth control. As a Republican, I am pro-life. But using birth control and having an abortion are not the same at all. Actually, the best way to prevent abortions is to educate people about birth control and make it widely and easily accessible. True, abstinence is the only way to fully prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Still, the problem with abstinence-only education is that it does not make teenagers and young adults more knowledgeable about all the issues they face if or when they have sex—physically and emotionally.

The key, honestly, is communication between parents and children. At the end of the day, the worst thing parents can do is raise children who are not prepared for the situations they may encounter, especially when they’re not planned. (For anyone who remembers their teen years, you know what I mean.) Unfortunately, Republicans typically don’t like to discuss or deal with things they think are wrong or immoral. And that’s a huge mistake. If we can’t discuss birth control in addition to abstinence, and in a nonjudgmental way, kids will continue to make bad choices for lack of having access to informed, safe options. Not everyone shares the same beliefs, and more importantly, people don’t always react the same way to their circumstances.

Which is why it is so important to encourage honest, open communication about the realities of sex within the party at large, and more specifically, between parents and their children.

I have a 17-year-old sister who is not much older than I was when that reporter asked my father the hypothetical abortion question. I am the role model I want her to have: If or when she chooses to have sex is entirely up to her, but I want to be sure she knows being curious about sex is natural, and what is important is to be educated about safety. Perhaps the worst sexual double standard in politics right now is that too many subconsciously believe Republican women are void of sexual desire altogether, never mind its consequences. A friend of mine, whose father is also a conservative politician, used to joke it would be easier for her be a lesbian because then there would be no risk of getting pregnant and having a resulting scandal.

I have always found this joke incredibly sad—for both of us. Because the GOP continues to struggle with open communication about serious issues most people deal with rationally, and on a regular basis. Unless we learn how to integrate that kind of discussion, our party will continue its descent into irrelevance.

[From The Daily Beast via OK Magazine]

Meghan is right – we need open discussions in families and in politics in order to ensure that we understand all sides of an issue. The future for teenagers, and for the Republican party, is much brighter when all options are discussed calmly and rationally. It looks like we’re moving in that direction with this new administration. Hopefully more smart young people like Meghan will step up to represent the other side. Forget one note conservatives like Carrie Prejean who only grasp a single position on an issue. We don’t have to all agree, but Democracy works when both sides are willing to talk and compromise without shutting out the alternatives. We also have to consider the evidence – why continue to insist on abstinence only education when there’s absolutely no evidence that it’s effective?

Meghan McCain is shown on 3/28/09. Credit: WENN.com