We're Americans. We're generous and forgiving and tolerant. I get all that. But why do we feel it necessary to fund every lunatic organization on Earth?

Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it galls me when I read that the U.S. is giving hundreds of millions of dollars to UNESCO, which advocates teaching 5- to 8-year olds about masturbation!

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. In 1984, President Reagan cut off U.S. funding for UNESCO. The State Department said, "UNESCO has extraneously politicized virtually every subject it deals with. It has exhibited hostility toward a free society, especially a free market and a free press, and it has demonstrated unrestrained budgetary expansion."

The ban on funding remained in place until 2004, when it was restored by W. (See, not a partisan post!). Even Clinton refused to fund these nuts.

Since 2002, however, the U.S. has thrown $536 million down the UNESCO hole, and The One wants to send them another $78 million.

So what's wrong with education, science, and culture? Depends on your definition and its application. In UNESCO's case, everything is wrong. In June of this year, UNESCO published a report recommending that sex education begin at five (that's 5) years old. From CNS News:

The report, called International Guidelines on Sexual Education, was released in June in conjunction with the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), an organization which works for universal access to "reproductive health care."

In its rationale for creating the guidelines, the UNESCO report said it is "essential to recognize the need and entitlement of all young people to sexuality education." An appendix backed that claim by pointing to a 2008 report from the International Planned Parenthood Federation that argued governments "are obligated to guarantee sexual rights," and that "sexuality education is an integral component to human rights." The guidelines are designed, according to the report, to be "age-appropriate" and break down the suggested curriculum into four age groups: 5- to 8-year-olds, 9- to 12-year-olds, 12- to 15-year-olds and 15- to 18-year-olds.

For those aged 5 to 8, some key concepts to be discussed are:

-- "Touching and rubbing one's genitals is called masturbation" and that "girls and boys have private body parts that can feel pleasurable when touched by oneself."
-- That "people receive messages about sex, gender, and sexuality from their cultures and religions."
-- That "all people regardless of their health status, religion, origin, race or sexual status can raise a child and give it the love it deserves."
-- "Gender inequality," "examples of gender stereotypes," and "gender-based violence."
-- Description of fertilization, conception, pregnancy, and delivery.

Sharp-eyed readers will note not only the integral role of Planned Parenthood, but also the reference to a child as "it."

To take just one aspect of the guidelines, what does it mean to say that all people, "regardless of their health status . . . can raise a child and give [him or her] the love [he or she] deserves"? (Hey, wait -- is the use of him, her, he, and she "gender stereotyping?") To what "health status" is UNESCO referring?

And why are we supporting an organization that recommends 5-year olds be taught about masturbation, and "sexual status?" It might be nice if we occasionally tried reading, writing, and arithmetic before we jumped into sex toys and cross-dressing.

We're Americans. We want to be loved. Do we have to be so stupid about it?