For those who have not yet heard the news, Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin have called off their engagement, confirming once and for all that maybe marrying the girl you met and dated in high school isn’t such a great idea. 

In fairness, this has been an unfortunate time for all parties concerned; young Bristol Palin has been burdened by a child with no father.  No doubt she has the support of her influential family, but the difficulty of having a child fresh out of high school cannot and should not be understated or ridiculed.

Levi Johnston had to endure what could arguably be the most nightmarish scenario possible for a young man; not only is your girlfriend pregnant, but her mom is the governor of your state, and the eyes of the entire electorate gets to watch you squirm around.  Then, when you actually decide to break it off, not only do you have to let your fiancee know, but you also have to hold a impromptu press conference outside your house confirming the decision.

We wish all the involved parties well, although we may mention in passing that the whole situation could have been avoided if the aforementioned parties had taken "family planning" into account.  While that needn’t have necessarily changed the outcome of the pregnancy, it’s obvious at this point that young Levi Johnson was being catapulted into marriage against his wishes in the name of political propriety.  Frankly, it seems un-American to force anyone into any arrangement without their consent, and we hope that this encourages national discussion about responsibility and choice.