I’m not sure how many people are reading these right now, and I’m not yet sure if these posts will stay, but I’ll post this anyway…
I was thinking tonight, driving home, about two political issues that really bother me.
The first is abortion. I’ve had kind of mixed feelings about it, and still change my mind often on it. But, for the sake of discussion, let us assume that abortion is murdering babies in cold blood. Here’s why the issues surrounding abortion bug me so much:
- Abortion ended up being a big issue in the elections, and is the reason many people identify as Republicans. And yet, in a term and a half of a conservative Republican Administration, abortion is still legal in America. I came to an important realization about decision-making a while back: not doing something is doing something to maintain status quo. So, even though the Bush Administration is against abortion, I think that, if Gore won in 2000 and Kerry won in ‘04, abortion would be exactly where it is under Bush today.
- If people consider abortion to be murdering babies, why do (some! definitely not all) of them concede that it’s permissible in cases of rape or when it endangers the mother’s health? I never got that position. Either you’re murdering babies or you’re not. Whether the child was the product of rape is entirely irrelevant. The mother’s health is a thornier issue:
- Can you kill one person to save another?
- If so, why is it always the baby, and not the mother, that we kill?
- A lot of people don’t even understand what Roe v. Wade actually says, and go around arguing that we should outlaw third-trimester abortions… Which Roe v. Wade does.
- Why is abortion a ‘casual’ issue of debate? While I hardly mean to incite a riot, I’ve never understood why those who think that abortion is murdering babies are okay with sitting around and just voting against it, and maybe holding up signs sometimes.
The second issue I don’t get is gay marriage. Again, I’m not trying to argue the issue itself, as much as show that the current ‘debates’ over the issue don’t make a lot of sense. Let’s assume, for the sake of discussion, that:
- Gay people choose to be gay.
- God really does hate homosexuals.
I still don’t see the case against gay marriage. How are you and I endangered by it? Sure, churches can refuse to perform same-sex weddings, but what is the basis for a law against it?
The reality is that ending abortion is not going to happen anytime soon. Some anti-abortion people do take extreme action – blowing up abortion clinics and killing doctors who do abortions. I’m not sure why there isn’t more of that. It probably says something about our society but I am not sure what.
Allowing abortion in the context of rape and incest is a compromise. A huge one though. What it means is that people on both sides will be unhappy about it. I would accept that as a huge step in the right direction. In general I accept abortion in the case of caving a mother’s life – I believe in self-defense after all. That is the justification in very few abortions though. Mostly it is just because having a baby would be a pain in the neck. Well, you know, working for one of my old managers was a huge pain in the neck. Does that justify my killing him? I suspect now. But of course the pro-abortion people (pro choice is a lie and being anti-abortion but being willing to let other choose is morally bankrupt and beneath contempt in my opinion) say that it is not a person yet but rather part of the mother’s body. Yeah, I’m not buying that. People used to define blacks and Jews as not real people too. Have you ever felt a baby kick? I have. I truly do not understand how anyone who has had that feeling could say that a human life in not lost by an abortion.
Yeah I feel guilty about not doing more to stop it. I’m not sure what I could/should be doing. But this is something of a digression. If nothing else I see a stand on abortion as an indicator of other things in a candidate. Are they compassionate? Are they concerned about the underdog and for those who have no voice and cannot protect themselves? Or are they in favor of legal abortion? I see position on the second amendment the same way. Are they in favor of individual rights, self defense, personnel responsibility, innocent until proven guilty? Or are they in favor of more gun control.
The gay marriage thing is also all emotion and little in the way of facts. It’s a stupid debate. Courage would find compromise and allow Gay couples to have the same rights as regular couples without getting religion in the middle. I actually like the way John Edwards handles the question. I give him credit for both honesty and courage for being willing to stand in the middle on this one.