I’d rather not make my abortion views explicit, but I’m about to. Have you seen this? http://www.untilabortionends.com/en-us/default.aspx. Thanks to #Tosh.0 I just witnessed the dumbest, most self-centered, pointless act of…of…non-action(?) I have ever seen. I suppose it is following in the footsteps of Lent, but these people are “sacrificing” until abortion ends. Let me tell you if abortion ever ends, by end they mean become illegal, it will not be because you gave up Diet Coke. If abortion was illegal it still wouldn’t end. It was illegal once, but it did not get flushed out of existence like its infant counterparts.
Ok, was that over the line? Let me explain myself a bit more. I would not choose to have an abortion. But I do appreciate and respect the fact that I can make that choice. I cannot justify legislating another person’s choice no matter how I personally feel about the issue. See, because it’s not about ME. When it does become about you is when you make a video, post it to the internet, and show everybody how you’re sacrificing for all the unborn children by not using your iPod. I’m sure that while other women are making the intense, life changing decision to have a child vacuumed sucked from the inside out, you crying about how you aren’t going to get to listen to your “PARTY PARTY PAR-TAY” mix is really resonating deep within their souls.
Your sacrifice is truly mind blowing. I can’t imagine how you will continue without Taco Bell. That is the type of loss you can’t really understand unless you’ve experienced it yourself. I mean, thank goodness, you made the choice to end Taco Bell in your life. What will you do now? You must feel so empty without that little chalupa inside you. It’s not like you can just go over and replace it with a Big Mac. A loss like that is inconceivable by those of us who still choose to eat Taco Bell. And how will you cheer yourself up with a good movie? Because after all, you’ve let go of Netflix. You will never stream again. A little red envelope will never again look into your selfless face. You will never again clap with the Clumps, bark with Marley, or Bring it anywhere let alone on!
I have always had a problem with people who act like giving up chocolate for 40 days is in anyway equivalent to real sacrifice for any reason, let alone religious. But, ya know, you choose how to live your life and if you want to show the almighty how serious you are by not eating ice cream then I’m sure your troubles are over. I’m not trying to belittle anyone’s way of life (I just get a little carried away sometimes), but I have a difficult time believing that these individuals are experiencing any type of loss whatsoever.
Ghandi. There’s sacrifice. If you want to give something up that truly means something try food, try giving up all forms of oral communication, try something that would actually impact your life so significantly that you will be forever changed. That is the only way you could come close to understanding the difficulty in making any real decision to have or not have children. Children are life changing, but you giving up M&M’s, sleeping in, pandapies, Bailey’s, alcohol, Reese’s Cups, French fries, beef & pork, or whatever else is not life changing. It is not helping better the world in any way.
If you feel that strongly why don’t you fight to teach kids about safe sex, proper forms of contraceptives, valuing themselves and their bodies so they do not feel the need to turn to sex until they are emotionally mature enough to handle it, teach your sons that it is never never ok to touch a woman (no matter the length of her skirt) if she does not consent with a clear mind, teach your parents that they should talk to you openly and honestly about the consequences and hardships of not only raising a child but overcoming society’s influence to have sex before you’re ready, and teach parents that their children were their choice (not their play things) and their responsibility and that they must support and care for their children despite their mistakes, teach parents to always be there for their children so that a child may come to their mother or father or grandmother no matter the trouble they are in, and with a solid support system and real love maybe there would be less of a need for such permanent decisions like abortion.
But I can see why my suggestions are out of line, offensive, and downright illogical. You’re right, giving up coffee is a much more effective plan of action.
To zealots, everything makes sense. Everything. It's God's plan. There is no arguing with these type.
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ReplyDeleteI think that your criticism is a bit unwarranted, mean-spirited and over the top. The website itself says that these are "small sacrifices". I really don't think that any of those people have any illusions that what they're doing in any way has a direct, positive effect on the fight against abortions. I doubt they believe that giving up Starbucks actually changes the world.
ReplyDeleteWhat I suspect that it does do is keep the issue in the forefront of someone's mind, which ideally causes them to think more critically about an important issue that may have never affected them personally. How do you get someone to take any of the actions you're suggesting if they have no prior connection to the issue? How do you make it personal? How, or why, should anyone ever do anything about any issue if, as you suggest, the only *right* level of sacrifice is Ghandi-like and anything else is hypocritical? Isn't that a tad unfair?
You are correct that often times Christians overlook Christ's example to speak truth in both word and deed. This is somehting that the Church needs to improve. This specifc website does fall short, as there is no "take action" section. The sacrifices that these people are making, without doing anything further, is shallow.
"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." - James 2:26
Okay, so, larger issue - abortion itself. It feels like you have a lot of heated emotions toward these people expressing their opinions (however shallow that expression may be) against abortion. You said that you "cannot justify legislating another person’s choice no matter how I personally feel about the issue. See, because it’s not about ME."
ReplyDeleteMy question then: why do we legislate anything? Why is driving while drunk illegal? That, also, is not about you. If someone wants to get drunk and then get behind the wheel of a car, thus endangering their life, why should you care?
Well, obviously you do care, because that person's actions have the potential to effect you. So, you speak out. You decide that their actions should not be able to effect you and get laws passed that will (hopefully) prevent you from being harmed by a drunk driver.
Try another - smoking. Why is it illegal just about everywhere to smoke in a public place? Why should I care if someone is destroying their lungs and bringing on cancer? It's not about me, is it? Well, until the effect of secondhand smoke became known, that was true. Once someone else's smoking effected me, it became illegal.
Okay, flash forward to abortion. Why should I care about abortion? Someone else's decision doesn't effect me, so why should I care? It's about them, not me. Well, yes, but the problem is that it's not JUST about them - it's also about that child inside them. Unfortunately, all the fetuses aren't able to get together and petition their Congresspeople to get legislation
passed to protect them, like we can about drunk driving or public smoking. The only way that they have a voice is for someone else to speak up about it. Since you're one who advocates so strenuously for dogs, this should be pretty logical. Similarly, dogs can't get together and petition their Congresspeople, so dog owners and dog lovers do on their behalf.
It is an emotionally charged issue. It deals with human life. What we think and feel about humanity says a lot about us as a people. Abortion advocates have, as evidenced by your post, successfully framed the issue as being about 'women's health' and 'choice'.
For the first, look up the stats. Abortions performed for the health of the mother or health of the fetus are, ballpark, 5% of all abortions. I think that most people will give you the 5% that truly are for health reasons.
The remaining 95% of abortions? Wrong time, too expensive, don't want more kids, etc. All very choice based reasons. These are the ones that get people (myself included) emotionally distraught. How can we, as a society, callously end human life on such a large scale? I've gone through the pain of losing a child to miscarriage. I've gone through the years of wanting children. I've seen the statistics on abortions and thought that any one of those children could have had a home and a life with me. Action, though, is difficult. Adoption is a difficult, emotional decision and I wrestled over the issue for a long time. Ultimately the decision was made for me, for the time being, by E's arrival. I never truly understood what love was until I held her in my arms. I grieve for all those who are not ever given the chance that she has. Never given the choice to live their lives.
My sister, I love you very much. I see your heart and am relieved that you personally would not choose an abortion, but I weep literal tears for you (ask Susan) when I see you so passionate about dogs and how they're treated while at the same time being indefferent while human life is destroyed.
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DeleteA comment on a blog is certainly not sufficient for a discussion like this. I would love for us to be at a point where we feel comfortable having open and honest dialogues over tough topics like this one face to face.
Whew - that was tough to write writing about, especially since I owe Dad an equally emotional email about a vastly different topic today. I've procrastinated it for a few weeks and need to just get it written...
Love you!