And Now For Something Completely Different...
Here's a hot new topic that's only been in the news for the past, oh, 40 years or so...
Right to Choose vs. Right to Life:
Okay, the topic is not completely different. In fact, it's been done to death. The reason I'm bringing it up is that I read yet another article on it, in Slate, this time discussing the apparent rise in self-identified pro-lifers.
I promised humor, and instead I bring you a topic more volatile than a shed full of dynamite. Built on a volcano.
Here's the thing though, I'm having a hard time finding my niche here. There are many many labels out there that people use to identify themselves that have become so clichéd, so stereotyped over the years, that the mere mention of them in the wrong company (read: any company with an opposing view) leads to foaming of the mouth. Take feminism for instance, which I hear has come to mean "wanting equality for all". Why the femme in it then? It sort of denotes a connection to women. TANGENT TIME. I'm done. Far from what it was meant to be or what it is now professed to be, most people hear the word "feminist" and come up with some fairly ugly connotations. Man hater. Bull-dyke. Bitch. Ball breaker. So much so that I refuse to describe myself as such.
How about self described pro-choicers who are really just pro-abortion? Or pro-lifers who simply value a fetus's life above all else? The water is getting murky and neither side is getting anywhere. I had the privilege to debate with a truly intelligent pro-choice woman for a time. After dealing with many who were just pro-abortion, it was refreshing to say the least, and she earned the highest respect from me - even though we never agreed on a single issue. When I say I'm pro-life, I hear any number of accusations; that I don't care about women, that I'm a fundamentalist freak, that I'm controlling or judging. Nothing could be further from the truth.
From the pro-life side, the minute I say that life is precious, all life, whether it be the life of a mother, father, child or fetus, I'm instantly shut out. In their minds the baby's right to exist trumps all else, and in their idealist zeal, they forget what life can be like for an unwanted child. It's not relevant, they think, their primary focus is LIFE. Well, so is mine.
Right to Choose vs. Right to Life:
Okay, the topic is not completely different. In fact, it's been done to death. The reason I'm bringing it up is that I read yet another article on it, in Slate, this time discussing the apparent rise in self-identified pro-lifers.
I promised humor, and instead I bring you a topic more volatile than a shed full of dynamite. Built on a volcano.
Here's the thing though, I'm having a hard time finding my niche here. There are many many labels out there that people use to identify themselves that have become so clichéd, so stereotyped over the years, that the mere mention of them in the wrong company (read: any company with an opposing view) leads to foaming of the mouth. Take feminism for instance, which I hear has come to mean "wanting equality for all". Why the femme in it then? It sort of denotes a connection to women. TANGENT TIME. I'm done. Far from what it was meant to be or what it is now professed to be, most people hear the word "feminist" and come up with some fairly ugly connotations. Man hater. Bull-dyke. Bitch. Ball breaker. So much so that I refuse to describe myself as such.
How about self described pro-choicers who are really just pro-abortion? Or pro-lifers who simply value a fetus's life above all else? The water is getting murky and neither side is getting anywhere. I had the privilege to debate with a truly intelligent pro-choice woman for a time. After dealing with many who were just pro-abortion, it was refreshing to say the least, and she earned the highest respect from me - even though we never agreed on a single issue. When I say I'm pro-life, I hear any number of accusations; that I don't care about women, that I'm a fundamentalist freak, that I'm controlling or judging. Nothing could be further from the truth.
From the pro-life side, the minute I say that life is precious, all life, whether it be the life of a mother, father, child or fetus, I'm instantly shut out. In their minds the baby's right to exist trumps all else, and in their idealist zeal, they forget what life can be like for an unwanted child. It's not relevant, they think, their primary focus is LIFE. Well, so is mine.
Life.
Having a life. Is it the mere biological process of life? Heart beating, brain humming, nerves signalling? Is it simply the chance, the "what if", that's snuffed out with abortion? The potential. In part, yes. But the potential is there for anything, good or bad. And we fear the unknown.
I once read that a woman decides to abort the way an animal chews off its own leg to escape a trap. And that so aptly describes it to me. I'm sure there are a handful of women who enter into such a thing without a second thought, but I don't doubt they are the minority. It's a desperation. A feeling that there's nowhere else to turn. A fear...
And that cannot be discounted in the pro-life movement, as it has for so long. That is a real condition that needs to be addressed. That no matter how you feel, even if you feel as I do that abortion means death, these women are not cold blooded murderers. It's too easy to paint them that way, to hate them. Maybe because we've never been there. Maybe because we smugly believe we never will be there.
It's her life too. We need to be a little more sympathetic all around. Pro-lifers (at least this one) are not monsters out to control your every move. We care, that's all. And pro-choicers, many of them... are also not monsters, out for blood. A little commonality, please. It's easy to hate, love takes effort.
It's easy to demonize people who think differently, when you're passionate about something.
It's hard to listen, to understand even if you don't agree, and to try to learn something new.
But it makes us better people if we do.
Having a life. Is it the mere biological process of life? Heart beating, brain humming, nerves signalling? Is it simply the chance, the "what if", that's snuffed out with abortion? The potential. In part, yes. But the potential is there for anything, good or bad. And we fear the unknown.
I once read that a woman decides to abort the way an animal chews off its own leg to escape a trap. And that so aptly describes it to me. I'm sure there are a handful of women who enter into such a thing without a second thought, but I don't doubt they are the minority. It's a desperation. A feeling that there's nowhere else to turn. A fear...
And that cannot be discounted in the pro-life movement, as it has for so long. That is a real condition that needs to be addressed. That no matter how you feel, even if you feel as I do that abortion means death, these women are not cold blooded murderers. It's too easy to paint them that way, to hate them. Maybe because we've never been there. Maybe because we smugly believe we never will be there.
It's her life too. We need to be a little more sympathetic all around. Pro-lifers (at least this one) are not monsters out to control your every move. We care, that's all. And pro-choicers, many of them... are also not monsters, out for blood. A little commonality, please. It's easy to hate, love takes effort.
It's easy to demonize people who think differently, when you're passionate about something.
It's hard to listen, to understand even if you don't agree, and to try to learn something new.
But it makes us better people if we do.
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