Re: More Rock For Life

First off — and to point out a reoccurring quirk in many conservatives’ debating styles and one you’ve used here — it’s almost impossible to convince reasoned thinkers of anything when over-simplified and ‘right-or-wrong’ absolutes are used as debate tools. You know, the old ‘I said it therefore it’s true’ thing. When such faulty debate ammo is used, it often backfires; the debator usually does a better job of revealing the contradictions and hypocrisy of refusing to see the intricacies of big picture issues, such as supporting and encouraging life.

For instance in this post, you used phrases such as ‘their message and their way of life’ in an attempt to convince thoughtful readers that a group of thousands involved in a similar profession can possibly all share the same philosophies and lifestyles. C’mon. That sort of reasoning may be convincing to others elsewhere, but not here on the Bully Pulpit.

Anyway, here’s touching on some of your points:

You're kidding, right? I can't even imagine the rock deep inside a cave deep inside a canyon that hides the person who hasn't had African hunger beamed, injected, and otherwise saturated into their consciousness by the 24/7 media. You can't seriously believe this.

Well, I do believe that most folks don’t really know how to help a cause unless they’re given a way to do so. Unless a vehicle exists to help the public become more aware of the state of things and how they could possibly help, then most don’t know how. It’s not like they can hop in the car, drive over, and leave a bag of grain with someone who needs it.

There are clear ways to support either side of the abortion issue already in existence, and people already do this: they vote for government officials that support their beliefs. You can’t turn around without a politician being asked (or revealing, if they think it will help them gain votes) whether they stand with the pro-lifers or the pro-choicers. African aid doesn’t have nearly the same level of visibility.

In comparing the issues of African aid and abortion (by the way, nice job of working a hot-button issue into a non-related topic) you said the following: And that (the importance of the African aid issue) would be as opposed to the importance of bringing to the public's attention the genocide that had been going on under cover of euphemisms like "choice" and "convenience" for the past thirty years or more? Please. You can do better than that.

Yeah, you’re probably right. I’ll try.

Just as they do on every hot-button, yet incredibly important issue, opinions of the validity of facts, figures, and theories widely vary, which makes a real conclusion to any argument impossible. Most importantly, though, those who feel one way or another rarely ever change their opinions, regardless of the brow-beatings they receive from the other side. I can’t think of anyone with the mental capacity to comprehend the issue of abortion that doesn’t already have a strong opinion on the subject. And if you’ve ever been present while one person attempts to sway another from their beliefs about abortion, I’ll just tell you that it’s a lesson in futility.

Now, your propensity to tag the supporting of abortion rights as ‘a particular little corner of liberalism’ that ‘is morally bankrupt and utterly evil’ is crap. I know plenty of self-professed liberals who are pro-life, and self-professed conservatives who are pro-choice. That’s like saying true liberals can’t be Christians or drive Hummers… Well, maybe the latter is true. (Just joking.)

Anyway, the reason why more liberal pro-choicers exist is simple; they realize that if abortion is made illegal, it won’t stop. It doesn’t mean that they think it’s a good thing to do; they just know that it will simply become an illicit activity, except maybe a bit more out of sight to comfort those who think that only ‘bad’ people choose to do it. That’s also quite convenient for those who like to have a very defined line in between ‘bad’ people and ‘good’ people; if abortion was illegal, then at least those absolutists can be ‘right’ about them. Like ‘She’s morally reprehensible and she’s a criminal! Told you I was right!’

Of course, we can argue about this for days, and no one’s opinion will change, so I won’t continue except to say that I personally think that the act of abortion is a horrible thing, regardless of the circumstances. So is killing via capital punishment. So is killing in the act of war. But I won’t attempt to control the lives of others and the offspring that they choose — or choose not — to produce within their own bodies. I won’t say that there’s never an instance where the acts of one human justifies terminating their existence. I won’t say that there’s never an instance where deaths caused by war is justified.

What I will do to support life is to support the ideas of better pregnancy prevention, sex education in public schools, abstinence, and government provided birth control, all of which are cheaper to come by than welfare, which should please those concerned about higher taxes. And I will always support equal educational opportunities for all so everyone can learn the value of life and how to best live it. Education is truly the key here.

Being a true advocate of life is more than insisting that every embryo grows and is born. It also means that once alive, your duty is to support that life that you felt so strongly should be born. Does that mean the death penalty and all killing is wrong? Does that mean unwanted children should be cared and provided for by society, regardless of whether their parents can or not? Life is life, and to support the criminalization of abortion yet support the death penalty, war, and/or to oppose governmental support of the same children you want the government to require to be born is contradictory and short-sighted at best, morally destitute at worst.