I have to admit something. As much as I really want to blog a lot and write about fun things like recipes or events or other fun things to do, I don\’t really get all that motivated on a daily basis like a true \”blogger\” would. Maybe it\’s the fact that I spend so much time in front of a computer at work that when I come home, I am much more receptive to the idea of being with my friends and family than blogging (which is a bit antisocial for my tastes as an extrovert). No, no, the only times I get really motivated to post anything is when something comes up. An epiphany, a religious issue, a sociological issue that I feel needs to be addressed, or politics. And right now, the world (especially Texas) is all up in the politics. So, I wanted to weigh in on the subject for myself.
Pro Life (SB5)
1. First off, I\’m going to say that I actually support the legislation the Republicans in Texas were trying to pass. Less than 2% of women actually get abortions after 21 weeks anyways, so that\’s not really so far fetched and I generally support the idea that abortions should probably be held in a surgical facility due to it\’s invasive nature. There have been atrocities happening in abortion clinics all over the country in terms of health regulations, cleanliness, and established medical practices. Ok, so Planned Parenthood might be better than a coat hanger, but they don\’t always have the resources to perform this kind of medical procedure. Yes, requiring abortions to be performed in surgical settings will limit the number of abortions that can be attained, but they will also be cleaner and safer than what abortion clinics seem to be providing.
2. I have several issues with the pro-choice debate
a) That this is a woman\’s health issue….it takes two to tango and I think it\’s anti-feminist to lay the complete burden of reproduction and any care for children to women. Hello, fathers? Where are you? Oh you decided to peace out because, you know, it\’s a girl thing. Meanwhile, your daughter is going by the name of Candy at the local strip club. How, pray tell is that freedom for women? How on earth has that been construed as a woman\’s health issue? Yes it\’s the woman\’s body that physically carries the baby, but that argument implies that men are not really to be involved in the process at all. It\’s a human issue and the legislature should make decisions that way.
b) The choice to have an abortion isn\’t exactly the first choice that\’s made in this issue. (I\’m not talking about rape or incest in these cases, because that\’s a whole other sticky situation which I don\’t really want to discuss, but will admit there are exceptions to the rule) Unplanned pregnancy is completely preventable. If you know you really can\’t have a child for whatever reason, like you are a teenager in high school or you\’re broke, maybe you should not be engaging in risky behavior. Maybe a 14 year old shouldn\’t be having sex at all. Maybe her boyfriend needs to be able to keep it in his pants. Maybe she needs to learn to say, no, I want better for my life than to be put in this situation. Maybe, we need to spend more time and education trying to guide people into being a little more future-thinking and consequence-understanding. Teach self-respect and partner respect and maybe not show sex as being the next obvious step into a dating relationship. The sexual revolution allowed promiscuity without consequences, but the problem is there are consequences. Whether or not you get an abortion, an unplanned pregnancy is a totally probable consequence to your action. I\’m not saying we shouldn\’t help women in these situations, but if we tried to foster a sense of general well-being and encouraging forward-thinking, it would hopefully be able to limit the amount of women who have to make such a decision in the first place.
3. That all being said, I am inspired by Wendy Davis. To know that a woman in the Texas Senate feels so strongly about a subject that she would talk for 13 hours without any breaks or anything is inspiring. While I don\’t agree with her content, her character is impressive and standing (literally) up for what you believe in is a great quality to have in our government, despite it\’s minority voice within that context. Women should be able to speak and participate and be respected and be recognized for their contributions and as a citizen, I think it\’s awesome that at least one person in the Senate has the guts and the tenacity to speak out against what she believes is wrong.
4. I think the filibuster thing is pretty ridiculous. It\’s essentially stalling, so the senators don\’t have to/get to do their jobs. If I tried to filibuster at work, I would be fired. We are paying these people to vote on our legislation and they have a bona fide rule in place that can make any major disagreement an excuse to not get work done. Wendy used the tools she had available to her, but the whole idea of that tool is silly to me. Can\’t there be another way? There\’s got to be another way!
5. If you are going to do a filibuster, you need to follow the rules. I know the Republicans just wanted to stop her, but they really stretched the rules. Yeah, I think you could make the argument that mandatory sonograms is relevant to a bill on abortion. What does that time stamp say, again? Give her some respect and treat her with the same dignity you would treat a man.
6. I don\’t think the Republicans are innocent in all this. While I support this particular legislation, I think there is a hipocrasy in the Republican party in terms of pro-life. Yes, you care about my unborn child in the womb, one that (if I was considering an abortion) I don\’t want, can\’t afford, or would be in an unsafe or unhealthy environment, but what happens when the baby is born? Will he be able to get the food, shelter, and education he needs? Once the baby is born, he is left to the wolves, with the Republicans saying, we need to limit big government. You can\’t be pro-life if you are not pro-the-living too.
7. I am truly saddened by Texas having it\’s 500th execution today. This is proof that the Republican party is just as anti-life as the Democrats and that a true pro-life believer has no good political option. Two wrongs don\’t make a right, two deaths don\’t make a life.
Pro Love (DOMA)
1. I\’m probably sounding very conservative with all this abortion talk, but rest assured, my story gets better. I\’m so happy that the SCOTUS ruled DOMA unconstitutional. I generally support gay marriage, because life is too short not to be with the one you love and makes you happy.
2. As a nation, this is where we are headed and I think it\’s time our laws reflected that. Being gay is way more accepted now than it has ever been in the past and it only makes sense that we evolve with that changing perspective.
3. Love. Love for all. Love for whoever you want. That is basically the one thing….The ONE thing that God said. Jesus basically said, if you remember nothing else from anything I have taught you at all, all the traditions, all the miracles, the transfiguration, the parables, if you remember one thing it is to love. So, when I see a group of people who want to express that love to each other in an intimate way, how Unchristian is it for me to be against that?
4. Now I say this because we live in a society that has marriage as a secular institution, which I don\’t really even think should be the case. Marriage is a sacrament, the court gives civil unions. It has to do with taxes and stuff. Why marriage is even a state issue is a bit beyond me, but if we have to have marriage in the state, it makes no sense not to have gay marriage in the state.
5. Also, gay marriage doesn\’t decrease the sanctity of marriage. Adultery does. Which I think should be a much bigger issue than gay marriage. Ummm, you signed a federally-binding contract, if you break that contract (like any other legal contract) you should at least be fined/sued. Why is that not on the ballot? No, apparently loving and committed homosexuals are the true evil, not the scores of people who are violating their marriage vows.
6. While we are on the topic of marriage, I also don\’t think there is anything fundamentally wrong with polygamy, assuming all parties are consenting and adults (which I shouldn\’t even have to say, because it should be a given, but certain polygamists have ruined it for the bunch.) Ok, so maybe the government can only give you tax breaks on your first wife, but should it really be \”illegal\” to religiously marry more than one spouse? Should they be in hiding? Is that really so awful? Yes, it\’s different, but there are tons of different lifestyles that people have that don\’t hurt anyone. Why put restrictions on this particular issue? Unless there is like actual harm to people, letting people have this freedom should be a standard policy.
7. Gay people generally don\’t get abortions, so I think this is partially a win for the pro-life people too. Right, guys?
The Internet is Really Really Great…For Political Discussions
1. So many people have such strong opinions about these issues, and they should. But I think that this sort of discussion brings out a lot of people who love to debate and kind of \”miss the point\” to what it\’s all about. Yes, I know you are very religious and follow all church laws to the letter, but you cannot do that at the expense of loving people and compassion. You can be a great Christian, but if your use of Christianity is to condemn all the opposition, is that really Christianity? Think. Love. Inspire. Open your mind. Open your heart. What would Jesus do in this situation? He probably wouldn\’t go on and on about the doctrine of the church (that sounds a little more Pharisee if you ask me). He would go to His people and He would love them. Unconditionally. Let me ask you something who is the villain in Les Miserables? The priest, who bore false witness out of compassion and love or Javier who followed every letter of the law without compassion or love. I firmly believe that sometimes doing the \”right\” thing in terms of the faith isn\’t always the right thing to do. When your faith takes over your love and compassion for social justice in all its forms, it is not faith at all.
2. I don\’t believe I need to read the news because if it\’s really important, or monumental or a big deal it will show up on my Facebook. I\’m honestly impressed. Apparently everyone watched the filibuster last night? I didn\’t even know it was on. Was there some kind of memo I missed? Maybe it\’s because I don\’t go on social media a whole lot and I spent most of last night watching old episodes of Jeopardy with my family. But if it\’s something I need to know about, it will undoubtedly show up on Facebook. Kudos, friends.
3. Never before in all of history did everyone actually get to voice their opinion on a public forum. It\’s amazing really when you think about it. It\’s exciting to be a part of an age that has such free flowing communication about current events. Exciting times.
4. I also think it\’s kind of funny when certain Facebook friends start political discussions in their status. If you are going to say something that will inevitably turn someone against you, you better be ready to deal with that discussion. I saw a particularly argumentative friend\’s status today had a huge discussion, and was so disappointed when his own input was weak rhetoric and logic. It got incoherent. If you want a lively debate, have one, more power to you. But when your logic is flawed, or you are not listening to the other people, or are just evangelizing, or start to get personal, or lose friendships over this, it disappoints me greatly. Arguing from a solely emotional place is seldom productive and often leads to un-thought-out and subsequently weak arguments.
5. That being said, I love the passion and fire these people have. It\’s inspiring to me to see people truly engaged, no matter their personal opinion. We should be discussing these issues, we should be bouncing ideas off one another, we should be inspired to think for ourselves and form our opinions. What better forum than social media where we are all connected? Life is all about learning and these discussions facilitate that, plus it keeps my mind on its toes and forces me to think outside my little bubble, which is good for a different perspective. I find it all to be quite exhilarating (unlike my husband who finds the arguing to be utterly exhausting). I live for that kind of stuff.
5. A lot of times with issues like these, when someone asks me what I think, I give a lot of cop-outs. I\’m a pretty ambivalent person and sometimes radically change positions on issues, so I normally shift the focus to a tangential subject, like no one should get married in the state and we should do more to help women before they need to get an abortion. I actually tried to form an opinion on these subjects, which I feel pretty good about. But, I don\’t think I know it all about this subject and would like to think that I have always been open to other people\’s ideas and opinions. I love religious people and non-religious people alike. I love Democrats and Republicans and people who don\’t know or care what they are politically. I love homosexuals and heterosexuals. I love men and women. I just love people in general. That\’s the thing about my extroversion. People are my absolute favorite. I get my energy from you all. I get my life from you all. My heart has been changed by discussions about controversial topics before because I believe in growth way more than my ability to be right. I know that I am potentially opening up a huge can of worms by even posting this and I know it may not go over well and I may end up being judged as ineloquent, stupid, flat out wrong, a bad Catholic, who knows what, but that\’s the risk I am willing to take, because I have been inspired to do so and the only people who ever go anywhere interesting are those who get lost.