The Issues.
I had quite an interesting drive in to work today. I carpooled and about 5 minutes down the road, my carpool companion tells me how he was at a Right to Life seminar last night. So of course he wants to discuss abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. He was mainly focused on abortion. Now, from previous conversations with this fellow I knew there was a very good chance that we would have opposing views on the subject. He tells me that about 3 million abortions are performed in this country each year. This does not surprise me. He tells me that’s 3 million people who never lived…. still, I remain unshocked. I say there are many abortions that are a result of a fetus who’s been determined that it would not be viable outside the womb, fetuses that are known to have birth defects that would never live life other than being a mere vegetable. I ask, are these not valid reasons to take away the attitude of ‘give life no matter what?’ and perhaps adopt a thought process that involves a little logical reasoning. In my opinion, if we force a pregnant woman to give birth to a child that requires around the clock care, that will not have the capacity to be a contributing member of society and say this women does not have the means to hire the continuous care then the situation we will have is 2 people who are not contributing to society and a women who must live only to sustain this person then I think we are putting ourselves as a community at a loss. Don’t get me wrong, if a person chooses to give birth to a child with birth defects and care for it then I support that, my point is that people should have the right to make the choice. My next point on pro-choice is what about rape victims? Again, my friend tells me of someone who is a result of a rape and that person may not be around if the mother had decided to abort. Again, this is one case but you have to wonder how many babies come into this world through the resentful circumstances of a forced pregnancy… whether it be by rape from a stranger, someone they know or even a spouse. So what if that one person is a good person, I would be willing to guess that there a bunch of screwed up people out there who are a result of rape. My last argument for today… and trust me, I could go on and on about what ifs’….. is that many people choose abortion because it is the better alternative for the fetus. Many people believe that ending the progression of a pregnancy is better than bringing another person into a possible unloving, dangerous or poverty-stricken environment. To me, this is by far a more responsible way of thinking than life being the be all and end all decision. I have known people born into poverty or into a bad family and they wish they weren’t even born. Its not just about life, its got to also be about the quality of life.
So we get a little further down the road and a radio show, The Current, is coming on so I turn up the radio…. And what are they talking about today? Same sex marriage. This is another topic that this person, whom I’m starting to believe is more and more small minded than I thought, can’t seem to agree with. Now, I will give him that he is “OK” with civil unions but when it comes to sharing benefits then he is against it. I tell a coworker of our conversation this morning who immediately wants to tell me his views. I don’t get this, I’m not one for wanting to announce my views on touchy subjects right away, I guess I really believe in the right to have an opinion and everyone elses right not to have my opinion shoved down their throats. I like to feel out situations with a little casual discussion before getting into the stronger points of my argument… but that’s just me I guess. So, he continues and you know what really gets me are the people who refer to gay people as ‘those people’ as they hold up there hands as if the act of discussing a gay person makes them want to remain as sterile as possible. I also can’t stand when someone tells me that it disgusts them to think about what gay people do… then don’t think about it! Then this guy says “what about TV and everything they show on all these new gay TV shows?” Then don’t watch them, if you know a show is about gay people then there is a chance there’ll be handholding and even… gasp… gay kissing. Who the fuck cares? These people have the gall to say they aren’t homophobic but if you ask me they sure as shit are. Then this coworker tells me he doesn’t mind people being gay but when they want to adopt children well that’s just not right!?? Is that because having 2 parents with the same equipment is wrong? I would say having 2 parents is better than 1, which is all I had. Some would say it was perfectly ok that my parents marriage dissolved around the time of my birth and some would also say it was better for me that my Mother pushed away my biological father for ‘my own good’ because he would only cause me heartache. While I may disagree that my best interests included knowing my father I would say that I turned out fairly good, I would also say that I could have turned out better if I’d had 2 parents…. And I would also venture to say I’d have turned out just fine if both those parents were women… hey, wait a minute, I pretty much had 2 female parents, I grew up from the age of 3 with my Grandmother and my Mother leading me through life. Tell me again how things were screwed up for me with 2 female parents?
So back onto gay marriages, what does it matter if 2 people want to promise to each other that they will be each others support, they’ll be together forever and ever and they love each other more than anything? Shouldn’t 2 people of any sex be able to make that partnership with each other? Shouldn’t they be able to enjoy the benefits of a being each other’s next of kin? Sharing health benefits? Adopting children who wouldn’t have parents otherwise? After discussing this today I’ve realized that my religious beliefs (of which I have none) give me the ability to see this on an even playing field. I don’t have anything like the ‘Good Book’ to fall back on as an excuse to denounce this issue. I don’t believe in god, I don’t believe in all of the words in the bible… hey, that book teaches you morals, woohoo for that… but how can anyone say that the book is perfect? It’s all excuses. When in doubt, find something in the bible to say that it’s bad and put a stop to it. Why? Because it’s creeping you out? That coworker I mentioned decided to say “If god wanted everyone to have the same equipment then we’d all be men walking around here”. Now that is a well thought out statement. Blech. I am an atheist, I married for love and commitment. I know, I know- so does everybody else… but didn’t they marry a little for god’s approval? For everyone's approval? For the moral reason that their life together is against their religion unless they’re bonded in marriage? I think that all these religious people who are so concerned about gay marriage should try focusing on divorce rates? Don’t even get me started on divorces.
I may have to post again with a lighter topic later today. I tend to not sit down and spend so much time on these political and religious issues. I think there is so much more of both topics to touch on but for now, I’m over it. For goodness sake, lets just let people live their lives as they see fit, if they aren’t hurting someone else then let it be.
posted by Mrs. Smartypants @ 12:50 PM
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