I have always found it bizarre that some of the most pro-war Americans are pro-lifers. To be passionate enough to protest on a street corner in the hopes that you might save lives is something I can understand. Yet for pro-lifers to consistently and enthusiastically vote for leaders whose foreign policies will admittedly lead to the deaths of thousands of civilians – women, children, babies – in order to achieve political objectives, is something I cannot understand. “It’s a Child Not a Choice?” How about “It’s a Kid Not Collateral Damage?”
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A thoughtful, intelligent and courageous call for a moral re-evaluation of killing. You will no doubt receive some flak from pro-lifers for this commentary. The gray area between the commandment of “Thou shalt not kill” and the Christian concept of justified war is indeed vast and murky.
By the same token, the Ten Commandments are (pardon the pun) written in stone. Most go something like: “Thou shalt not,” followed by the prohibited act, followed by a period. It’s fairly cut and dried.
Likewise, the concept of “pro-choice” seems fairly well-defined. But I’ve never understood the definition of “pro-life.” Is it merely the heartfelt belief that abortion is immoral because it kills an innocent human being? Or does it further entail a reversal of Roe v. Wade? Is a pro-lifer content with letting states decide their own policy in the matter? Or does a pro-life stance further advocate criminal charges be brought against women who undergo the procedure? Does a clear-cut definition of the term even exist?
I personally believe that life begins at conception.
One of the basic tenets of conservative philosophy is the concept that human nature is inherently flawed. Consequently all man-made institutions are imperfect. And organized religion, despite its divine inspiration, is essentially a man-made institution. In times like these, I take comfort from Burke’s teaching that any successful nation represents an unfolding of God’s will for that nation. And as long as we in the U.S. continue to stumble along, blindly seeking that divine direction, all will be well. I hope Burke is right.
Great article. As a pro-life Catholic (and a union-man), I did not vote for McCain due to his interventionist policies. I did not vote for Obama either, I stayed home.
Off topic, I saw Obama and Biden today on CNN. At their heels sat the biggest toady ass-kisser in the Senate, Lindsay Grahamn. That man does not have an ounce of pride.
If our country were ever occupied by a foreign invader, that bastard would be a collaborator in the mold of Petain or Quisling. You folks in South Carolina should hang your heads in shame (and I’m from Delaware which elected Biden year after year, but at least he is not a boot-licker, just a pompous jackass).
I didn’t vote for Obama or McCain, either. I voted for Bob Barre of the Libertarian Party because his main priority was balancing the national budget.
I wish more people would point this out. I am appalled at the murderous blood thirstiness of so-called Pro-lifers. I forget which pro-murder Congressmen said the IDF was just taking out the trash. How anyone can look at the dead babies and children in Gaza and be smug and call them trash deserving of death or justifying their death by slow starvation or medical neglect shows how depraved a society we have become under Republican compassionate conservatism.
To Durant,
People aren’t LOOKING at the dead babies and children in Gaza. The MSM in the US totally sugarcoats and manipulates the facts. “Occupation 101″ and “Peace, propaganda and the promised land” both really explain it well. However, most Americans will never watch either of these videos (found on google) or be shown the information provided therein. The US has done an awesome job of ONE THING (besides imprisoning more of its citizens than any other nation in the world, and having one of the highest infant mortality rates of any progressed nation, etc, etc,) and that is turning its citizens into the most self-absorbed, non-thinking people possible. Especially considering the information that we actually have access to, if we only ask. As for the topic. I am neutral, as I cannot make judgments – and this world seems to be getting more and more dangerous for children – it’s difficult to see the harm in preventing a soul from being born into suffering. Not only that, but starting in February, thanks to our idiot congress and senate (except Ron Paul, Jim DeMint (wow) and 12 others), you won’t even be able to legally buy OR even be given USED BABY CLOTHES or other items(which is something that pro-life counseling services offer unexpectantly expectant new mothers to help them deal, but NO MORE, because it is ILLEGAL). Those new moms will just have to suck it up and go to Wal Mart and buy NEW THINGS that are made in China. I don’t know. But I do know that I have personally asked the pro-life picketers at abortion clinics how many of the babies they were willing to take home… and they ALL declined to answer me.