Confession: I hate politics. Sort of…
Okay, in itself that isn’t a worthwhile confession, but my political views are.
It came to my attention the other day that I quite possibly am a closet anarchist.
Why I hate politics:
I love people. Period.
My personal goal in life is striving to understand why people believe what they do. In situations when I do this correctly, if there was any judgement to begin with, it will be gone when I reach my goal of understanding the person or people.
Now, just because I understand doesn’t mean I agree with their choices- but that is the thing, it is their choice.
When the government starts stepping in and regulating citizens on a personal/lifestyle level, that is where I seem to have a problem.
I am a follower of Jesus Christ. My desire, which I know I will fall short of, is to be as much like him as possible.
Jesus said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” Luke 20:25 – Separation of church and state, baby.
God gave us free will with our lives. I don’t know why the government is trying to regulate something that is a God-given right.
You’re probably thinking, “well, what about murder or other felony crimes?” That is a great example.
Laws, like the police, are not considered crime deterrents. They simply help in the course for punishment.Criminal punishment, whether it be what Beccaria would consider “savage,” or “civil” prison time, both have been proven ineffective in deterring criminal behavior.
We need respect for the government, but we also need to understand each person is their own entity.
Wishy-washy? No, I don’t think so. I have strong reasoning behind why I believe what I do.
Gray, yes, that may be a better word to describe my feelings.
It’s funny, you hear people assume that Christians are all Republicans. It’s just not true. Read Jesus Rode A Donkey and you will see that many liberal views go hand-and-hand with the teachings of Jesus.
So, what am I? Republican? Democrat? All of the above? I’m going with D, none of the above.
The 2012 Election year is in full-swing. I’ll give you examples of my views using the hot-button issues:
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Contraception– I lean more toward the liberal side.
I agree with most that contraception should be available through healthcare at the place of employment. What is the best way to prevent abortion and unwanted pregnancy?
Contraception. Plain and simple.
Here is where I will lose them:
I also agree with religious freedom. The Catholic Church has always been against contraception. This is not a new idea. (This does not apply to Catholic business owners of non-Catholic businesses.) I believe the Catholic Church has a right not to allow contraception in their healthcare plans (that would be like forcing Native Foods to serve veal.) If you want to use birth control then you probably shouldn’t be working for the Catholic Church. Also, If you are a pharmacist that is refusing to administer oral contraceptives, you probably shouldn’t be a pharmacist. Especially, if you have been silent about giving out addictive medication to people who you know are clearly abusing it.
Another thing- synthetic hormones *freak* me out. They do. It has been linked to autoimmune disoders, breast cancer, and arterial thrombosis. IUDs make me uncomfortable, too. Do I think it is immoral? No, not at all.
I think people should be well educated on these risks of the particular hormone combination prior to getting their prescription, but the choice should still be theirs to make.
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Abortion– I lean more toward the conservative side.
Zygote to 42 weeker- life, human life. That human being should have the right to exist.
Here is where I will lose them:
I have several friends who had had abortions. The mandatory preparation for one is a joke. Women need to know exactly what is happening in their bodies. That means mandatory classes on the gestational age of the child and free (required) ultrasounds.
Abortion is not a straightforward concept. By making it illegal it will not stop people from finding a way to prematurely end their pregnancies. See the Romanian movie 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days, and you’ll understand what I mean.
Actually, the country of Romania is an excellent example of why abortion is not so simplistic. in 1965 Romania had the highest rate of abortion in the world (25% of pregnancies ended in abortion.) The country then came under a new communist dictator that was desperate to raise the population. Thus, abortion became illegal in 1966. With the fall of the abortion rate came the rise of maternal mortality and deaths caused by illegal abortions. Romania had the highest rate of maternal mortality in all of Europe. And interestingly enough, there was an immense spike in crime during the time the unwanted children came of criminal age. When abortion became legal once more, the maternal mortality rate was over 70% lower than when it was illegal. In addition, the crime rate dropped during the “coming of age” of the aborted children.
What strikes a chord with me is the maternal mortality rates rising during the era of illegal abortions.
There are many personal definitions bestowed upon the term abortion.
However, the “official” definition of abortion is:
a·bor·tion/əˈbôrSHən/Noun: The deliberate termination of a human pregnancy.
Well, there you go. I had an abortion with Aram. You may argue that it is completely unrelated to abortion… That I knew he would live giving his gestational age. I was lucky. This woman who shares her story (about her consent for abortion during her preeclamptic pregnancy), was not as lucky. We suffered the same condition in our pregnancy, we terminated our pregnancies, and I was able to bring my child home because he was a few weeks ahead of her child gestationally. It isn’t fair. And the most sickening thing to me- because her baby died some people are suggesting what she did was immoral.
What it comes down to for a lot of people is control over their own health. I asked to be delivered two days before my emergency C-section. The doctors told me I was fine and ignored what I was telling them. I screamed, begged, and pleaded for them to deliver me 24 hours before I developed full blown HELLP . The doctors refused. My body was not mine anymore, it was theirs. We often forget that medicine is still, in a sense, an art form. Deciphering lab results, physical symptoms, and risk factors is not fool proof. I’ve had countless doctors review my medical records since the delivery of Aram. Almost all said I should have been delivered 24-48 hours earlier than I was. Not only would I have escaped developing HELLP Syndrome, my recovery would have been faster, and we still don’t know the long-term damage of HELLP syndrome- it may have protected my future health to be delivered early, as well.
I knew I was sick. I knew the pregnancy needed to end early.It is my body. It should have been my decision.
With most abortion issues the basic problem is valuing life. By making something illegal you are not going to be able force someone to put value on it. If an internal pipe in your house broke and was leaking through your wall you wouldn’t leave the pipe be and just slap on more drywall. That is essentially what making abortions illegal is doing.
People always say if we stop fearing death we can start really living. I think the opposite is also true. When we start understanding life, we can also embrace it in relation to the importance of the natural time for death.
If someone thinks abortion is repugnant, then they need to explain why.
I would suggest giving scientific evidence in a neutral manner that would back up your beliefs. For instance, There was a recent breakthrough study done by neurologists that discovered Endorphinergic cells in the anterior and the intermediate lobes of the fetal pituitary gland were responsive to CRF by 20 weeks gestation. My response to this was, “No sh*t Sherlock,” but in reality the only medical evidence for fetal pain was at 35-37 weeks prior to the study. Anyone with a child born earlier than 35 weeks (Aram is on that list) knows that babies clearly feel pain gestationally earlier than the timeframe mentioned.
Anti-abortion activists should be focusing on bills that require the doctors (by law) to give this education in a neutral manner. I do think we have a huge problem in masking the truth of our biology, and if this is a legal choice in our country, it would be an absolute injustice to allow females to make a choice like an abortion in blind ignorance.
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Gay Marriage– liberal
I’m pretty much liberal all the way on this one. My best friend at college was a gay Christian man. We had already taken specific courses that touched on homosexuality in the Bible, but because it was such a personal subject to him I became enveloped in the topic. I won’t go into too much detail because I’ve already written a novel with this post- but basically the Bible in general is misinterpreted thanks to translating it, and the cultural overlays that took over the passages.
What do I have to say to people so outspokenly against gay marriage?
Sin is personal, just like your relationship with God is personal. If you were born attracted to the opposite sex good for you. Your life will probably a lot easier because of the culture we live in. But how does that give you the right to condemn something you know nothing about?
Read the biblical text that references homosexuality. Read it in relation to the story and the book that it is in. Now read it in the native tongue. After you do this, go to two Christian scholars with opposing views on homosexuality and have in depth conversations about why they believe this.
You may find your own apologetics may not be as rock solid as you originally thought.
Until then, I will not speak about this topic with anyone against homosexuality because it does make me angry. I have seen too many of my friends get hurt by uneducated bigots in the church.
Okay, here is where I may lose everyone:
I think polygamy and polyandry should be legal. I have thought this for years, and people mistakenly assumed I was referring to underaged marriages to pedophiles. Thanks to the show Sister Wives people are less likely to lock me into an insane asylum when I suggest legalizing plural marriages.
The deal is a lifestyle choice should not be illegal. Do I personally think this is an effective/healthy form of marriage? No, but that isn’t my choice to make. Do I think that the children of these families will grow up in an unsafe environment? No, not any more than in a conventional home.
The truth is that a lot of these plural marriages are “spiritual marriages” because of the current law. That means the wives that aren’t legally married frequently collect welfare. If for nothing else, we need to regulate that.
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And now that I have alienated myself from almost every person on the planet, I am going to bed.
