Can We Talk?
Just sitting here at 3:45 am wondering when we will, as a nation, be able to have a meaningful discussion about abortion. (by the way, my wife is away for a few days so this entry will have more grammatical and spelling issues than usual) I know it's anecdotal but my efforts to have a meaningful discussion on the issue usually ends up focusing on something other than the actual issue of abortion. A recent effort landed us at the predictable "if you're against abortion but aren't a foster parent then you are a hypocrite". This is a comment given during a dialogue supposedly about abortion. While it's way off the subject lets waste a little more time and follow the logic for just a moment. If in order to be legitimately against something you must be personally involved in an effort to repair the damage then it would appear that we live in a society that is OK with child abuse. If you're against child abuse but aren't volunteering 40 hours a week, which is actually less time than a foster parent gives, at a children's home then you're a hypocrite. If you "say" you think it's wrong that Priest's have molested young boys but haven't offered to man phone's at a hot-line for young people abused by Priest's then you're a hypocrite. If you are against animal cruelty but haven't had an endless string of abused pets in your home then you are obviously a hypocrite. For cryin' out loud, all you have to do to show how much you care about wiping out breast cancer is to wear something pink. All you have to do about young boys being molested by adults is to gossip about it at work. But abortion, well, if you're not a foster parent then you obviously don't give a rip about unborn children. Gossiping and wearing ugly clothes will land you precisely in the center of the "I care" target on virtually any issue except abortion. But to answer one idiotic position is to ask for an endless string of them. Once you start down that road there's no end in sight. If you are going to offer a meaningful opinion on abortion then there is a never ending list of prerequisites that must be met. If, however, you are going to move a whole nation down the bloodiest path it has ever embarked on, all you need is a black robe. Oh, and an apparent indifference to our constitution. Gee, I think it would be easier to be a supreme court justice than to hold a meaningful conversation on the street about abortion. Maybe I should look into that as a good retirement activity.
