Wednesday, 05 November 2008
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Currently Listening
Hairspray (Soundtrack to the Motion Picture)
Good Morning Baltimore
see relatedBrand new day.
It’s been an embarrassingly long six months since my last post. I started the new year with a resolution to blog more, and it all fell apart pretty quickly. But in the spirit of change sweeping the nation today: Yes, I can post more. Here’s to two strong months of blogging to finish 2008. I need them: I have a ton of germs of ideas, and I just need to sit down and reflect on them more deeply.
But for now, I’m going to go on record and say that as a registered pro-life Democrat, I voted for Obama. Shocker, right? Actually, it is a big deal for me because even though I’m a registered pro-life Democrat, this is the first time I’ve ever voted for a Democrat for President. For the past few elections, Democrats have been very dismissive of the pro-lifers in the party. I’m hoping our new President stays true to his word about finding common ground to reduce abortions since he said in the last debate that abortion is “always a tragic situation.” And I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt, which is only fair since I also gave W. the benefit of the doubt on his compassionate conservatism (yeah).
And a reflection for all those I’ve encouraged to seek justice through their lives. I love talking about what I’m doing to combat global poverty; other people eat it up and think it’s the best thing since the toaster. It’s not so fun talking about abortion because it feels divisive and – in the liberal, educated circles I run in – I’m on the “wrong” side of the issue. But justice is about defending the weak and giving a voice to the voiceless. And the more I see of the world, the more I’m convinced that the two communities most in need of defense are the abject poor and the unborn. They have the least amount of say in this world. (Not very original, btw. Mother Teresa got it way before me.) We cannot be satisfied only pursuing the sort of justice that is culturally acceptable. We also need courage to be the unpopular voice as well.
This entry also published at Not on My Quach!
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Comments (5)
more blogging! yes you can!
jimmy - very happy you're blogging again. curious for you to flesh out, despite its awkwardness in our circles, your views on abortion more specifically. dems for life doesn't make a clear push for overturning roe, stricter parental notification laws, etc. where do you hash out on the nitty-grits of the abortion debate? if you could have a national, legal ban on abortion, would you want it?
miss you - jake
yay. i like this post. i think what i need most is a good framework to think about the abortion issue. one that is compassionate, but not watered-down.
To flesh out my views ... I think there are two frameworks we need: a private one and a public one. Our private framework governs our own choices and I think that before we try to legislate any change, we in the faith community need to be the change we seek. For example, there should be rampant adoption among those who are opposed to abortion. There should be so much adoption that it makes people think. Adoption isn't right for everyone, but, on net, our communities should be noticably more adoptive. We need to learn how to talk about the issue compassionately. We need to help each other raise children who understand sexuality well and have the courage to make good choices. I believe our private attitudes are far more important than our public ones because political winds will always change. We always know who we should be.
For the public sphere, I am not in favor of an immediate national ban on abortion. My arguments for that position have more to do with how ready we are for such a ban. But I also have full respect for people who want a ban immediately because when I think about slavery, we needed a strong clean break that we as a country weren't quite ready for. I think Roe v. Wade is a terrible decision on a legal basis (e.g., privacy as a basis for that decision). Overturning Roe just means that the decisions go back to the states.
At a really macro level, I think it's ultimately about changing culture to value unborn life. Movies like Knocked Up and Juno do that and they are not offensive at all (at least on the topic of abortion). It's not just any old elective procedure. And if certain states allow it and certain states don't then it becomes clearer in public perception that it sits on the edge of social acceptability (e.g., gambling is confined to certain locations and that tells us it's not the best thing).
Kiss the Quach!