Quote:
Originally Posted by Defender
I beg to differ....there is a HUGE difference between promoting abortion and protecting life. There is a GIGANTIC difference in the stances on homosexuality and gay marriage. These are just two issues where one parties plank is morally superior to the other.
|
Defender.....
The Republican Party can't do anything about abortion and won't. When it comes down to it the "Pro-Life" position of the Republican Party is largely symbolic and used as a wedge to get our votes. We have had one of the strongest Republican Presidential Administrations in decades, Republicans have held a majority in congress, and 7 out of 9 justices were appointed by Republicans. Guess what, nothing has significantly changed on the abortion front...they're just playing politics with the issue.
Here's another issue about abortion. If they did overturn Roe and place bans on abortion...what would be the penalty? Nobody is going to prosecute a woman for seeking an abortion. And short of maybe loosing their license to practice medicine most wouldn't prosecute a doctor for performing abortion.
I know they argue about getting strict constructionist justices on the SCOTUS, but a Constructionist would interpret the Constitution as our founders did. Guess what...abortion existed in the early years of our republic also. There were periodicals that advertised these "services". Abortion wasn't banned or restricted in most states until the mid to late 1800's and that was only because women were suffering from infection and dangerous side effects from the procedure. Abortion became more prevalent as the procedure became more perfected and sadly there were challenges to the state bans on abortion and the court overthrew statutes banning the procedure stating that the state cannot seize a woman's body and force her to give birth if she desires not to. It was a sad day indeed...but the issue isn't Liberal or Conservative....the issue is women. Some women are so debased they will seek this procedure. Most who procure abortions feel desperately pushed to have this procedure. We do better by using our resources to help women who are in crisis pregnancies. Most abortions are procured by women who live below or near the poverty level. These women need health insurance and initiatives addressing the issues they face. Of course Republicans are dead set against helping women....they argue for a ban on abortion that will never materialize.
To the Democrat's credit, they've been looking at how Belgium, a ProChoice country, has achieved the lowest abortion rate in the world without banning abortion. They have drafted nearly 17 policy initiatives to help reduce the abortion rate significantly as seen in Belgium but Republicans oppose these measures.
As for Civil Unions both Democrats and Republicans are against the ropes because corporate entities are increasingly offering benefits to domestic partners. These partners are the ones leading the fight to pass Civil Union and Gay Marriage initiatives. So another factor is how corporations are feeding the fire with internal corporate policies. Not to mention liberal churches who interpret the Bible differently on the issue and are already sanctifying same gender unions. These churches are arguing that their freedom of religion is being assaulted by individuals who are trying to use the government to strictly enforce what they believe to be a narrow interpretation of Scripture they are not convinced of. So the question with this becomes one of religious liberty. Should the government pick sides in a theological debate or should the government step aside from the debate and offer all citizens the right to form a union with whoever they choose?
Due to the complexity of the issue both Democrats and most Republicans support Civil Unions. So this too is a non-issue.
Again...each party is just as bad as the other if the issues are studied closely. The only difference is that one party pretends to be more religious than the other and uses conservative religious rhetoric to get elected.
When it comes to politics I pray...
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
In, Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis wrote:
"Before leaving the question of divorce, I should like to distinguish two things which are very often confused. The Christian conception of marriage is one: the other is the quite different question — how far Christians, if they are voters or Members of Parliament, ought to try to force their views of marriage on the rest of the community by embodying them in the divorce laws. A great many people seem to think that if you are a Christian yourself you should try to make divorce difficult for every one.
I do not think that. At least I know I should be very angry if the Mahommedans tried to prevent the rest of us from drinking wine. My own view is that the Churches should frankly recognise that the majority of the British people are not Christians and, therefore, cannot be expected to live Christian lives. There ought to be two distinct kinds of marriage: one governed by the State with rules enforced on all citizens, the other governed by the Church with rules enforced by her on her own members. The distinction ought to be quite sharp, so that a man knows which couples are married in a Christian sense and which are not."
The world will never entirely embrace our value system. Do we invest all the time and money in political action to force them to? What will this say to the unsaved about Christians? Will it hinder the gospel? We can spend multiplied millions of dollars and hour upon hour of manpower to dress a pig in the most elegant of dresses....but in the end she's still a swine and will resent our efforts.
I think that the reality is that abortion is here to stay. If we want to make a difference we have to help women. Civil Unions are going to be allowed. We're going to have to teach, preach, and maintain pure Christian marriages to serve as examples to the world as to what joy is found in real marriage and what it looks like.
Linear Mode
