Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Clarity

I want to make myself explicitly clear. Please let me know if I am not. By writing what I wrote, I wanted to settle some misleading claims about Obama. When asked if he supports abortions, he always responds by saying that he supports abortion rights. This is politician for disagreeing with the act, but not refuting a constitutional case regarding such tender subjects. That was the point. No one on this blog, apparently, has seen that...it must be my fault because it must not be clear. Caleb and Cameron, I agree that this right to privacy is a copout and a complete mockery of the judicial system. Not once was I defending this stance; my sole intention was to clear misconceptions about a candidate's ideologies. Consider it a pet peeve of mine...I am a factcheck.org fanatic now because of this blasted election (if you go there now you will see that the first 4 topics show that GOP/McCain-Palin/Anti-Obama group ads are misleading).

This is what I am targeting in my posts.

On the fight against abortion. I agree completely with the fact that we need to do everything we can to fight it. Starting with two things simultaneously: education and the definition of life. We need to educate young low income women about abstinence, contraceptives, and the opportunities available to them if they do have an unexpected pregnancy. Many young women, in addition to being poor, are alone, misguided, and terrified when they find themselves pregnant. I know that it is due mostly to irresponsibility, but we need to have some compassion at some point and just start reaching out. Also, we need to address the legislature and demand that they act against abortion. We need to define life as our belief tells us: it begins at conception. I believe that if a fetus has a chance at life, then it should be considered life. A problem brought up in Roe v. Wade was the fetuses were never counted during any census. Well, maybe that is something we need to have changed too. We need to go after the legislature because they are the ones who created the laws that the justices interpret. The President really doesn't have much to do with these laws. This is where I got into defining the President's views and thus where we hit a roadblock.

I am not voting for McCain because I think his judgement in choosing Palin over all of his other options is a red flag. It was clearly done for political purposes because in no way is she more qualified than Mitt Romney to be VP (for that matter, Mayor Meeker is more qualified to be VP, at lease he has a law degree). I find McCain's decision and explanation laughable, insulting, and embarrassing to this country.

Although I am unsettled by the fact that I am voting for a democrat this year, I truly feel it is far more beneficial across the board than supporting republicans. I also feel that this country is more than the issue of abortion. There are many things that need to be looked at, including capital punishment (which is no less murder than abortion), and thus a reason that I do not support McCain. Obama has pushed for reform and mandates on capital punishment while McCain has not, and I find it unjustifiable to condemn abortion but not the death penalty if we are being true to Christ.

McCain has not shown that he is qualified, competent, or genuine enough to lead this country. I can say with 100% certainty, though, that the game would be very different if he had chosen Romney to serve with him. By not doing so he showed that his motives are not pure. I don't agree with all of Obama's views, including abortion, but he has proved to be more Presidential, more professional, more accepted by foreign countries, more competent financially, and more detailed in his choice of VP than his opponent.

If you want to fight abortion, I will fight it with you. We do not need a President to be do so.
Sidenote: It is predicted that only one justice will be replaced on the supreme court this term, giving Obama or McCain the chance to fill only one spot. In essence, this means that the court can only get more conservative or will remain relatively the same in regards to ideologies.

Thats all. I hope this makes sense as it is quite late.


10 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I have a spare day and a half I'll read all posts and comments regarding this conversation. At that point I will have an educated opinion on the matter. Until then I will just say that I am right and everyone should do as I say. The End.

Laura Robinson said...

I agree with most of that, but disagree on a few important points. I might write something else later, if I feel like it. I'm going to pause for a moment to think about what would be the best way to continue this conversation. This is the type of discussion I've wanted to have for months now and I want to make the most of it.

I started writing an essay on the sanctity of life, spurred in part by the amount of disinformation put out by those wacky conspiracy theorists. Anyway, I've written a few pages, but I have to do some research before I continue and I don't know when I'll be finished. I'll distribute it to interested parties if I ever complete it. Until then, I'm going to relax and enjoy my day before I respond here.

joel said...

i'm not sure which morin typed that, but i'm pretty much on board.

cherio.

-orr (tha boy one)

Kelsi said...

To the Morin that wrote this,

I agree.

That is all.

Kelsi

joel said...

i agree with kelsi.

-still joel

Laura Robinson said...

Okay, I'm ready to respond now. I agree with you that Obama's stance is a copout. Lying to the public is unfortunately part of every political campaign. McCain may have more misleading ads at the moment, but Obama has had plenty of his own. I'm upset that McCain has become so negative lately. But I think it has to do with the fact that he is fighting a losing battle and has no choice but to take a defensive stance. If Obama were losing, he would not hesitate to stoop to the same level. I don't like McCain's negative ads, but its not fair to single him out. He and his party have been the underdog this whole election. The public is upset and wants a democrat, any democrat, in the White House. Nothing McCain can say or do will change that.

Moving on...

I do not want to create the impression that abortion is the only issue that concerns me. I based my choice in this election on constitutionalism, federalism, personal liberty, free trade, minimized government regulation & spending and the defense of human dignity. I never reduce my political view to one single issue. At the same time, I must give a greater priority to certain issues.

Even though I am currently unemployed for the forseeable future, it would be irresponsible and selfish for me to elevate my personal financial woes above the genocide that is abortion. I would rather be unemployed in a country that treasures the life of every child than be a millionaire in a land that allows a slaughter on the scale of the Holocaust about once every 4-5 years.

Its hard for me to enjoy shopping at North Hills when I know that at a clinic within walking distance, children are forcibly extracted from the womb and thrown into a trash bin. Its hard to enjoy strolling past the kids playing on the community lawn when I know that some of their would-be playmates were murdered before birth. In the film Life is Beautiful, we can't understand how the families of SS officers enjoy a carefree existence while helpless children are ruthlessly killed next door. But we need not go far to see a similar scenario unfolding before our very eyes. How many Target shoppers know or care about the evil down the street? How many diners at Five Guys or Moe's understand what is happening just around the corner? We as a society choose to ignore the profit-driven destruction of human lives because we don't want to be bothered by the unpleasantness of reality.

It may not be popular to have this level of concern, but I don't care. My bank accounts are worthless to me if I live in a place where the most helpless of all humans are discarded like yesterday's fashions. Even day old bagels get a second chance.

As for the death penalty, I see no fair comparison. I've yet to hear a convincing Bible-based argument against it. But I'm still not completely decided on the issue.
So for the sake of argument, I'll assume that society has no legitimate reason to sentence someone to death. Even if we accept this premise, everyone in our society knows that capital punishment is a reality. Anyone who commits a homicide does so with an understanding that he may face execution. In other words, even murderers have a choice in their fate. Also, the number of executions in this country pales in comparison to the 1.3-1.4 MILLION children who are denied a chance at life every year.

I had some points to make about McCain's choice of Palin. But after what I just wrote, I don't know that it really matters. This is all I'll say for the moment. I'll say more later.

Laura Robinson said...

I want to make it clear that I'm just stating my opinion and I don't have any beef with anyone who disagrees. I know most people agree with me on working toward change, but disagree on how to go about it or the priorities of specific issues. I don't look down on anyone who has a different hierarchy of concerns. Neither do I assume that I am better or more righteous in God's eyes for holding to certain political views. I just wanted to explain why I feel so strongly. Since I made my point, I'm going to leave it at that. There's a limit to how far you can progress in online discourse and I don't want to push it. I would love to continue the conversation in person, if anyone is interested. I think its important to hear differing views and I would love to sit down and talk with friends who see things from another perspective.

That is all. Feel free to disagree with me. I just want to have an intelligent discussion. Let me know if you want to continue. I will make myself available to anyone who is interested.

meredith* said...

i think i find great pleasure in being a moderate these days.

i'm voting tomorrow without ever having an intense political discussion with anyone.

my my, how tables turn.

Nicole Cockerham said...

i'm not real fancy with words or anything, but did want to comment. i'm not gonna lie, when i found out i was pregnant before i was married, one of the first thoughts was, "i can't have a baby right now. should i have an abortion?" no matter how close we are to the Lord we are always far enough away to make the wrong decision, but after that we still (through His grace) have the chance to make another decision. i quickly (within moments) knew i would cherish and love this child and that i would regret it for the rest of my life if i chose to terminate my pregnancy. even though this first thought crossed my mind, i am somewhat glad i had the ability to make the right choice to keep my baby. he is amazing and i know we have been blessed.

perhaps we as christians should come alongside these women and be a blessing to them rather than condescending for the decision they made.

i work 10 yards from the women's clinic mentioned. i can honestly say that what has infuriated me the most about it, is the protesters and individuals praying while lined up outside with pictures of aborted children. what a horrible presentation? i know this wan't necessarily the topic, but wanted to comment.

i just think we could all be doing a better job of just loving each other. that's it....just love each other.

Jeremy & Erin Morin said...

Meredith, I'm not sure that's something to be proud of. Being a moderate doesn't mean passive. A moderate is someone who agrees with both sides one way or the other. I consider myself a moderate due to the fact that Jeremy and I took awhile to decide on who to actually vote for. But not having any discussions on the most important election of our lifetime isn't some to brag about. I wish we had chatted about it together, it opens your mind. One girls night we had a great debate back and forth, but none of us got angry or anything. It's just nice to hear others' opinions and comment.

Sorry for not talking with you more...