With the presidential elections at the door, one of the tickets each party has been leaning on to attract voters is the right to choose life. What does being pro-life actually mean? What criteria should be used when determining who’s right and who’s wrong?
There are many who denounce abortion, but condone those who kill in the name of life, or are open supporters of the death penalty. Killing is killing, whether the victim is a fetus, a child, a father, a doctor or a criminal.
Everybody has a right to live, but many appear to be bias in regard to choosing which type of life has more or less right to thrive.
Being pro-life does not mean that abortion should be illegal. It means that the individual believes in the value of life and chooses not to have an abortion because she has the right to bring life forth.
Criminalization of abortion did not reduce the number of women who sought abortions. It is estimated that in the years before Roe vs. Wade the number of illegal abortions ranged as high as 1.2 million per year.
Many women died or suffered serious medical problems after attempting to self-induce their abortions or going to untrained practitioners who performed abortions with primitive methods or in unsanitary conditions.
Putting the federal government in charge of a choice which should be strictly personal, and considered on individual basis rather than a whole, would make us no different than the Asian countries obligating their women not to have children.
Life needs to be respected for the value it has, all across the board.
Abortion should not be taken lightly or be a substitute for contraception. Yet, women should have the right to decide what is appropriate for them, one way or the other. If I was raped and became pregnant, I feel that it should be up to me to decide whether I want to bring forth the product of a vicious attack; others should not decide for me regarding something that affects me so closely.
I personally believe in life, and would not choose otherwise, but I still think that the freedom of choice needs to remain protected as one of our constitutional rights.
To me, being pro-life means that we should support increased education, and prevent loss of life rather than forbidding personal choices. Regardless of personal views, life is our greatest gift and one we should not take lightly. Individuals are the ones who should choose life; the government shouldn’t do it for them.
And that is true freedom.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The Roles We Play
It’s funny how humans thrive on drama.
No matter what issue arises, we look for things to argue about, which will cause a stir. We can observe this flaw in the political arena, in religion, in life itself.
Of course, when we stand by a certain point - and look for confirmation through facts - we are likely to seek those corroborating facts from sources that share our point of view and look at the issue from the same angle we are. Everyone is going to have different opinions, different facts to quote, and different outlooks directly related to personal experiences and taught values.
It is very amusing to watch talk shows. Producers make a living from human drama, and saturate our media with a circus of flaring emotions and half-baked truths. Soap operas last for decades and hook staggering numbers of people through glittering drama, often exposing human flaws that nobody wants to recognize in themselves, yet are present in most of us.
We thrive on the negative, and several studies have shown that negative messages are more easily implanted in the subconscious than positive ones. That’s what political campaigns and organized religions thrive on to get their point across.
So, why do we thrive on negativity and drama?
No matter what our religious affiliation, anyone at all comfortable with spiritual truth halfway believes that we are here for a reason, and we came to earth to learn something.
Our soul is here to learn basic lessons of compassion, forgiveness, unity, and tolerance, and we are all actors on the great stage life. By acting out our roles we understand the nuances behind the human drama, and learn our lessons throughout.
Sadly, most of us forget we are the actors and blindly become the part we came to play. We become so engrossed in our role that we blend our identity with the character we impersonate. We all forget who we truly are, until something devastating in our lives knocks down our ego and reminds us of what is truly important.
Regardless of the fact that some believe in reincarnation and some don’t, we all agree that we only have one life at a time to be in, and we need to make the most of our time while we are here.
Focusing on the present, and choosing to overcome the drama we so easily become attached to, can free us from the chains of erroneous earthly perception and give us an edge in understand who we truly are.
No matter what issue arises, we look for things to argue about, which will cause a stir. We can observe this flaw in the political arena, in religion, in life itself.
Of course, when we stand by a certain point - and look for confirmation through facts - we are likely to seek those corroborating facts from sources that share our point of view and look at the issue from the same angle we are. Everyone is going to have different opinions, different facts to quote, and different outlooks directly related to personal experiences and taught values.
It is very amusing to watch talk shows. Producers make a living from human drama, and saturate our media with a circus of flaring emotions and half-baked truths. Soap operas last for decades and hook staggering numbers of people through glittering drama, often exposing human flaws that nobody wants to recognize in themselves, yet are present in most of us.
We thrive on the negative, and several studies have shown that negative messages are more easily implanted in the subconscious than positive ones. That’s what political campaigns and organized religions thrive on to get their point across.
So, why do we thrive on negativity and drama?
No matter what our religious affiliation, anyone at all comfortable with spiritual truth halfway believes that we are here for a reason, and we came to earth to learn something.
Our soul is here to learn basic lessons of compassion, forgiveness, unity, and tolerance, and we are all actors on the great stage life. By acting out our roles we understand the nuances behind the human drama, and learn our lessons throughout.
Sadly, most of us forget we are the actors and blindly become the part we came to play. We become so engrossed in our role that we blend our identity with the character we impersonate. We all forget who we truly are, until something devastating in our lives knocks down our ego and reminds us of what is truly important.
Regardless of the fact that some believe in reincarnation and some don’t, we all agree that we only have one life at a time to be in, and we need to make the most of our time while we are here.
Focusing on the present, and choosing to overcome the drama we so easily become attached to, can free us from the chains of erroneous earthly perception and give us an edge in understand who we truly are.
Anicet's Story
I’d like to share a story which I hope will inspire you as much as it inspired me.
It is a story of courage, determination and, most of all, faith. It is the story of a man named Anicet, who came to America to follow a dream.
His family and friends in Africa had helped him gather enough money for the trip and a short stay, but with poor language skills and no references he was having a hard time securing a job. His dream was to become a Christian minister, so he was hoping to find a job in a church, and was willing to take on even the most menial job.
We agreed to meet, simply to have a meditation together and talk further.
We had scheduled to meet at 9pm two days later. He called at about 8pm, asking for directions to my house from a nearby drugstore. I only live about five minutes away from the drugstore, so I expected him to show up soon. Forty-five minutes went by. Finally, I went outside on the porch to see if I could see him driving through, thinking he had probably missed the house; in the distance I spotted a little black man, walking resolutely, and realized it was him. Anicet walked in, took his hat and jacket off, and politely asked for a glass of water. When I asked him why he hadn’t parked in front of my house, he simply replied that he didn’t have a car and had walked here from Cary.
I was stunned! North Raleigh is a good twenty to thirty minutes drive from Cary. He explained that he had left his house that afternoon, and that he wasn’t going to miss the meeting just because he didn’t have a car.
We talked that night, and then met again on a few more occasions. The last time I saw him he said that he had understood what God had wanted him to understand; his mission, he said, was to find a way to preach about the unity of all religions.
After that, I didn’t hear from him for about a year.
He called me again this past summer, just to update me on his progress.
He did find a job in a church in Cary, and the gentleman who hired him also helped him enroll in several courses, including one to better his language skills and a few theological ones. He is very happy now, and feels that he is working toward the vision that God sent him.
What truly touched me about his story are the strength of his faith and the fire of determination inside of him, as he overcame overwhelming obstacles to follow his dreams, and fought against all odds to achieve what he believed in.
Sometimes, when I don’t feel motivated, all I have to do is think about this little great man, about his courage and faith, and suddenly I feel like I can get a lot more accomplished in my day.
It is a story of courage, determination and, most of all, faith. It is the story of a man named Anicet, who came to America to follow a dream.
His family and friends in Africa had helped him gather enough money for the trip and a short stay, but with poor language skills and no references he was having a hard time securing a job. His dream was to become a Christian minister, so he was hoping to find a job in a church, and was willing to take on even the most menial job.
We agreed to meet, simply to have a meditation together and talk further.
We had scheduled to meet at 9pm two days later. He called at about 8pm, asking for directions to my house from a nearby drugstore. I only live about five minutes away from the drugstore, so I expected him to show up soon. Forty-five minutes went by. Finally, I went outside on the porch to see if I could see him driving through, thinking he had probably missed the house; in the distance I spotted a little black man, walking resolutely, and realized it was him. Anicet walked in, took his hat and jacket off, and politely asked for a glass of water. When I asked him why he hadn’t parked in front of my house, he simply replied that he didn’t have a car and had walked here from Cary.
I was stunned! North Raleigh is a good twenty to thirty minutes drive from Cary. He explained that he had left his house that afternoon, and that he wasn’t going to miss the meeting just because he didn’t have a car.
We talked that night, and then met again on a few more occasions. The last time I saw him he said that he had understood what God had wanted him to understand; his mission, he said, was to find a way to preach about the unity of all religions.
After that, I didn’t hear from him for about a year.
He called me again this past summer, just to update me on his progress.
He did find a job in a church in Cary, and the gentleman who hired him also helped him enroll in several courses, including one to better his language skills and a few theological ones. He is very happy now, and feels that he is working toward the vision that God sent him.
What truly touched me about his story are the strength of his faith and the fire of determination inside of him, as he overcame overwhelming obstacles to follow his dreams, and fought against all odds to achieve what he believed in.
Sometimes, when I don’t feel motivated, all I have to do is think about this little great man, about his courage and faith, and suddenly I feel like I can get a lot more accomplished in my day.
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