Promised Politics Post

[desertvixen]

So, I was getting all calm about the political stuff and plotting what I was going to write.

Then I saw the newest go-round of "deny Democratic politicians Communion because they vote pro-choice" (directed at Biden and Pelosi) and I about lost it.

POLITICS DO NOT BELONG IN CHURCH.

And in my opinion, "voter's guides" assembled by any group, conservative or liberal, should also NOT BE IN CHURCH.

Especially when it comes to choice.  Or, more narrowly, the abortion question.

Would I, Danielle, ever have an abortion?  Probably not.  I don't want to say "never" because I don't know what all life has in store for me, and I might face a situation where I feel that termination of a pregnancy is the best option.

But it's not my place to tell other women what to do with their bodies.  It's not my place to make that decision for other women.  Women need to have the right to make that decision for themselves - with the input of their doctor and male partner where appropriate. 

It is not my place to judge a woman for deciding to have an abortion, or deciding on what ground it's okay to have an abortion.  That starts us down a slippery slope that I have no intention of sliding down.

So I remain pro-choice.

There are more issues at play than just abortion.  The Catholic Church is also anti-death penalty, which is a stance I don't see many of these "pro-life" people taking. 

I acknowledge that there truly are people who are pro-life and not just anti-choice.  I acknowledge that there are people who do more than simply pay lip service to the sanctity of the unborn life, and then ignore it once it's here on Earth and needs support from someone besides the mother. 

I will do more than acknowledge them.  I commend them for their service, for putting their belief into action.

But I still think women should have the right to choose.  Pregnancy and childbirth (even if you are going the adoption route) are lifechanging events.  Despite what some people would like to think, they can still kill you.  They can cause lifelong health problems.

When I look at the Republican ticket, I don't see support for social justice.  I definitely don't see support for choice.  I see a mentality that doesn't support what I believe in.  I see a party that claims to be all about "family values".  I don't know about everyone else, but hatred is not one of my family values.  And hatred is what I see.  Hatred for those who want the right to marry their same-sex partner (just like us straights), hatred for those who are different, hatred for those women who don't want to be controlled. 

I believe in choice.
I believe in same-sex marriage.
I believe in not discriminating against the LGBT people in our society. 
I believe in the separation of church and state.

 And I believe that four more years of Republican rule would be a very bad thing.

 That is why I will be casting my vote for Barack Obama on November 4.  Not for the sake of party unity, but because I believe he is a better choice than John McCain.

 Excuse me, I have to go donate to Obama/Biden '08, Planned Parenthood, and NARAL. 

 DV

Comments

[garpu.livejournal.com]

Wordy Mc Word. I was just ranting to Steve today about how people call themselves pro-life, yet are for the death penalty.

[garpu.livejournal.com]

And what's with the homophobia among the rabidly anti-abortion crowd? It's not like gay is catching. Really, the fact that some women prefer other women (or men preferring men) doesn't impact my life much (read: at all.) Nobody's holding a gun to my head, demanding I date a woman or marry one. I've yet to hear a credible reason why two men or two women marrying diminishes my relationship.

[desert-vixen.livejournal.com]

Yes.

What really makes me irritated is 1) this ONLY gets pulled in election season and 2) handing out voter's guides in church, even if they're not produced by the Church, seems to me like stepping over the line. It's definitely not something that was done when I was younger, and thankfully not in the military diocese.

DV

[garpu.livejournal.com]

Our Peace and Justice group handed out a voter's guide that was really balanced and didn't tell anyone who to vote for. Someone placed slips of paper inside each one (of the 200 we had out to take) that it wasn't authentic Church teaching, and that abortion was the only thing that mattered. Coward. Put a name to your actions, and grow a pair, you know?

[betray802.livejournal.com]

Hatred for those who are different:

Someone my father knows (whatta surprise, considering the caliber of some of his hangers-on) hit me with a rant over the weekend, about how Sarah Palin is always toting her baby.

"What makes her think decent society wants to be exposed to her freak child? Part of the trouble with the education system in this country is because we're being forced to pander to and hand-carry those damaged little mistakes, and it's dragging the normal kids down! They used to be sent off to asylums, where they belong!"

I HAVE ADHD/LD. THANK YOU for letting me know that you're even MORE of an asswipe than I already thought. STFU, GTFO, DIAF. Not to mention that my mother has been physically challenged since birth, and I spent 12 years going to school with kids who "thought people like Amber's Mom weren't allowed to breed."

Music of the Moment: Walk Away by Kelly Clarkson (which I did, first chance I got.)

[desert-vixen.livejournal.com]

Of course she's always carrying her baby around. He's what, five months old? When MV was that age, she went everywhere with me too.

As far as being an advocate for special needs - let's see some action on that before we all start celebrating. Having a special needs infant doesn't make you an expert on what those parents and kids NEED - there are people on this f-list who would be more qualified to speak on that, simply from having experienced the system for longer periods of time.

((( )))

DV

[fairestcat]

*applauds*

[desert-vixen.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

DV

[cynthia1960.livejournal.com]

Amen.

[desert-vixen.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

I have some more building up (on another issue) but it needs some work.

DV

[rockahulababy.livejournal.com]

I can't wait to get my absentee ballot in the mail.

I couldn't have said it better myself. *claps*

[desert-vixen.livejournal.com]

Some people are already getting theirs.

Am jealous.

DV

[rockahulababy.livejournal.com]

I sent mine priorty and delivery confirmation so the mfers who work the post offices in Chicago can't get up to fuckery. I don't think it'll be a problem and there'll be plenty of dead people voting for Obama in Cook county, anyway (kidding!).

I am always a little anxious until I have the ballot and I hope I get it soon, now that I know other people are already getting theirs!

Speaking of Family Values

[carbonelle.livejournal.com]

Serendipitously, I found out last night where the whole "family values" as political coinage came from. No surprise: its current incarnation has as little to do with its original (and important) origins, as P.C. does to its origin in "political correctness" (i.e. political etiquette.)

I'm reading Kay Hymowitz's Marriage and Caste in America. I recommend it to you (aside from being fascinating reading) as it will do better than I can to explain the principled conservative objection to "gay marriage." Not directly, of course, the book isn't about that; but it does explain where people who are perfectly sympathetic to gay families might still balk at redefining marriage to include their unions.

No argument on the "churches shouldn't be preaching voting from the public," but being Lutheran, I do wonder if you're right about the excommunication of nonconformist pols being out of line. Luther did his shtick to privilege the individual conscience over the authority of Mother Church (he had a point, but in fairness to the Catholics, so did they: Wossname Phelps, anyone?); presumably, those who stayed accepted said authority. Is it possible to remain Catholic and reject Papal authority and teaching on any issue? My best friend is Catholic, but she doesn't have the conflicts you do.

I apologize if I inadvertently asked a rude question: My close R.L. friends do discuss these kind of things (e.g. sectarian theology), but I know it's an iffy business on Teh Interwebs. Please tell me to pipe down on this topic, and I shall zip it in future.

Re: Speaking of Family Values

[desert-vixen.livejournal.com]

I'll look it up on Amazon, as I'm amassing quite the reading list.

My understanding (and I'm not really INTO the details, as I'm getting more and more lapsed) is this: Political action does not equal an excommunicable offense. There are certainly Catholics who do struggle with and reject/ignore parts of the theology (witness the women's ordination movement).

My real problem is 1) abortion is not the whole of the Church's teaching and 2) why don't they go after these politicians in a non-election year? If it is that important an issue, then don't ignore it when convenient.

Like I said, I'm not the person with the knowledge, although I don't mind the question.

DV

Re: Speaking of Family Values

[carbonelle.livejournal.com]

Fair enough: all my Catholic friends are pretty much on board with Papal doctrine--I think you're the first Catholic I've known well enough to ask who wasn't</>. Thanks for putting up with my curiousity!