 |
| Rob's Soapbox | ||
|
October 5th, 2009 2 ABORTIONS, 1 MISCARRIAGE, AND 320 MILLION LOST SOULS I freely admit that I am the only person I have ever met that has no passionate opinion on abortion. If my wife and I accidently got pregnant tomorrow, we would have a baby nine months later; we’ve already discussed it. If a friend of mine showed up at my door asking for $500 and a ride to the abortion clinic, I’d grab my wallet and keys. I’ve already done it more than once in my life. I also candidly acknowledge my contempt for all things related to social networking and the “look at me” culture that we live in which encourages everyone to share everything all of the time. While it is true that Americans would probably be better served to create more open dialogues in their own homes about sexuality, drug use and similar “taboos,” that certainly in no way should endorse the total lack of decorum, self respect and dignity that has come in the age of MyFace, Twitter and every other “look at me right now here is what I am doing” medium. Certainly by now you’re straining your brain to formulate a connection between the opening paragraphs. “What in the world is Rob bitching about now? NO doubt he’s about to make a mountain out of a mole hill…again!” I suspect some of you are already saying. I got over being told I was an alarmist and extremist more than a decade ago. I recognized early on in my adult life that if you see and predict things that ultimately come true you will be called such things, even if those adjectives are nothing more than a thesaurus away from being more positive accolades such as “visionary,” and “genius.” I’m not claiming to be either; in fact I don’t understand how seemingly so many intelligent Americans cannot connect dots. Living in a society is a simple process of “if this, then that.” Anytime a new trend or policy is enacted it should not take more than a moment for you to acknowledge what the trend or policy will lead to. Alas, it seems to. So many of you wake up and utter “how did this happen,” never recognizing the inevitability of it all was right under your nose. Mandatory Seat Belt laws = helmet laws = car seat laws = cell phone bans. It’s that simple. Let them control a small, seemingly common sense form of your safety and soon they control all of your behavior. Cigarette warnings (for your own good, they say) = restrictions on where you can smoke = punitive taxes designed to fore you to quit = ban on smoking = ban on alcohol. We’ll get there, if we don’t stop it, trust me. Just got ask MADD what their ultimate goal is (be sure to do so off the record, of course, since they know they have to lie publicly about their desire to abolish alcohol consumption in America). I’ve warned for decades about the self-esteem deficit in America. We are a proud-less, pride-less people who define our self-worth on the acceptance of others. Few of us have actual convictions and almost none of us are willing to stand against a crowd and confidently say “I am right, you are wrong and no amount of ridicule on your part will change that I am on the side of right.” Low self-respect = desperate attempts to get attention = an entire culture of people with no boundaries and dignity = a soul-less nation. So, what, you ask, has me all verklempt this week? Last month on Twitter a journalist from Wisconsin used 140 characters to tell her 19,000 followers that she was having a miscarriage…and that she was glad about it because it’s such a pain in the ass to have an abortion in that state. Upon further review, the mother of two later revealed to the press that she has already had two other abortions in her life because the children would have been inconvenient to her career. http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/article_b4bd14a8-af0f-11de-8a1a-001cc4c002e0.html - Abortion opponents should find a sickening callousness to the entire affair - Abortion advocates should be equally offended by this woman perpetuating a stereotype they have long railed against; the idea that women in America use abortion as a form of birth control - Couples in American incapable of having children should steam with anger over this woman’s selfish squandering of multiple gifts given her that they would die for - Women worldwide, like my very own sister amongst countless others, who has suffered from the interminable pain of miscarrying a wanted child should be somewhere between offended and infuriated at the dismissive tone and attitude of the very premise. Yet none of these things are happening, at least not en masse. While a few of you may be experiencing these very reactions as you hear about it for the first time, the collective society of America as a whole has shrugged their shoulders, dismissed the event away and given it nary a thought. Some, so uncomfortable I presume with the entire subject, have tried to explain away the very notion with intellectually dishonest claims that the entire event was a fictitious publicity stunt; it wasn’t, we’ve gotten that confirmed by multiple sources but so what if it was? That in itself should have caused outrage. It didn’t, and certain peoples’ desires in this country to continue to demand that things happening before their eyes are not really happening is another very disturbing trend entirely. Most, however, have simply seemed un-phased by this entire affair. It’s no big deal, it’s just her expressing herself, blah blah blah. The truth is that it’s the next step forward in our inevitable and pitiful downward spiral as a people. We remain incapable as a society to stand up and make moral judgments and tell people that yes, there is still a line in America and that such behavior is beyond crass and crosses that line. Not because we’re pro-life, not because we’re offended but because we’re decent. And that’s really what this is about; decency. We are no longer a decent people. We don’t care enough about ourselves to be decent. While this pitiful woman may be nonchalant about a fetus dying inside of her, our society isn’t, shouldn’t be and should find the courage to rise up and say so. No one should argue rights, legalities or “bans on behavior,” rather we should argue about a culture that must continue to demand that people expect more; of themselves and each other. I am a private person who doesn’t even like to answer the most mundane of questions, “how are you doing today,” because I feel it is no one’s business. I am not demanding or asking that all people behave that way but I am asking for some common sense; the converse is unacceptable. Twittering that you are taking a shit or updating your MyFace page with intimate details of your husband’s latest voyage into your anus is hardly what we call a decent America. It’s beyond crass, beyond offensive…it’s pathetic. It’s unnecessary. It’s sad. It’s literally the decay of our society, our culture, and our country. And no one cares.
|
||