One thing that I’m determined to do in my life, in the midst of so many things which seem to be “wrong,” is to keep reminding myself of all the things I need to be thankful for.  Despite the things I’m frustrated about as an American citizen, I know that I am privileged to even be making all these arguments. That being said, here comes another “side” of me – if by chance you’ve been reading any of my posts. Now, I’m not going to get into any kind of proselityzing, but I could conceivably categorize myself as part of the Christian “Left.”  I am a strong believer in the concept of “the separation of church and state,” in fact, I believe it is that concept which is the foundation of this great country.  Many of my friends would probably fall into the “Christain Right” camp, which pretty much leads me to talk to them about things other than politics.  However, this past weekend I’ve had the opportunity to spend two days with my wife and a couple who are in the “family” category when you consider who your friends are. We had the opportunity to stay in a really cool home at the beautiful Oregon Coast (a place called Bella Beach – I highly recommend it).  My wife and her good friend spent a day at the ocean looking for treasures which allowed the two “guys” to have a conversation which I would put in the “we’re solving the world’s problems” grouping as conversations go.

My friend (the other guy) once apologized to me – because he originally was upset with my anti-Iraq stance at the beginning of the invasion – by telling me, after about a year of the occupation, that the only way he could see stability returning to Iraq was to release Saddam Hussein (obviously this was said prior to Hussein’s execution).  I believe it was around this time when he realized you could be “conservative” (whatever that means anymore) and disagree with Republicans. We agreed (this weekend) that the “block” of Christians who vote republican and comprise the “base” of the republican party was problematic, to say the least. Many vote in “lock step” based on their belief that the republicans are somehow going to end the abortion crisis in America. What ends up happening is these people are voting for politicians who initiate policies that are very “un-Christian” unknowingly. Both of our wives reinforced our discussion when they returned from their adventures at the ocean, once we shared a bit of our discussion, by claiming that abortion must be stopped and they didn’t want to talk about anything that resembled politics.

It is my contention that this kind of mindset comes from members of the clergy getting involved (way over their heads) in politics. What most Christians don’t “get” is that James Dobson, Pat Robertson, Falwell (prior to his death) and others are big business billionaires and they, in my mind, are “dirty” because of their connection to the now departed Bush administration and the insiders of the Republican party. In my mind they’ve traded their integrity for access to power – very politician like. I don’t pretend to know the details of how involved they were in the decisions of GW Bush, but I’ve read enough reports of Dobson, for example, participating in direct meetings in the White House and in secret meetings with other “wealthy” members of the Clergy (actually connected in some way to Eric Prince and Blackwater) to raise multiple “red flags.” In fact, I can no longer allow myself to listen to any of Dobson’s radio programs – because I am totally convinced that he is one of the perpetrators of the divisiveness of the recent past – if you listen to his “Focus on the Family” you will often hear how they separate the world into “conservative” and “liberal” with liberal evidently being a dirty word.

These thoughts I’m putting forth to frame my concern for the coming debate (or so it seems based on all the “right wing” emails coming to our mailboxes – my wife and I) on the so-called “Freedom of Choice” act – which according to the emails I’ve seen will legalize all forms of abortion – without any restrictions, will lead to government funding of abortion, and will overturn any state laws that may be on the books as I’m writing this post. I have no idea how much of this is true – even whether or not the bill is even “on the books.” However, as I read the emails, I thought that to quell my own conscience, I’m going to have a mini discussion of the issue on my Blog – as usual probably a discussion with myself – but if for some strange reason you happen by, please feel free to comment. The reason I’m commenting is because I believe that maybe, with President Obama at the helm, we can have a national dialogue on this issue that deals with realities and facts – and tries to come up with a solution that at the very least reduces the demand for abortions.

First of all, I have found it intriguing, to say the least, for the last 35 years (yes, I can still remember the day when Roe v Wade -well, it’s kind of hazy, but I was around and paying attention at the time – was decided in 1973). This was about 4 years after my first attempt at college (fortunately, the second attempt ended in success) and it was still fresh on my mind how friends of mine at school, during the 60’s age of “free sex,” seemed to be using abortion as a form of birth control. I remember one roommate in particular who paid for three abortions in the two years I was at the school. As I remember, the cost at the time was $75. And I can guarantee you that many of the people who have joined the “pro-life” movement of today – part of the “hippie” movement of the sixties probably participated in this practice (I realize that probably and guarantee don’t go together, but I hope you know what I mean – a lot of people have changed the way they think since those days). I am very thankful that I was never in a position to have to make that choice, mostly because – as I shared with my friend this weekend – I wasn’t much of a “ladies man.” But, I’ve often thought what would I have done? It is these thoughts that keep me a bit grounded on my position because I’ve never had to make the choice – I really don’t want to adopt a “holier than thou” position on the subject – yet, despite the fact most people consider me a liberal and I did vote for Democrats across the board in the last election, I consider myself pro-life.

To me, pro-life doesn’t mean that somebody else doesn’t have the right to have their own position on this VERY DIFFICULT issue. And I think the point of my thoughts of tonight, and this weekend, is that I hate the fact that the abortion issue has led so many Christians to vote for corrupt republicans. For example, take Tom Delay – the guy is right up to his elbows in corruption – right in his home state of Texas, along with corruption in his connection with Jack Abramoff in Washington DC – yet his “base” is the “Christian Right.” Delay was instrumental in the pillaging (along with Abramoff) of Micronesia, for one example – where Multi-national corporations have turned the place into a combination destination resort for rich people – especially politicians – and sweat shops which recruit workers from underdeveloped countries and puts them into virtual slavery under terrible conditions. Additionally, politicians like Delay, promote the Cayman islands as a “destination” for US corporations who don’t want to pay taxes. I could go on and on – and I’m not trying to make this a Democrat vs Republican thing here – because the Democrats are not “clean” by any means – my point is that the abortion issue is one issue – and in the 35 years since Roe the Republicans have held the White House for 23 of those years and it’s still on the books.

The fact that you have this huge “block” of Christian voters is WRONG! Christians, like every other citizen, should be paying attention to their government and deciding on who to vote for individually based on ALL the issues. The idea of pastors getting up on the pulpit and “recommending” who you should vote for is TERRIBLY WRONG! This is how Hitler came to power in Germany. That is why our founders were so adamant about separating the Church from the State. That doesn’t mean, as in this situation, that issues so relevent to Christians shouldn’t be part of the mainstream discussion. I’m just maintaining that the discussion shouldn’t be Republican vs Democrat – it should be a discussion based on the realities of today’s world.

Getting back to the discussion of abortion, it has always bothered, baffled, and beguiled me how the debate continues to get twisted and manipulated according to whoever seems to have the “mike.” I can tell you that it is a fact that the requirement for a human being to live is oxygen and food. There can be little debate that once an egg and sprem cell unite, the only thing it needs to grow is food and oxygen which is provided by the mother. And the reality is that it takes a father to produce the sperm cell, but once it unites with the egg, the father is pretty much out of the picture as far as getting the baby to term – it’s all on the mother. Now, I realize that the father might be driving the mother to the doctor’s office, the hospital, and other such duties – but the reality is that it’s all on the mother after conception.

This in itself makes me feel unqualified to come up with the solution to the problem of abortion (if you haven’t figure it out yet, I’m of the father type). This is going to be a VERY DIFFICULT national discussion. But I believe it must happen, and I also believe that women need to be taking the lead in the discussion. However, no matter who’s taking the lead, I hope they deal in facts and rational thinking. The most important fact that I think just needs to be “accepted” is that once conception has occurred, you have a human life. THEREFORE, AN ABORTION TAKES A HUMAN LIFE. I don’t see how you can see it any other way. I’ve heard lots of discussions that try to place a date on when the fetus becomes “human” but that seems preposterous to me. That then makes the rest of the discussion so much more important. I don’t know what the answer to this problem is – and I’m not naive enough to think that with the repeal of Roe v Wade (which I don’t believe will happen) abortions would stop – they were happening all the time prior to Roe – in fact I believe Roe was an attempt to provide women with a safe procedure in a clean clinic or hospital. Again, I’m thankful that I’ve never had to make this choice (I believe I would choose life under any circumstances unless my wife’s life was in jeopardy) – but as President Obama is trying to “unite” Americans, the “Freedom of Choice” act is liable to cause a lot of divisiveness.

My suggestion is to call abortion what it is – stop sugar coating it – and then have a national debate on how to create circumstances where the demand for abortions is minimized. The discussion will be so complicated. What happens to women after having an abortion? What happens to unwanted children? What are possible ways to minimize abortions? Is our government willing to fund alternative solutions (I personally know of pro-life clinics which could be much more effective in helping women with unwanted pregnancies if they had the funding)? Is our nation ready to admit that this is a shameful problem that we can no longer ingnore? Is it possible that the “Freedom of Choice Act” could spur a debate which would actually reduce abortions in America?