May 18, 2009

The difference between slavery and abortion Pt. 2



 (These are one of a set of nine wax plaques to show the dissection of the female figure and fetus development. Vienna, Austria. Early 1800's. On display at in the Science portion of the South Kensington Museum in London.)



What confuses me is the difference between the two. I hate slavery. I hate that so many lives have been destroyed or lost by it. I HATE seeing what slavery is doing to African people TODAY (i.e. LRA and other terrorist organizations). Young boys are stolen in the night and taught to be ruthless killers before they have lost all their baby teeth. Young girls are kidnapped and raped to be used until they are so broken and hopeless that they pray for death.

This is our America's past. And, is our world's current horror.

What confuses me is how we can be such a self-consumed society, that we fail to see the sin in destroying our own offspring. When the sperm enters the egg; it instructs cellular division AT ONCE. DNA is complete. We don't tell the baby to form, we don't monitor the development at that stage. It's too intricate. Life is set in motion. Usually, because we have chosen to participate in an activity that sets it in motion. Sometimes the activity is not chosen. Even among many Christian women…the blessing of a life inside them is seen as more of a burden and inconvenience; than a jewel of great price.

We rally for a, "greener" nation. We buy, "Earth Friendly" bags and proudly display them in the grocery store. We recycle. We walk to work. We worry about whether our children will live in a climate so cold they will freeze; or so hot they will be scorched. We contribute funds to help the salmon (at least here in Oregon). We scowl disapprovingly at the person smoking in a proximately that will taint our own children's airways. We grow sad at the thought of forests and wetlands disappearing as the sacrificial virgin for new homes and shopping centers.

We regulate and control ourselves in so many ways regarding our Mother Earth. We are willing to sacrifice and work hard to help her. We are disgusted by people who litter. We talk incessantly about providing a better world for our children…and that it won’t happen unless we work at it today. Yet, what children will even be left to enjoy anything if we keep flushing them down the toilet? It seems like our sexual activities should be consequence free. It is admirable to use restraint and walk to the store—rather than to be lazy and drive. But, NO ONE should tell any of us when or how we can enjoy our bodies.

Even if that enjoyment means that 1, 2, or maybe even 9 months later, a child will need to be burned to death by salt, torn out of the womb by a vacuum so powerful that the baby’s body parts look like they have been put through a blender, or pulled out by a foot, partially delivered…only to be grasped by the back of the neck by the concerned doctor’s hands, and then have his or her brains sucked out of a small hole made by scissors at the base of the neck.

We become awkward when the discussion of abortions comes up. We would never condemn a woman to carry a child she DIDN'T want, to term. We would never assert our values and beliefs onto someone else. We are too afraid to draw lines in the sand. Perhaps because we don't think the pro-life agenda should be a federal mandate. Perhaps were are just too afraid to say anything at all because this conversations that has so many facets.

About one million of our own children are aborted every year.

I can't help but wonder if, a few hundred years from now...when science has allowed us to see even more of the pain the unborn experience. The brain waves that are stopped, the cries that are muffled. If we will look back at our, "Modern America," today and think, "We were such fools! Why didn't we ACT sooner?"

And the grief that accompanies the, "sin," that slavery brought to our nation...will be felt for our unborn children. Sacrificed for convenience, for equality, and because we were too afraid to offend.

May 17, 2009

The difference between abortion and slavery Pt.1







I have just been thinking a little bit about President Obama's recent speech at Notre Dame. It is a beautiful speech. One that urges a united front.

After a Christian pastor contacted him requesting respectful treatment and depiction of pro-life America, the President said:

" After I read the doctor's letter, I wrote back to him and thanked him. I didn't change my position, but I did tell my staff to change the words on my website. And I said a prayer that night that I might extend the same presumption of good faith to others that the doctor had extended to me. Because when we do that - when we open our hearts and our minds to those who may not think like we do or believe what we do - that's when we discover at least the possibility of common ground.
That's when we begin to say, 'Maybe we won't agree on abortion, but we can still agree that this is a heart-wrenching decision for any woman to make, with both moral and spiritual dimensions.
So let's work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoption more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term. Let's honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion, and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded in clear ethics and sound science, as well as respect for the equality of women.'"

(You can check it out yourself at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/17/obama-notre-dame-speech-f_n_204387.html )

For some reason this brought me to his 2008 speech on race. In it his speaks about the signing of America's Constitution.

"The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations. "

(Also full text here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/18/obama-race-speech-read-th_n_92077.html )

So what I understand is that a.) Slavery is a sin that has stained our nation’s history and constitution. And b.) Abortion is a right that should be protected. That we should look with understanding and open our minds and hearts to the arguments and times that necessitate it. Additionally we should make sure we have clear science and ethics in regards to it.

May 6, 2009

The bedtime gap

Jason has 7 1/2 more weeks of Officer Candidate School. After that, he will be home for 4 weeks. I cannot wait to have somebody who is capable of unclogging the toilet, in arm's reach!

Our house if officially, "For Sale." There is still a ton of work to be completed. I'll get to it eventually...

Two days ago Jason was chosen to be the, "Student Company Commander, " for week 7 of OCS. He's pretty honored. One guy is picked every week, out of the 160 odd guys there.

We are still thinking we will end up overseas. He has a few more months of training after OCS. We probably won't leave the states until the end of the year.

He finds out in two weeks what his official job will be. He's hoping for Military Intelligence.

By the time Jason is home again, our Dossier paperwork should be completed. It seems like it is taking forever...but having him on the other side of America make things complicated.

I know this is a random post. Honestly I am just avoiding mopping the floors. I thought I would catch people up while I sulked.