Liberalism

I really hate politics. The other night at work I really got into it with a coworker - a person that I generally get along really well with - over the abortion issue. I know, I shouldn't have been talking about it at work, but you know how these things get started. There were actually three of us, but two of us agreed and were debating the third, and it got emotional and the third walked out. I was worried, because I do really like this person, but it's always disturbing to find out just how much you don't have in common with someone. We share the fertility issue, so it's odd that it leads us to opposite opinions on abortion. Well, I had my opinion long before I knew I had issues, and it hasn't changed, but still. She pointed out that her fertility issue was the reason she felt so strongly about it. Anyway, the next day we talked, agreed to disagree, and things are okay. But it really got me thinking.

Anyone who kows me knows that I am extremely opinionated. And although I might apologize for offending someone at work, I won't apologize for who I am and what I stand for. And I am always thinking about what I stand for. Especially because I have recently acquired some Republican friends, which is disturbing to me. Actually, I hate labels. For example, I am liberal, there's no way around that, but I do not consider myself a Democrat. And I don't care, neccesarily, if someone considers themselves to be Republican, or conservative, or whatever. Because I don't think on party lines, anymore than I vote that way.

It's like this. I have an opinion on any given topic; let's say abortion, due to my recent discussion. I believe my opinion to be right, obviously, or what would be the point of having it? But part of my opinion is wrapped up in the idea that I may be wrong, that there may be another way to look at it. And that is the most important part, for me. What aggravates me about someone who is conservative on this issue, the pro-lifer, is that they do not see that there could be any other choice than their own. So it's not the position itself that bothers me, as much as the arrogance. Does that make sense?

I can explain it in more concrete terms. First I need to say that pro-choice is not the opposite of pro-life, as a standpoint. I think a lot of people make that mstake. Pro-choice is a middle ground. And my own personal take on the issue is this: I am against abortion. I don't like the idea of it, I don't think that I could do it myself (although I have never been tested, so who knows) and I wish there was a way that no one would ever need an abortion again. However. I am also a realist, and I believe it is necessary to function in the real world. Abortions will occur. There will be personal tragedies, medical emergencies, and stupid mistakes. We are human. And if we outlaw it, that will not stop these things from happening. Believing that it will is living in denial. If we force women to do it on the sly, in bad medical conditions with no one to oversee it, we will kill more people, rather than saving them. That's what I think. If it is legal, good doctors and nurses can help people.

The point here is that what my personal decision would be does not have any bearing on anyone else's personal decision. I can think of what I would do, but I can conceptualize that someone else might need to make a different decision. And it is not my place to judge or regulate that decision. Nor is it the government's place. In my humble opinion, this is an issue that should never even be on a ballot. And there are other issues that fall under this category too, but I won't go into that now.

And I don't like it when people play the religion card. I may not seem like it to some, but I am one of the most religious people I know. I've read your books, and I've gone to church, and I pray to the God I have known all my life. There is nothing you can say, nor any verse you can quote, that will convince me to change my mind.

So the big point is this: I have an opinion, but it is not as important to me as knowing that my opinion is not universal. Nor would I want it to be. And that is what bothers me the most about people who vote the conservative side. They have a opinion, and they do want it to be universal. What I believe, you should believe. What I do should be done by all. To me, that is horribly arrogant. And excuse me, but even if your conservative beliefs have a base in religion, does that give you the right to judge? Another reason the religious angle angers me. I do believe in God, but I don't believe he appointed me judge over anyone else. In fact, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't approve of it.