Let me express my own personal opinions on the "state of the union" as a Roman Catholic who is female, white, and over the age of 50. It is unnecessary for politicians to explain to me when life begins. My Catholic faith guides me quite well on the sanctity of life from conception until death. I also do not judge women who seek out abortion. I do not stand in their shoes. I do not know what brings them to make such a decision. I pray that our country makes an effort to reach out in appropriate ways to reduce the number of abortions. We also as a country need to make an examination of conscience as to why women seek abortion as a solution. What is going on in the lives of these women. Do we even try to understand it from their perspectives? Before Roe vs Wade, desperate women sought illegal abortions from butchers in back alleys. Many died; many were scarred for life. Rich girls were able to go to their family doctors for a D&C - no questions asked. Please don't think for an instant that a repeal of Roe vs Wade will affect the wealthy class. Wealth always has its privileges. "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us".
My upbringing within the Catholic faith also guides me on issues of social justice. It is ingrained within me that I will be judged on the guideline,"whatsoever you do for the least of my brothers, so you do unto me". Our health care system and our educational system is definitely parceled out according to a caste system. If you don't believe this to be true then you need to get out of your gated communities and to see what life is like for those Americans in cities like East St. Louis and the Bronx. It is so easy to stand in judgment and say pull yourself up by your bootstraps. "Give us this day our daily bread".
I also firmly believe in the separation of Church and State. Jesus was quite clear on this when he told those who would try to trip him up, "Give to Rome, the things that are Rome's, and to God the things that are God's". I was also raised to be respectful of everyone regardless of race, gender, or creed. Freedom of religion is one of our basic rights. We do not have a "state" religion. That means it is okay to be Catholic, Baptist, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and, yes, it is okay to be atheist without fear of persecution. As a parochial school student I learned how much harm has been done to humanity by so called people of God. I was also taught to be wary of false prophets - those who think that they are doing the will of God because of divine inspiration. In other words, my Catholic upbringing taught me to use my free will and intellect to discern between life-giving authority and life-threatening authority. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name".
This election year Americans need to prove that they have the gift of discernment between what is life-giving and life-threatening authority. I am so afraid that we have become a society of the "easy persuasion" - so stupefied by endless media blah, blah, blah that we no longer think for ourselves. When did we give up on our own intellects to make decisions based on facts rather than on political spins so far from truth and reality? Have we become this dumb? The speech writers for both political parties think we have. But, I for one really have had ENOUGH. I am not going to vote for someone based upon "American Idol" spin and hype. I am going to vote for someone who will restore the principles that once made the United States a beacon of hope, not only to its own citizens, but also to the people of the world. That means moving away from those who will lull us into a very false and dangerous sense of patriotism. What has occurred over the past eight years is an abomination of all three branches of our government. And the fault of what has occurred lies with not just both political parties, but also with the American people for going along with things liked the duped zombies we have become. There is a system of checks and balances built into our government that seems to remain inoperable at this time. We need more than just change, we need radical reform! We need to stop acting like the religious zealots that we are supposedly fighting in our war on terrorism. If you think about how we have conducted ourselves as a nation since 9/11, we look as scary to the rest of the world as any terrorist would look. If you think this is a horrible thing to say then you are not reading the facts about what our government has been doing for the past 8 years in the name of patriotism. Did you ever wonder how and why the people of Germany were moved to do what they did? Was it in the name of patriotism? Were they not paying attention to the facts? Pay attention now. Do not let history repeat itself. To disagree, to debate, to even be embarrassed by what the United States government has recently done, does not mean you don't love your country. A true patriot sees the country for what it is and corrects what needs to be corrected to move it toward a more perfect Union. To do anything less is being a traitor. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven".
No comments:
Post a Comment