Monthly Archives: February 2005

Elevating the dialogue on abortion

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How can we elevate the discussion on abortion – that is, how can we face policies and politics in a manner that overcomes the traditional divide between liberal and conservative – in a way that benefits both sides? I think that we need to refuse to fall in with the rhetoric and propaganda of either side (and admit that both sides employ rhetoric and propaganda).

Slogans, rhetoric and name-calling will not get us there, nor will demonizing those with different opinions. If we truly give an honest look at the debate, we will find that neither side is anti-choice or anti-life.

In her letter to the editor (11 Feb 2005), responding to an earlier article, Beverly Marcus makes the assertion that “pro-choice activists have worked diligently over the last 30 years to ensure that abortions remain safe, legal and rare in the United States.” This is not a fair assessment. As seen in the slogan of Refuse and Resist, “Abortion on demand and without apology,” some of the extremists on the pro-choice side have been advocating abortion’s legality at the expense of all else.

Abortion providers are one of the least-regulated medical facilities in the U.S. The laws in place for inspection and regulation are not even enforced in many cases because of the politically charged nature of the issue.

Kudos to those in the pro-choice camp who have been taking steps to bridge this divide between us that is largely polemical. Thank you to Nancy Keenan of NARAL, John Kerry and Hillary Rodham Clinton for beginning to reach out to the pro-life side. I pray that all Americans will begin to work together to create a safe, nurturing environment for all children, a culture in which abortion, this “failure of our system” (Hillary Rodham Clinton) is no longer seen as a necessity.

the trees

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I watched Dreams tonight with friends, but the discussion afterward with was lacking and I wasn’t able to get into it, therefore I have not processed it enough yet. It is a series of short pieces, based on the director’s dreams, that speak both of death and of the unnatural destruction of the environment. I think that the two are interrelated, and it certainly seems as if Kurosawa was trying to say that.

One topic that we tried to breach in our discussion was how to live in harmony with nature in an urban setting. A lot of people, myself included, are environmentalists in theory, but it is obviously not practical to advocate everyone living in a rural setting, not consuming electricity or fossil fuels at all, &c. What is an appropriate way to live with a knowledge of and appreciation for our dependence and interdependence with nature?

Tolkien, Lewis, and many others all seem to write about industrialization as corrupting humanity, polluting the earth and severing the bond humans have with plants and animals. But some “advancements” are actually advancements, or at least can be potentially: the computer on which I type, telephones that keep me in community/communication with those who are physically far away, arts and entertainment. I think that there is great potential for the quality of life to be better in embracing the industrial/technological advancements than in shunning it (i.e. the Amish).

I don’t know. It’s something that goes back and forth in my brain with no real resolution. I think that we will be healthy as long as we have that awareness that we are for nature, not that she is for us.

On the same vein, I would highly recommend Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael. It is kind of written from a standpoint of environmentalism that borders on wacky, but it is one of the books that helped me separate reality from my perception of it. It is a story of an ape that teaches a man about human culture, in order to “save the world.” The part that stands out the most to me was in identifying the mythology of modern culture – that which is assumed and believed even without the acknowledgment that it is myth.

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

(Macbeth, Act V, Scene V)