Michael made an excellent point
Also, I find it quite fascinating that 'w' feels that we know how best to spend our own money ... but not nessasarily how to live our own life. He feels you shouldn't be able to choose who you want to marry if they happen to be the same sex as us... Oct. 24 post
in his most recent post, and one that I would like to reiterate in response to some of the feedback I have received from my recent assertion that what divides liberals from conservatives is a tendency for the latter to view most political issues on a how-does-this-affect-me-individually basis, and that basis only.
If indeed Bush wants to continue stressing the importance of putting decisions, financial or otherwise, back in the hands of the individual American, why do conservatives continue to allow him the freedom to take away decision-making
capacities in other areas? I understand that the bible doesn't necessarily indicate Jesus' feelings on taxation (as far as I know), so can I draw a conclusion that matters of morality as defined by the historically Christian Bush-voting Republicans of today's America are the only areas in which we want to give our president the right to not only TELL us what is right and wrong but actually attach legality to such issues?
Alex, a reader and father, responded to my previous post with a comment that as a conservative, he doesn't worry that his daughter will have an abortion (he assumes she wouldn't), but that she would have an abortion without first consulting him and his wife. I must stress that legalizing abortion does not translate into a Get Out of Jail Free card for every woman who becomes pregnant accidentally. Proper education, access to resources and FIRST AND FOREMOST parents who take responsibility for their sexually active sons and daughters are the elements that must be in existence for abortion to cease to be used as a form of birth control.
I'm sorry, Alex, if you feel that your relationship with either of your daughters is not open enough so that they would come to you and your wife before Planned Parenthood, but do not be so quick to pass that responsibility off to President Bush to take care of by restricting access to abortions or related services.
There are plenty of people who you may never know who need abortions for a variety of reasons you may never understand. And for them, organizations such as Planned Parenthood are the only places where women and men living below this country's poverty line can get the care they need. So while you do not want to even consider the option that your daughters would ever abort a child, please do not confuse your own moral judgements regarding the upbringing of your daughters with a Constitutionally-given right that exists to protect every woman's -- not just your daughters' -- right to choose.
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