Hey-o, welcome back, it's that time of year again when I pretend to be optimistic about the country I live in. Or, more specifically, when I pretend to be optimistic about the future of the country I live in. Where we talk about the meaning of patriotism and repeat phrases like "liberty and justice for all" like a rallying cry.
I'm not feeling terribly optimistic at the moment, however. At least, not about the future of my country. The past few weeks have seen what was supposed to be the least political body of the government act along partisan lines to establish an entirely political agenda. And for those of you about to harumph my "political agenda" right now I want to make it clear that the issue here is that any time the liberty of anyone is restricted I get pretty upset. You know... because liberty... and justice... ugh.
So yeah, I guess I'm upset about my "political agenda" being attacked, but considering that my "agenda" is "let everyone be free" then your reaction makes me wonder quite seriously what the honest-to-God steaming hellfire your agenda is? "Nobody who isn't me has rights"? "Dicks out for dudes"? Genuinely, I'm asking. The Republican agenda is "control everything", that much is clear. So is that what you're happy about? Other people controlling you?
I've never been particularly good at separating my political ideals from my religion. I've never really tried, honestly. Which means that any political idea has to pass this simple, basic test of the doctrine I believe in order to gain my support. That test is as follows; does this restrict the God-given right of someone to choose for themself? If the answer is yes, then I'm morally opposed to whatever that political agenda is.
And that includes forcing my own religion on other people. That removes their God-given right to choose and is therefore morally reprehensible. Will I try to convince you of the validity of my beliefs? If you're interested, absolutely yes. But will I try and force you to believe them? Never.
And yes, I'm defining disapproval of abortion as a religious belief. It's not murder; believing that a fetus is alive in utero is, well, a belief. Unlike a person you can interact with you can't prove their, for lack of a better word, sentience. You can't prove their capacity for growth. You (and I, for that matter) can believe in that potential, but drafting laws based on your belief in that potential is nothing short of forcing other people to live by your beliefs even if they don't share them.
So yeah. Morally reprehensible to force someone to act based on your religious beliefs. Also morally reprehensible to remove someone's right to choose, especially when their choice won't restrict anyone else's liberty in the process. This year's 4th celebration is marked, then, by a Republican supreme court's attack on "liberty and justice for all" combined with the blatant moral decay inherent in all these quote-unquote "Christians" trying to quash the freedom of religious expression.
Happy Independence Day, I guess. I try to be optimistic about our ability, as a nation, to move toward that "liberty and justice for all" ideal, I really do. But this year... y'all are making it kinda hard.
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