What I'm not saying

I keep throwing up these short little fluffy posts that aren't really what I'm thinking about.

What I'm thinking about is how I am following the projected electoral map like it's my job, and how Facebook is killing me lately.

I am trying to sum up what I want to say about the current state of pro-life activism, but instead I just deleted the whole messy paragraph because it is not a topic that brings out the best in anybody. Which is a shame, is it not?

I have been tweaking and tweaking and tweaking a post that I am not sure I want to publish. "You should publish that post, Mom," said my 16yo, who asked if he could read the draft. I don't know about that.

Comments

[Ariella]

If I was going to read a post about pro-life activism, you are the ONLY person I would want writing it. You are thoughtful and intelligent, and I am sure you would fully consider all sides of the issue before posting.

I did read this recently:

http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/pro-life-voting-for-hillary-clinton

It is well-written and makes some salient points. It was nice to see that there are people who are not totally one dimensional on this topic.

For years, I have found it confounding that Christians overwhelmingly vote for Republicans. Yes, Republicans are supposedly pro-life (I think many of them are pro-life for vote-getting and not for much else, but that's another issue). Republicans are also anti-health care, anti-health education, anti-birth control, anti-living wage, anti-union, climate change deniers, pro-death penalty, and pro-war. So, to me, many Christians vote on the basis of potential children, while simultaneously ignoring the fact that the very politicians for whom they vote are supporting policies that negatively impact the lives of living human beings.

It seems utterly hypocritical to be vociferously anti-abortion/pro-life and to still think it is okay for millions of Americans to not have preventative healthcare, etc. Of course, I am not saying anything that many others have said but it is something that I really have never been able to understand or reconcile.

I think you know I'm very pro-choice. It would be a lot easier for me to accept pro-life stances if Republican politicians didn't tirelessly work to systematically prevent people from receiving sex education, which would lower pregnancy rates even more (see, e.g., http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/08/26/491240645/a-new-course-at-arkansas-colleges-how-to-not-get-pregnant). Anyway - I am rambling, but I would personally welcome a post from you on this topic. I understand why you mightn't want to publish it, though!

[el-e-e]

I second everything that Ariella said. I'm following the election to the point of weariness, as well. As I think we all probably are. My comforting thought, that I'm sure all of us are having, is that American politics isn't the end-all, nor does the person we elect control our ultimate destinies. Some like-minded thought leaders have been posting similar thoughts lately, like a collective sigh of "Thank GOD" and "Oh, YEAH."

[Jennifer]

I'd love to read what you've written. I think America has been divided down pro-life/pro-choice lines for too long when in reality there is a lot of work we could do together in the middle.