Hi,
First let me say that this is the first time that I can ever recall that a comment I made on a blog ever was considered for the topic of its own post. Thank you for taking my thoughts and words into consideration, and taking the time to explain your own position. Please accept my words as a rebuttal, since I feel I am better able to formulate my ideas in this manner.
1. Logic
One of the first things you stated is that the law is not sound logic and should not be part of this discussion.
First, lets define logic and law. I am referencing Wikipedia to formulate this arguement:
Logic concerns the structure of statements and arguments, in formal systems of inference and natural language.
Law[2] is a system of rules, enforced through a set of institutions,[3] used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience, politics, economics and society. Law serves as the foremost social mediator in relations between people.
I think we can both agree that for law to be useful it should be structured in a way that is clear and understandable. For this to exist some system of logic must be used, therefore if law is to be effective, it must be based on sound logic.
2. Governmental Procedures
In terms of process and procedure in government, I agree that the basic system of checks and balances is useful and should be kept that way, but if you take a look at the past 50 years or so, you will see that courts have been very influential and have basically given “rights” and defined law, that was not voted on by the people, or passed by those whom the people have chosen as its representative.
In terms of abortion, in one decision, the Supreme Court overturned laws in 46 states. Abortion went from a decision that was left up to each state and its citizens, to something that was deemed a right by 9 people. Where is the voice of the people heard in that?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_v._Wade
3. Health Care
You stated that “we are always left to pick the lesser evil”. Am I correct in assuming that by voting for Obama, you have voted for the lesser evil?
If this assumption is correct, and you have just proposed the argument that we should look at McCain voting against CHIP, am I correct to assume that you believe voting against CHIP is a greater evil than the support of unfettered abortion. Also, did you know that Obama voted NO on defining the unborn child as eligible for SCHIP in March of 2008. http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Barack_Obama.htm
I understand that you have proposed that McCain supports stem cell research and a myriad of other issues, but again we are looking at the lesser evil.
As a nation we are killing off our future. More than 50,000,000 people did not get a chance to live.
No one, has the right to take that away from someone else. Not a politician, a doctor, a mother. No one.
I think in our country people have become consumed with “my rights”. If we return to the roots of the nation we see that the founding fathers wrote:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Notice the specific order. It is significant because neither the right to liberty or the pursuit of happiness can exist without the right to life.
This is the sole reason I voted for McCain. I will admit that he was not my first. He probably wasn’t even my 4th or 5th. My first choice was Ron Paul. My second was Mike Huckabee, but I voted the way I did primarily because Barrack Obama was and is possibly the most committed pro choice person to ever run for President.
You can call me any of a hundred different names or sterotypes, but if a person is committed to, or indifferent to the slaughter of the most innocent form of human life, I can not in good conscience vote for them.
As a caveat, I did find Obama to be charming, and very interesting on a whole host of issues, and I find the claims of him to be appalling, although I do also find Louis Farrakhan’s comparison to Obama as the messiah to be even more appalling.
4. Party Politics
I agree with you a lot in terms of this. I would vote for a Pro life Democrat over a Pro Choice Republican any day of the week.
There was a local congressional seat open (not in my district) that was between a pro life democrat and a pro life republican.
5. Brother Knight
I myself am a Knight of Columbus and I would be glad to greet you as a Brother Knight. I am glad that we can discuss these issues in love and the light of Christ who unites us in his mystical body.
6. Birth Control
I deeply disagree with your logic in proposing birth control to people. Life is ruined in sin much more than the temporal suffering of supporting an unwanted child.
I don’t want to get too deep into this issue, because I feel it is better to focus one thing at a time.
7. Slavery
Again this is another topic I would like to avoid, because it is straying from the origins of our original discussions.
8. GOP
9. Liberal and Conservative
I agree that the words liberal and conservative are bandied about way too much. I also agree with your point that people need to focus on individual issues.
I would like to amend my statement on the appointing of “conservative” judges. This was meant to represent the point that over the past 50 - 60 years, the Supreme Court as a whole has taken to the idea of the Constitution as a living and breathing document, and given the 9 people who sit on the court an unbelievable amount of power.
Here in Louisiana in 2006 the state voted by a margin of nearly 80 - 20 to ammend the state constitution to protect traditional marriage.
It was overturned by 1 judge who deemed the law “unconstitutional”.
I cannot stress enough, how much this violates the basic premise of democracy.
In closing, if any of my argument is incomplete, please forgive, but I tried to write this as you talked, and I am pretty tired, but felt compelled to go into deeper dialogue with you.
God Bless,
Travis
