And then stare at them for a very long time. We are currently witnessing the Sensibles and the Centrists creating false equivalencies between the left (construed in the most convenient way for said Sensibles and Centrists) and the right. Here’s a good (or ‘good) example from Megan McArdle:
These are not equivalent. At all. On the left, you have an argument over language, which, at most, is pedantic and sanctimonious (on linguistic grounds, the term is correct, as both girls and trans men can become pregnant*). On the right, you have the opinion that raped children should be forced to give birth, even if that could harm them physically or psychologically**–or even kill them.
These are not remotely equivalent things, especially since the right wing excess is backed by a significant fraction of the Republican Party, which has already successfully enacted anti-abortion laws.
If you take the ‘left wing list’ and ‘the right wing’ lists people propose in articles, it’s pretty clear which list is far worse (as opposed to merely annoying). If you don’t see, that, well, that’s pretty telling.
*No idea if it’s politically unsavvy to be fighting about this, but the term is correct.
**In Judaism, both of these are grounds to declare the fetus a rodef, a criminal pursuer intent on harming the womanchild. In this case, the ethical decision is the abortion.
mikethemadbiologist
Personally, I’d suggest obsessing, and stirring up outrage, about abortion is the object of the prominence of this “wedge issue” in civil discourse. It’s a non-difference-making item on a societal scale. It’s almost this bad: if country A forbade all abortions, and country B required all pregnancy be terminated by abortion, the abortion rates in both countries would probably be statistically insignificant.
A few years ago I read Holland had not only legal prostitution, but sex education, free access to contraceptives and abortions, while Ireland forbade just about any abortion. Guess who had the higher abortion rate? Hint: not Holland.
The real debate is about whether the abortions will be safe.
Jesus himself said “By their fruits shall ye know them” when asked to distinguish his true disciples from posers (Yes, Jesus, father of experimental science).
Looks like prohibition works about as well with abortion as it did with drugs. Those claiming to be “Christians” are simply the useful idiots kowtowing to their feudal masters. Jerry Falwell was all for abortion when he thought it would keep the population of coloreds down. When his feudal masters told him to change his mind, he did so.
Considering the thousands of times the Bible recommends compassion, forgiveness, and health to its followers, the fixation on abortion and gay rights by the evangelicals is, as Rev. Barber says, theological malpractice. It’s a two-fer for the feudal masters, too: they get a dependable block of outraged citizens to vote for their agenda, and they discredit actual, compassionate Christianity.
Pingback: In Case You Missed It… | Mike the Mad Biologist