I am having trouble deciding how to vote this election. The main reason is because of the Pro-life issues.
I am a pro-life supporter all the way. By this I mean all the way to Death Penalty, War, Stem Cell, Abortion, and Youth in Asia (I know, but it was kinda funny). Both McCain and Obama support and oppose different sides of this one issue. This is the simple part of my problem.
The hard part is which issues do I vote on. Certainly it would be a crime not to do all we can to help end abortions, with millions of babies being killed each year. Of course I want to support a candidate who opposes abortion. I then ask myself, "Have I even heard the word Abortion in the debates or campaigning?" I can' think of a time I had, so is it really a point that either candidate will fight for or against?
I look at War and both candidates want to leave Iraq, but go back to Afghanistan. I don't want to argue over who has a better plan to do what, but I think we can all agree they want to leave Iraq and go back to Afghanistan. Both of these plans mean a loss of live so for me it comes out as a warsh (because I am from SW Iowa) on this issue. That was an easy way to get rid of a big issue.
Both men have favored Stem Cell research in some way, so again this one comes out as a warsh. I also question if we should abandon this research all together. There are new technologies coming out that do not kill a life with the collection of samples. And I don't think providing a child a cure for their cancer is playing God.
One part of me understands that it is about the pro-life message, and that the next Pres will potentially nominate several Supreme Court Judges. The bench already has 5 Catholics on it, and R vs W has not changed. It is also about influence, but they both are ignoring the issue so why would I think they are going to start fighting for it after November?
With confusion on the pro-life issue I look to other issues. My biggest concern is Energy. Nuclear has a lot of bad sides, and renewable are expensive and not as efficient as we would like yet. I do however look at the bigger side of this and see the millions of people who have been killed, are dieing, and whose lives have been destroyed fighting for oil, and I wonder if Energy issues are not becoming pro-life issue in a way that is greater then just clean air and quality of life. Not to mention the potential loss of life due to global climate change across the world.
I think similar arguments could be made of the front of Health Care, Immigration, Entitlements, and other major issues.
When looking to the church for guidance on voting, the only issue I see is abortion. I questions weather the church has a more narrow definition of pro-life then some of the candidates. This question causes me great pain.
Keep up the fight
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
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2 comments:
I agree Punum! I think that is a very succinct and clear overview of how things seem to be panning out this election season. You should check out Rod Dreher's blog - at http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/ - he's a conservative catholic who's "crunchy" and makes a lot of sense to me most of the time... Hope all is well!
I, too, recommend Rob Dreher. I read his book "Crunchy Cons" last spring and found it to be both Catholic and catholic (though unfortuately he's since left the Church). I think you'd appreciate most of his arguments.
Now, I'm sure you've been thinking, "What does ol' Harold think of this election?" so I will share with you my thoughts.
I will not cooperate with evil, and unfortunately, both major parties' presidential candidates support the intrinsic evils of abortion or embryonic stem cell research. These two related issues are foundational to all other issues. We cannot truly or justly fight for health care when we tell women they can go against their biological and emotional nature and destroy the child in their wombs; we cannot truly and justly fight for civil rights when we create new life in petri dishes in order to use it in an attempt to cure diseases.
The Culture of Death is a culture of fear, and both Democrats and Republicans are firmly held by its tight grip. They will attempt to say that a vote for one candidate is really a vote for another; that there are only two practical choices for president; that the Supreme Court is so close to turning over Roe; that there are other, more important and urgent issues to focus on first. All these statements are ultimately rooted in fear.
We just passed the 30th anniversary of that October day when John Paul the Great stepped onto a balcony in Rome and cried out to the world, "Be not afraid!" He was echoing the words of the Christ, the Lord of Life, the One who broke the chains of Death. It is the clarion call for all people of good will to fight for real justice and true peace in and through His Name.
So here's what I'm going to do:
-Vote for a third-party presidential candidate who does not support intrinsic evil.
-Focus my attention and research on my state and local candidates and ballot issues, where real change happens.
-Continue to be vigilant after the election season.
-Save money to go to DC for this January's March for Life. We're really going to have start fighting.
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