Does anyone else find it really ironic that someone can take a stance against abortion on one hand, and send their sons off to war on the other hand?That's all I have to say about that.
P.S. Okay, that's not all I have to say about that. I tend to assume people can read my mind, and Nicole's comment reminds me that they can't! So I apologize for lack of explanation. Let me try again; be patient with me as I think aloud.
It seems to me that when you buy into the belief that life belongs to God, you can't have it both ways: you can't think for yourself and protect morality and ethics and trust the government or laws to do it for you.
Right now we have a government that doesn't protect the life of a child until shortly before birth. Neither do we have a government that is guaranteed to rightfully protect life after birth. In other words, abortion is allowable. And behaving aggressively in terms of taking the lives of people in other countries is also allowable, with the decision being that of the government, whoever that is.
So let's say you think that it's a moral issue that the life of a child prior to birth should be protected (as I do, for the most part; I won't get into specifics here on that issue). This is the question I was trying to ask: If you believe in individual moral responsibility regarding life at that point between conception and death, then how can you give up individual moral responsibility when it comes to your country going to war? That's what is very difficult for me to understand. Would you not also logically have to consider whether it was a "just war" in which you were participating, assuming you believe it is OK to kill in some circumstances? Would you not have to buy into an approach that would say, "I will fight in this war for my country, but not in that one"?
It just seems to me that our righteous indignations and the way we relate to the sanctity of life (I don't feel comfortable with that phrase, but it'll have to do for now) are rarely congruent or consistent. And that's where I find irony.
I have to admit that connection is pretty hurtful from my perspective. I see the two being completely different since by the time the son is old enough to go to war, it's not mom sending him anymore. It's his own choice.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, much to think about. I think it's most concerning how we pick and choose what to be "righteously indignant" about. How do we choose? Sometimes I wonder if we actually make these conscious decisions or just wake up swimming in a certain stream one day? My prayerful challenge of late is to take everything at face value, to avoid buying into a "body" of belief system in any life setting. (And now I'm rambling here!)
ReplyDeleteAnd thus we are the humans, and not gods. I definitely see your point. And I agree whole-heartedly. What an interesting thought.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the clarification because I was seeing your point very differently from how you intended it! It is ironic in a way that most people wouldn't even think about. I guess to me it seems different to take the life of someone who is out there trying to take yours as opposed to a baby who really has no choice in the matter. An interesting connection between the two ideas to think about, though.
ReplyDeleteThe ironies go on and on, I think. We seem to be adept at being able to justify what we want to justify.
ReplyDeleteWow, you hit a nerve.
ReplyDeleteI've been saying that forever.
I've been reading you forever too!
but never commented.
I found you sometime when we were living in Singapore and loved your stories of Asia.
Raised in a denomination of nonresistance. CO's,etc,
It amazes me that the very argument, against abortion, also so militaristic, pro war.
That doesn't fit with me at all.
Thanks for your writing today.
Mim
Welcome, Mim! Glad you commented. Come by and leave a comment any time. That's what keeps me writing!
ReplyDelete