I rarely post political stuff, but I’m going to briefly now, because it’s just too important to be quiet. Following are some of my internal strivings about the upcoming Presidental election:
1) Those of you who know me at all know that I have a high view of womanhood, and I have worked for years in my “pet” area of women’s rights.
2) I also have a high view of human life. Biologically, human life begins at conception (see http://www.abort73.com/abortion/medical_testimony/ for a myriad of quotes from abortion activists agreeing with this as an objective reality).
3) I am a strong believer in the Constitution our founding fathers established for our country, and I am distressed by how far we have travelled from its intent in many areas. I long to see huge change in our country moving toward Constitutional principles.
4) One area that particularly distresses me is the two-party system, especially the decline and corruption of the Republican party. I am disgusted by some of the shenanigans pulled this year by party leaders, and the thought of voting Republican on Tuesday makes me more than a little nauseous.
5) I am sick of going to the ballot box and voting for the cliche’ “lesser evil.” That’s not a comment about individuals as much as it is about a party system that is sick and broken. And so this year, I was ready to finally do it… vote my beliefs without regard to whether I would cast a “winning” vote. So I picked up my research once more.
6) I agree with many planks in the Libertarian platform, though I agree more thoroughly with the Constitution party, for which I don’t have the option of voting this election. In lieu of being able to vote for a Constitutional party candidate, how I would love to vote Libertarian this year, to be part of a 5% vote that would force some changes in the two-party system (or display how corrupt it is when they again change the rules mid-stream).
7) But, ah, for the deal-breaker of a rub. See number 2. The official Libertarian platform says that abortion should not be regulated by the government, and yet, if one accepts the biological beginning of human life at conception, to not criminalize the taking of a human life by the force of abortion directly violates stated Libertarian principles (See Section 1 of the Libertarian platform). Libertarian Presidential candidate Gary Johnson’s website states that “Life is precious and must be protected. A woman should be allowed to make her own decisions during pregnancy until the point of viability of a fetus.” Again, if one accepts that human life begins at conception, as so many biologists and abortion advocates do (see above link for a refresher or if you are doubting), this is saying that the taking of a human life is fine until said human reaches the nebulous point of “viability.”
8) The other platforms planks with which I disagree could be set aside for the goal of shaking up our current system and creating some Constitutional change. But not this one. I just Can Not, with a clear conscience, cast a vote that does not stand for the sanctity of human life from conception. And honestly, it galls me. Not to stand for life, but to not have a better choice.
9) And so, with the Republican party having what is described as its strongest stand for life ever, and without a Constitutional party option, I go to the polls and will cast a vote for life in the Presidential race. And I research local polititians, knowing that to move toward a more Constitutional government, we must start at a local level. And I ponder what I’m called to do to help create better choices in the future.
10) If you are one of my beloved friends who are to the left of me politically and you have gotten this far in my tome, thank you. I must reiterate that since I embrace life as beginning at conception, I do not have the option of looking at abortion as a women’s rights issue. Just as a woman who shoots her partner in intentional, deliberate fashion is guilty of murder, even with a history of abuse, to kill an unborn person, despite extenuating circumstances or inconvenience, is still murder. Compassion, understanding, forgiveness… these should be extended to a woman in such traumatic situations. But they do not negate the facts of the case. If I believe that an conceived life is a human being, I must take a stand for that life. Would you ask any less of me?