“Hey, I’m pro-life” the guy screams over at me. I reply, “no buddy, your pro question mark”.
They always look at me funny when I say that. It’s the evangelical stamp of approval it seems, to place these question mark positions above the real life positions of real life people. I think it’s the way brainwashing works, you know…to ferret out unreasonable concepts and then get people to believe in ‘em with such ferocity, that you can get them to do just about anything. Cause once they fall for the bait, it’s too big of a drop back to reality for them to swallow. I suppose it’s like a long term heroin high….they just don’t want to stop shootin’ the juice cause ouch, that detox hurts.
But, I’m being a bit of a bomb thrower, aren’t I? Comparing the “pro-question mark” folks to drug abusers. I really don’t know, and I guess if they are addicted it’s not their fault.
Let’s carry it on though, ‘cause I’m havin’ fun. Let’s say that the addicts are the Evangelicals driftin’ by on the high of a dead issue like abortion (excuse the pun). No matter how reasonable it is to believe that we should respect another person’s notion of when life begins, they just keep shootin’ the juice that tells em the embryo is a full fledged human being. I mean, if the great philosophers of the world can’t answer that question, that gal Julie down the street sure as hell can’t.
What’s the juice doin’ to em anyway? Well, let’s see. They stand around and chant in circles, praying to a god that didn’t have anything at all to say about abortion in the Bible (or even infanticide for that matter). Sounds a little like Woodstock to me. They go downtown carrying big, crazy signs with really offensive pictures of nasty things and accost ordinary people on their way to work like heroin addict panhandlers. And sometimes, well they get violent – as when they head down to the abortion clinics and burn them or even shoot the abortion doctors. See, maybe it’s not too big of a stretch after all.
So, but who would be sellin’ them this nasty stuff and what do they have to gain? Gotta be something in it for the pushers, right? This one’s easy, I think. The pushers are the Republican Party who doesn’t really give a crap about abortion, but is mostly interested in power. Time and time again, the Republican Party trots out insignificant cases like Terri Schiavo to enflame their Conservative Base…and over and over again, they never really get anything done. Why? Because the Republican Party would self-destruct if abortion became illegal. The vast majority of Americans support Choice in at least some cases. So, the Republicans pander. They feed the addiction, but just enough to keep em coming back for more and keep their own pockets full of money and power. I mean, the morning after pill just got legalized – in a Republican Administration. Wake up Operation Rescue, The Reps don’t care about you…they care about themselves.
So, if you’re a “pro-question mark” type of gal or guy, that’s great – just don’t be a pusher. If you’re a Jesus Loving Christian, that’s great too. Or, if you’re a Mecca bowing Islamist, that’s also wonderful. Welcome to America…where you can believe and live like you want to believe and live….as long as it doesn’t interfere with the rights or privileges of others.
The Question Marks in life are ultimately how you are going to be judged. Faith is a beautiful thing. But, it’s ugly when you force it on someone else. Making choices for someone is unethical – even if you think it’s “moral”. If there was ever a verse in the Bible that Evangelicals need to read it is these:
Matthew 22:35-40: Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Morality is about your relationship with your God – not someone else’s. This is your spirituality….nobody can take it away from you and nobody can add to it without your consent - no matter what the law says. You and your God can wrestle with the answers all the day long…and inevitably, different people are going to have different answers. This is the basis for personal and spiritual development – and it’s critical for everybody.
But, it’s not okay to answer the question marks for other people – because that’s not how you want to be treated either. It’s not okay to demand subservience to your supreme wisdom, cause they might be just as smart as you. It’s not okay to walk around like an arrogant prick because that just creates wars with other arrogant pricks and the nice folk have to keep paying the price.
It’s simple folks, nobody knows the answers to the great question marks in life. None of us. It takes a grown man, free of the addictions of certainty to understand that. Break free, and let the truth unfold to everybody – at their own pace.
Mark Erwin, 9/5/2006
No comments:
Post a Comment