[quote]Varqanir wrote:
Sloth wrote:
Nope. Not for controlling women. Not for demographics. And, not because of my Religion. Guys, guys, it would serve you better to accept my explanation. I simply object to murdering an innocent human life, and will not leave it as an option. So don’t waste any more of your time trying to ascribe to me motivations I don’t have.
I’m not trying to ascribe any motives to you, Sloth. I’m just trying to understand your motives.
Just like I try to understand the motives of any person who is passionately against something that doesn’t directly or adversely affect them.
Perhaps it can be argued that someone who is a passionate advocate of gun control is afraid of weapons, or is afraid of being a victim of a shooting. That their fears may be pathological at worst (fear of weapons is an indication of of retarded sexual and emotional maturity, according to Freud) and irrational at best (legal owners of weapons are extremely unlikely to use them illegally) is beside the point.
But what about homosexuality? I can think of no other issue whose opponents froth at the mouth quite so heavily in their opposition of the practice, except maybe incest. And yet these opponents are at practically zero risk of being victimized by either practice (assuming we are not talking about homosexual or incestuous rape, which is another matter).
Similarly, an anti-abortionist is certainly at no risk of being the victim of an abortion, nor is any of their family, if they don’t elect to the procedure.
So, at the risk of sounding like a cold-hearted bastard, why should you or I care if a complete stranger on the other side of the country decides to end her pregnancy? To quote Thomas Jefferson, it neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.
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Sorry, I hope I didn’t come off agitated, Varq. Just trying to save those questioning the motives of Pro-lifers some time. Of course, I can only answer for myself, so keep that in mind. But, once I do speak for myself, it would be helpful for people to recognize my motives, and not one’s they’d wish to attribute to me. Otherwise, we’ll all keep going in cirles in this conversation, as I’m forced to deal with each and every new motive placed at my feet.
Furthermore, I don’t know if I can explain why you should care about a human life you’ve never met. I’m not a big thinker, and this seems a little too philosophical for my level of miseducation. However, consider the folks you do know. Maybe friends, family, and even co-workers. Having met them, and knowing of them, do their lives have their own worth? Do they have their own value? If life had turned out different, and you had never met these folks, would their lives be of no worth? Simply because you had never experienced these folks with any of your senses?
Outside of the above, I’m not sure how else to approach such a question. Personally, I’ve experienced what it is to have one foot in the grave and to know, just know, when the darkness at the corners engulfs your vision, you’re not waking up ever again. But, a week and half later I did wake up. And slowly, but surely, as my head clears from comma inducing drugs, the ravages of blood loss and pneumonia, I realize I’ve escaped with the most important right in this world. Life.
You see, hypertension of the hepatic portal vein caused me to experience massive hemorraghing, via esophageal varicies. It took two shunts in a 12 hr. emergency surgey to save my life. Please, forgive any misspellings of medical terms, I was only 16 when this happened. Anyways, on top of all that, I had some issues develop from the event, such as nerve damage to my left left, and a nasty bout of pneumonia.
All in all, it took me 2 months and a handful of days before I left the hospital. Lots of pain, and walking with a walker, made for a long, painful, and often frustrating recovery. But, you know what? I was alive. I could sit outside, breathe the air, feel the warmth on my skin, and know that “Hey, at least I’m alive.” So, yeah maybe it has something to do with it. And maybe that’s why I refuse to feel guilty about my position.
Now, I notice this ended up far too personal, and far too long. Yet, I’ll hit the durned submit key, and maybe you’ll have a better understanding of how I view all this.