Friday, March 10, 2017
Monday, March 6, 2017
A Look into the Conservative Mindset
It was the summer of 2010 and my husband and I were excited to buy our first home. We currently were living in a 400 square foot apartment and it felt more like a storage unit than a home. Our budget for finding a home was around $100,000, and like most homeowners, we were hoping to find a home with specific traits. Frankly though with a budget so low, I was not sure how attainable our “must haves” would be. We wanted a large garage, a descent sized yard, and a good neighborhood. We didn’t want to live on a busy street. I wanted the ability to have a space in our home for a day care and we didn’t want our home to have structural problems that would lead to a lot of headaches.
As my husband was working closely with our realtor, and I amazingly had some time off from work, we ventured into Bountiful, Utah to look at a few homes on the market in our price range. One of the homes on our list looked excessively nice for the listed price, but we thought, what the heck, let’s go see it. We arrived about 20 minutes before our realtor was set to arrive, so we decided to investigate the home and the surrounding neighborhood. To our horror, some of the homes in the neighborhood seemed to have serious problems. One particular home looked like the extreme home version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We found a sign that explained what was happening in that particular community. The community was suffering from a landslide that had developed much quicker than had been expected. Despite the news, we decided to check out the house since we were there. When we stepped inside the home, we found that the house was indeed being affected. The foundation was not solid, but shifting. The garage had a huge crack in the cement floor and many of the doors were very difficult to open and close. We were devastated. Devastated that we would not get a dream home for the price we wanted, but more than that, we were devastated for the community that was losing their homes to causes beyond their control. Though many of the homes looked completely fine on the outside, slowly, one by one, the stable walls, the leak proof roofs, and the newly painted homes would all succumb to an unstable foundation. The homes would be considered worthless and everything built on the foundation would be lost.
This got me to thinking. I, like all of us, have certain ideals, dreams, passions, and pursuits that are important to me. Many of the things we care about stem from our life’s experiences. Perhaps you feel very passionate about ending abuse, helping the poor, protecting the environment, recycling, protecting the life of an unborn child, finding a cure for cancer, and the list could go on and on. For each of us to go after the dreams we have, we may forget that there is a very important element that allows this step to be made. What is this element? The element that broke the well-built walls and roofs of the homes in Bountiful was the foundation upon which they which they were built. Nothing that was built mattered when the foundation upon which it was built was unstable and cracking. It didn’t matter how well it had been built, it didn’t matter how great the house looked or even how unfair it was to the homeowners who were losing their homes. Without a strong foundation, their work was meaningless and crumbled. We, like these homes must realize this. We may have many things that we are passionate about, but all of these dreams we have mean nothing if the foundation that provides the opportunity is crumbling. If we want to protect our dreams and our ability to pursue them, we must realize that there is something much greater that we must protect before we can protect our dreams. What is this element? What is this foundation that allows us to build the life we dream of building? It is freedom. For citizens of the United States of America, our freedom is protected by our Constitution. If you want to understand what conservatives believe and why we do what we do, freedom and the protection of the Constitution is at the heart of it. When conservatives oppose a cause led by a government organization it has nothing to do with agreeing or disagreeing with the importance of the cause, it revolves around the concern conservatives have with giving government more power over the citizens of our nation through increased taxation, regulation, and government oversight. We typically believe that if the cause falls outside of the government's role outlined in the Constitution, then finding a solution needs to be left up to the public. We as citizens need to be the solution. Sure, it requires greater personal responsibility, but for conservatives, the temporary benefits gained through government programs does not outweigh the loss of freedom that occurs because of these programs. Just like the house in Bountiful, when the foundation of freedom no longer exists or is seriously compromised, the house you were able to build, the life, the opportunity, the dreams, the future, can end up being taken as well.
A government powerful enough to give you anything is powerful enough to take it all away and if we look at history, the nations whose power is held by the few typically do not fare well in the treatment of its citizens. Is there room for exceptions? Possibly, but in general we must be very careful about what power we grant to government because once given, it can be incredibly difficult to get back and sets a pattern that can easily get out of control.
As my husband was working closely with our realtor, and I amazingly had some time off from work, we ventured into Bountiful, Utah to look at a few homes on the market in our price range. One of the homes on our list looked excessively nice for the listed price, but we thought, what the heck, let’s go see it. We arrived about 20 minutes before our realtor was set to arrive, so we decided to investigate the home and the surrounding neighborhood. To our horror, some of the homes in the neighborhood seemed to have serious problems. One particular home looked like the extreme home version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We found a sign that explained what was happening in that particular community. The community was suffering from a landslide that had developed much quicker than had been expected. Despite the news, we decided to check out the house since we were there. When we stepped inside the home, we found that the house was indeed being affected. The foundation was not solid, but shifting. The garage had a huge crack in the cement floor and many of the doors were very difficult to open and close. We were devastated. Devastated that we would not get a dream home for the price we wanted, but more than that, we were devastated for the community that was losing their homes to causes beyond their control. Though many of the homes looked completely fine on the outside, slowly, one by one, the stable walls, the leak proof roofs, and the newly painted homes would all succumb to an unstable foundation. The homes would be considered worthless and everything built on the foundation would be lost.
This got me to thinking. I, like all of us, have certain ideals, dreams, passions, and pursuits that are important to me. Many of the things we care about stem from our life’s experiences. Perhaps you feel very passionate about ending abuse, helping the poor, protecting the environment, recycling, protecting the life of an unborn child, finding a cure for cancer, and the list could go on and on. For each of us to go after the dreams we have, we may forget that there is a very important element that allows this step to be made. What is this element? The element that broke the well-built walls and roofs of the homes in Bountiful was the foundation upon which they which they were built. Nothing that was built mattered when the foundation upon which it was built was unstable and cracking. It didn’t matter how well it had been built, it didn’t matter how great the house looked or even how unfair it was to the homeowners who were losing their homes. Without a strong foundation, their work was meaningless and crumbled. We, like these homes must realize this. We may have many things that we are passionate about, but all of these dreams we have mean nothing if the foundation that provides the opportunity is crumbling. If we want to protect our dreams and our ability to pursue them, we must realize that there is something much greater that we must protect before we can protect our dreams. What is this element? What is this foundation that allows us to build the life we dream of building? It is freedom. For citizens of the United States of America, our freedom is protected by our Constitution. If you want to understand what conservatives believe and why we do what we do, freedom and the protection of the Constitution is at the heart of it. When conservatives oppose a cause led by a government organization it has nothing to do with agreeing or disagreeing with the importance of the cause, it revolves around the concern conservatives have with giving government more power over the citizens of our nation through increased taxation, regulation, and government oversight. We typically believe that if the cause falls outside of the government's role outlined in the Constitution, then finding a solution needs to be left up to the public. We as citizens need to be the solution. Sure, it requires greater personal responsibility, but for conservatives, the temporary benefits gained through government programs does not outweigh the loss of freedom that occurs because of these programs. Just like the house in Bountiful, when the foundation of freedom no longer exists or is seriously compromised, the house you were able to build, the life, the opportunity, the dreams, the future, can end up being taken as well.
A government powerful enough to give you anything is powerful enough to take it all away and if we look at history, the nations whose power is held by the few typically do not fare well in the treatment of its citizens. Is there room for exceptions? Possibly, but in general we must be very careful about what power we grant to government because once given, it can be incredibly difficult to get back and sets a pattern that can easily get out of control.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Questions for the Pro-Choice Crowd
I recently had a friend who sent me into shock when she announced she was pro-choice and that her pro-choice views were strengthened after going through her own pregnancy. I still adore her has a friend, but I honestly do not understand this viewpoint. In the rare case where the mother’s life is at risk, perhaps I can see a reason. In cases of incest and rape, that is a discussion for another time.
For those who are “pro-choice”, I have questions and concerns that perhaps you can shed some light on.
One common phrase I often hear from the pro-choice crowd is that: “It is my body.” Yes, it is your body, but the baby inside you is not your body. Why is the right to end the life of your baby yours? Why is your baby’s life of no value inside the womb? We were all once at this same stage of life, and no one can get to the point they are at now without going through the stage inside the womb. Why is that stage less valuable than the stage of life a woman is when she is pregnant? What grants our society the right to say one stage trumps another? Why does the mother’s choice trump the rights of her child inside the womb and the choices that child will make for years outside of the womb? Why are the mother’s rights more valuable at the time of her pregnancy than at the time she was inside her mother’s womb?
I have heard from the pro-choice crowd that because a baby uses the mother’s body to remain alive, it is the mother’s choice to end that life. The claim and comparison is that once the child is outside the womb, a parent is not obligated to donate their organs if the life of the child were to require it, and therefore should not be required inside the womb as well. Before modern technology, the child could not survive without the mother’s nourishing milk. Therefore under this premise, the pro-choice crowd should be in favor of infanticide until the child is no longer in need of the mother’s nourishment to sustain life whether naturally or artificially through formula. Each stage of life has its own recipe to guarantee the health of the individual. Why does one stage of the recipe for life sustainment trump another?
The pro-choice crowd states that the emotional and physical challenges a woman experiences during pregnancy warrant the mother’s choice to end the life of the baby inside them. I ask that the pro-choice crowd consider the emotional challenges women face after an abortion. Also consider the physical pain sustained by your child as your child is being ripped apart inside of you. Have you ever watched an abortion? Have you ever seen the obvious screams from the child during a late stage abortion?
Why is the life of your child in the womb not a moral issue? Should we have morals and values that govern society?
Why do our needs trump the needs of others, especially the innocent? Should we not take personal responsibility to help those who cannot help themselves? Should we leave all those in society who are dependent on others to fend for themselves because it is an inconvenience to us? Under the premise that our needs trump the needs of others, especially our baby inside the womb, this should grant all of us the opportunity to take whatever we need whenever we need it no matter the damage that is done to others.
What is the purpose of sex? Should the effects of sex be given the same respect towards the consequences it can have on human life just as the misuse of a gun, or texting while driving, or drinking alcohol and driving? Why as a society have we shied away from respecting and teaching about the consequences of misusing the sexual act due to the effect it can have on human life? Does the pleasure afforded by the misuse of the sexual act trump the effect it has on human life?
Why does the lack of personal responsibility for our choices trump the life of a child inside the womb?
Why should the risks (if not life threatening to the mother) and the pain (emotionally and physically) brought on by pregnancy justify ending the life of the child in the womb? Why are both lives not equally important? Is life supposed to be fair and free of unexpected challenges? Is sacrifice and hardship not worth the beauty brought on by the life of a child? Don’t all choices come with consequences and why should we be free from the consequences of our choices no matter the difficulty?
Why do you call the child a fetus and not a child? Does the fetus become something else after birth? Again, is the stage of life in the womb somehow a step one can skip? Why is this stage not considered life to cherish and protect? Why is not all life considered equally important?
I direct these questions not to the abortions that are a result of incest, rape, or due to the risk of the life of the mother but to the millions of abortions that go on outside of this limited circle.
Please know that just because I don’t address abortions due to incest, rape, or the life of the mother does not mean I don’t have very strong feelings toward how these circumstances should be handled.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)