I'm preparing myself for tongue-biting. I'm preparing myself to walk into an office run by religious conservatives, following a large step in the right direction toward health care reform.
Please, explain to me how one can follow the ideas of Christianity so openly, point to God so consistently, but miss the message that guides not only Christianity, but religions around the world.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. Matthew 22:36-40
If your religion is what guides this country, and not the freedom of religion, then how can we not turn to this example Jesus established? How can we not consider how our actions affect our neighbors–our fellow countrymen?
How can we continue this overly individualistic approach that not only costs us more money, but forces the have-nots to lose hope and continue living in near destitution and dependent on the government? How can we say that this follows any Christian principle, when Jesus reached out to tax collectors, lepers, prostitutes and showed them as equal?
How, then, can we allow or reform to set back women's rights? How can we allow this policy that goes against the core of Roe vs. Wade and the choice it gave to women? How can we give so much weight to one side of this argument?
While the Stupak's success does not limit a "women's right to choose" (society does that well enough on its own), it does allow the government to reinforce the idea that the woman is making the wrong decision, not matter the circumstances. I am not asking for the government to pay for a woman's decision. If I can't get them to pay for my birth control, I'm not holding my breath. I'm not even asking Congress, which is 83 percent male, to understand what that decision means.
I am just asking them not to limit my rights and further the social construct that removes the ability to make a decision and instead reinforces a social construct by saying the government will not recognize your decision–which, in case Congress didn't realize this, they had already made nearly impossible anyway.
It did not take a government action to prevent the nation from suddenly killing millions of children. Stupak knew this. It takes a government action to continue tying the actions of the state to the principles of a conservative, Christian religion. Now, isn't this odd for a political group that views any integration of church and state or anything in any way removed from American individualism as Marxism, communism, fascism and socialism–all at the same time?
But I will bite my tongue. I will hold my breath and let my cheeks flush until I walk out of the office doors, and then I will cry, complain to Joe and be reminded why I am afraid to have children.
4 comments:
Eh, who needs tact?
The reason I left Christianity was because it became clear to me that it was no longer the religion of Jesus. It's ideals & political manifestations of those ideals are in direct conflict with the teachings of Jesus the vast majority of the time, which is sad.
I will gladly defend this issue and women in general to anyone who dares argue against rights.
The religion is still about Jesus. The Bible hasn't changed. You can find churches that still have that at the core. It's a daily battle to bring that side out instead of the misleading ways it's brought into politics. That's not Christianity, though. It's a subculture of our political system.
And, like Rach said, I'd fight women's rights to the death. Because we have to until we have them, until people understand what their decisions mean to our bodies, our way of life and our ability to participate in society without being marginalized.
I don't really want to get into this too deep, because I'm tired of having this conversation with everyone, but I didn't say I left due to politics twisting religion around. I left because churches twisted the religion around over centuries. And that the Bible, interpreted in practical ways, contradicts itself. I haven't found any church or any sect of the religion that truly sticks gung-ho to teachings of Jesus over all the other crap. American politics had nothing to do with my leaving the church, but it definitely didn't help much. I've done a lot of my own exploring and have come up empty-handed every single time. I don't believe our political system has created this version of Christianity, but I believe they have capitalized on it.
I understand if you don't agree, though.
I'm not saying this to continue an argument. I just wanted to clarify. I didn't mean American politics. I meant the politics of religion.
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