The other day in my Theory and Practice for Art Education class, a student told us about a visit she had to an animal rights group meeting on campus. She said they talked about Lake Ella's duck overpopulation (anyone who has been there knows, there are a lot of ducks)and someone proposed an apparently well received solution. They suggested going to Lake Ella and smashing all the duck eggs they could find. Of course we all were horrified at this idea, saying how disgusting it was and how inhumane.
As I continued on with my day, however, I wondered how many of those people wouldn't bat an eye at a human abortion. Most art students are fairly liberal as far as that sort of thing goes. My thoughts are, "Why in the world do people care so much about duck eggs, yet show none of the same respect for their human counterparts? 'Overpopulation' at Lake Ella (do these activists take a census?)is a ridiculous reason to do such a thing, but the same who think that would say the costs of being pregnant justify killing a baby, or the fact that it reminds them of when they were raped is justification enough. This again goes to show how much we care when the choice doesn't involve us, doesn't have to do with something we understand. But when choices are hard and they impact our so-called freedom, we will think of whatever we can to justify putting ourselves first, and in this case,to primarily save the money and the hassle. Why the hell do we care so much about duck eggs? I think it is because we despise ourselves, because we view life as burdensome, and thus in our "generosity" we would spare the child a life-not-worth-living. A friend also said we react to this "duck egg" kind of situation as an escape from reality; if I can worry about these poor creatures, then perhaps I may escape my responsibility to my fellow man or woman. I think both of these ideas are valid, because I understand these attitudes, and wrestle with them at times. Think about this yourself; and expose this attitude in your heart, and when you find it,
Abort that.
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hello!
- stamati anagnostou
- Tallahassee, Florida
- I am a 22 year old person. I currently am studying Buddhism and practicing Zen. I love my family quite a bit and want to learn more about what makes life a good thing.
4 comments:
Ok, this is the second time this has come up in the last month or so, so I think God's trying to get me to stop my avoidance on this.
I struggle with this ALOT...I go back and forth, twisting between the two parts of me that cry out.
It's been difficult reconciling myself with this having spent so much of my life believing the right to choose should be protected. And part of me still does believe that...I shudder to think of the prospect of some self-righteous governmental entity taking away even more rights from its citizens based on decisions made in this case...
But then I can only begin to comprehend the bond between a woman and the child, and I think about whether I could make that choice and I just don't know if I could do it...
Ultimately my line of thinking comes down to the example you gave of a rape situation. To me it's not just about freedom and the "reminder" runs so much deeper than you or even I know...I think, and please don't take offense...that until you are in the situation it is very easy to assume that you would want your wife or daughter or sister to keep the baby or to give it up for adoption in the end and that they would want the same...
I'm sitting here and running it through my head and even with Jesus at my back whispering I don't know how I'd feel, or what I'd do..even as a woman with all my motherly instincts and the word of God in my heart I remain unsure...
Maybe my resistance is a reflection of me not surrendering all of me to God, wait, no there's no maybe, I know I haven't surrendered myself utterly and completely...but whether this is a result of that or not, it truly comes down to not being able to make that judgment call for others...I don't think I can judge that, not now...maybe not ever...
These are my thoughts at the present, God could reveal to me what He would want me to do someday. After all, He has His beautifully inexplicable ways of molding our hearts as He sees fit whenever the time is right.
Life is precious in all forms, even that of an illegitimate child. This is easy for me to say now, yet I hope I would say it even if it became hard to do. This is a difficult subject, but the more I look at it, the more simple it seems. No, I'm not a woman, but I do have some grasp on the value of a life.
Hmm...perhaps that is the drawing line for me then...for right now it's beyond me, maybe even above me, but ultimately outside of my capacity to see it as simple.
And to clarify, it is never a question for me whether life is sacred or whether I value it, you are after all conversing with a pacifist :)
...but here I fear we may enter into a realm of even denser stickiness of when a life is a life and it is that door that I refrain from opening for the time being...
I try to approach these conversations wisely and the good Lord is whispering for me to pull back here, friend. And since He is the ultimate decision-maker, I will obey...
Know this, your thoughts are noted, and God will use them along with Pastor Bob's somehow in due time I'm sure...
Jenny, you are a wise woman!
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