The live audio of the memorial service yesterday at Fort Hood was impossible to listen to without feeling the pain of a terrible incident which, to that point, had been only a shocking news story.
I was thinking about that this morning in connection with the omnipresent abortion debate and the unconstitutional thumbs placed on the scale of the House vote by Catholic bishops, the evangelical "Family," and Bart Stupak -- our most recent Congressional limelight grabber. (Move over, Joe Lieberman!)
All of us were moved in the aftermath of the Fort Hood shootings, Republicans and Democrats alike. Whether pro-war or anti-war, it was an event which stirred the same emotions. In the same way, I understand the emotions felt by the anti-abortion folks even though they allow their exaggerations and emotions to get in the way of good sense and the law. The threats and killings they've come to accept as part of their protest far outweigh any sleaze they attribute to pregnant women who seek an abortion.
The issue of the immorality of war in general-- but more particularly war which is entered into illegally -- provokes anguish on my side of the political divide. We march, hold signs, yell, write letters, protest the use of billions of our tax dollars for something which is lethal and illegal. War and abortion are in the same moral league: sometimes unavoidable but only entered into after deep consideration. Unfortunately just the opposite is the case in America. Here elective abortion is legal but its providers are subject to threats, at best, and lethal punishment at worst. Meanwhile war without clear and legitimate casus belli is illegal but those who initiate it are seldom punished.
Our tax dollars continue to be spent on military build-ups and interventions whether we like it or not. Compromise is demanded of pro-choicers and anti-war folks -- we don't play dirty with Catholic bishops. Withholding the portion of our federal income taxes that corresponds to our share of the defense budget lands us in jail.
Our dismay over being made to pay for murderous, unnecessary wars through our taxes is no less than the dismay felt by honest and non-violent anti-abortion protesters over use of their taxes (or pooled insurance premiums) to subsidize medical procedures that result in abortion. But Congress doesn't treat our two sides equally. It continues to subsidize illegal wars while refusing to allow our insurance pool to pay for those medical procedures.
Time to point out that far too much of what anti-abortion protesters claims to be a moral stance is all too often political posturing about "killing children." More than a decade ago they decided to use "killing children" as a political weapon. It's clearly political, not moral, when you're able to justify killing women and children -- not to mention overworked American troops -- in say, Iraq or Afghanistan.
What many on the anti-abortion team don't get is that we on the other side are more consistent pro-lifers. We'd much prefer a sure-fire way to avoid unwanted pregnancy before it starts (and the same with war). We much prefer readily accessible, safe, and inexpensive contraception for all girls and women of child-bearing age. We'd surely prefer to make the abortion option a rare if necessary choice for a woman who also deserves the dignity and safety of first-rate medical care. And we'd like to make sure that the healthy children who are born to the next generations of women do not become cannon fodder for their generations of irresponsible politicians.
