Comments on: Texas Filibuster: What is this fight about?

By: ollwenjones

ollwenjones — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 18:12:41 +0000

There’s a certain sense in which laws are didactic for a society: they teach people what is right and what is wrong. Not to say there’s a perfect overlap, but laws do have that influence on culture. Yes, we should be involved in the democratic process, as broken as it may be. I think perhaps we should be involved particularly in issues of defending the helpless, and those treated as less than human.
In a functioning democracy though, I think the stream mostly flows in the other direction: Laws are _mostly_ downstream of culture though. So if we want to influence laws in the long term, we should be influencing the culture, first. Can we do that by poking people in the eye with our rhetoric and behavior? Probably not.

By: EarlProeger

EarlProeger — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 13:48:18 +0000

ChrisMorton82 EarlProeger Right.. I get that. I guess it depends on your foundational belief in the issue. If you believe that defenseless human children are being slaughtered and it is protected, and even encouraged by law and the organizations and clinics that promote it, you would feel compelled to action. Some Christians represent that action poorly.

We talk about addressing the root causes instead of changing the law, like it is an either/or option. Can’t we do both? Treat the root causes, strengthen societal structures to enable women to complete pregnancy while working and going to school? Hold men who are in the equation accountable to support the women they impregnate? etc… while, also changing the law of the land to discourage the slaughter and remove the societal stamp of approval on this terrible choice?

By: ChrisMorton82

ChrisMorton82 — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 13:37:11 +0000

EarlProeger You are right that it is a nuanced issue. My struggle is the assumption (more American that Jesus-like) that the solution is to pass a bill. As far as vehement arguing (on both sides), it strikes me as the inevitable result of using state politics.

By: EarlProeger

EarlProeger — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 15:39:50 +0000

I was very sad to see members of my Christian community posting pro-choice comments and participating in the protests at the Legislature. I am surprised how naive I have been to believe this was a moral issue that was clear for the Christian citizen. While I know the politics of this are much more nuanced than the moral issue of abortion, I am still surprised at how vehemently people fight FOR abortion.
I love what I read on a feminist website, that sees abortion as an anti-woman approach to the problem. It believes that women that are well supported by our society don’t have to choose between children and work or education because of a lack of support structures. They also focus on holding men accountable for the children they create, supporting the woman that must carry and raise the child.
Here are 2 surprising sites coming from non-religious points of view:
http://www.feministsforlife.org
http://secularprolife.org