Monday, May 18, 2009

Common Ground

And so President Obama's commencement address at Notre Dame University has come and gone and the world spins on! The president was, as usual, up to the task delivering his speech in ways that few public figures alive today can.

Many of his sentiments I can certainly agree with. I agree that we need to stop demonizing the opposing side. We must come to see those who hold different viewpoints from our own as human beings like ourselves, filled with passion for their "cause." We do need to work together on society's ills even though we may politically and philosophically disagree. But one thing we cannot to in regards to the abortion issue is find common ground.

There is no common ground when it comes to abortion. Are we supposed to some how find it acceptable to simply work to reduce the number of abortions and stop at that? Is it acceptable to allow 500,000 abortions per year instead of 1,000,000 because we have thus reduced the number of the horrific procedure? What do we say to the 500,000 who were not as fortunate as their brothers and sisters who were aborted? Are THEY supposed to feel better because there weren't nearly as many as them this year as last? I think I know their answer!

Another question I would like to pose those who favor abortion is not an evil then why try to reduce the numbers at all? Why would you seek to reduce a good thing in society? Using this logic we can ask, why is so much money spent on trying to reduce the numbers of murder in the inner cities of this country? And we all agree that murder is a bad thing. If we accept the premise that reducing abortion-but not eradicating it-is a good thing, then should we not also accept that at just reducing murder is enough? How would you feel if you lived in one of the blighted neighborhoods that are found in any major United States city that are plagued by murder if the police department declared that they would no longer patrol the area because the murder rate had dropped from twenty to ten and that was a good thing? What about the ten who did die?

Near the end of his speech, the president said this: "each of us, endowed with the dignity possessed by all children of God, has the grace to recognize ourselves in one another; to understand that we all seek the same love of family, the same life of a life well lived." Beautiful words, Mr. President. Did you also mean to include those citizens of the United States who are developing and awaiting birth within their mother's wombs? Or did you exclude them from the pursuit of happiness?