Words Matter

Well, if words matter, so do actions. But, hey, let’s take one thing at a time.

The shooting at the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado last week made for some interesting reactions. Public reaction was horror at yet another public shooting with earmarks of mass shooting threatened. In the end three lay dead – two civilians and one policeman – and nine gun shot victims were hospitalized. So it was a mass shooting in a private space with a public welcome.

That counts as a terrorist target. And the shooter was just that – a terrorist. Interestingly, he was American born, bred and raised. He is a 57 year old malcontent loner who lived in a homemade shack in the woods of Pennsylvania without plumbing or electricity. His neighbors feared him and kept their children indoors when he was home. Although he was rarely home – a self-willed roamer – the neighbors felt his negative vibe and steered clear of him. He was known to lurk behind trees and bushes ogling women folk even those married to neighbors he knew. Such is a rare breed of guy. Sick. Mentally ill and certainly not at ease in the company of others.

Even though there is still much to learn about this fellow, he is known to have shouted at the police who surrounded him, “no more body parts.” This refers to the protest script against Planned Parenthood. So, his terrorist, anti-establishment predilection came out.

What made him take action? What brought him from strong opinion against Planned Parenthood to taking action to protest, and finally to take violent action that stole lives from innocent people?

Please note that the slain police officer was an evangelical pastor on his off-time, and a campus police officer at the nearby campus. He was also a husband and father of two. A kind and gentle sole with a penchant for serving the public, he was doing his job to protect the public when he was killed in the line of duty. He was killed protecting his community from a terrorist of American birth. How ironic.

I simply do not care if you are for or against abortion. Each of us has our opinion and the right to that opinion. We even have the right to protest, to exercise religious conviction, to gather and to publish our opinions. Right or wrong, we have those rights.

What makes anything wrong is when one person or a group of similar minded people act against another person or group of persons who don’t agree with them and threaten harm, loss of property, or loss of life in response to those beliefs.  We have the right to think and act (responsibly), but we do not have the right to implement a belief against another person.

That means physically threatening or actually harming someone else in the name of your belief. This also means that no law ought to be made and enforced against an opinion or belief that is couched in and from religious origins. Such is a misuse of the democratic process and the American brand of self governance.

You don’t like abortion or contraception, live your own life accordingly. Let others do the same. Pretty simple.

You think abortion is taking a viable life? That is born within your sense of religious philosophy and theology. Fine. Live accordingly. But don’t expect those who do not agree with you to do the same. That’s what religious freedom means. It is also freedom of thought and speech. In America we are guaranteed those freedoms. Redefining your freedom to mean you can take freedom from another based on your beliefs alone is not only wrong, it is intellectually unstable.

So what were the reactions to the Colorado Springs terrorist attack?  Republican presidential candidates were silent at first, then read the party’s script on the matter and said this had nothing to do with conservative principles that outlaw abortion, or the hateful rhetoric that supports such a view. 

No. Really? You really think the speech isn’t hateful and motivational of hateful action?

I think reasonable people think otherwise. Oh hell! They know otherwise.

Responsible speech and responsible actions require civility. The penalty is uncontrolled reactions from crazies and immature people. All manner of bad things come from this environment of hate and disrespect. Terrorism on the domestic front or in the global arena is a direct result of such disrespect and hatefulness. How could it not be? Words do matter.

From that natal seed come political reactions that seek power from chaos. So chaos via terrorism becomes the strategic plan for such extremists with bones to pick.

Let’s be clear here: abortion is the natural right of every woman of child bearing age and ability. She alone has the right to choose however horrible the option is. The solemnity and weight of this decision is her’s alone. Leave her alone unless she asks for help.

That’s where Planned Parenthood enters the scene. They provide the help. They do not make the decision; the mother does. Meanwhile, there are many other health related services Planned Parenthood performs for the patient. This is good for our community.  Would we want people in need to go untended? Do we really? I truly doubt it.

Planned Parenthood is funded privately, charitably, and from government subsidies for selected services. Nothing is wrong about any of that. It is people helping people. We understand that, especially at this time of year.

I understand the philosophical requirement that abortions not be funded from tax funds. That’s OK. But the rest should be eligible for public funding and it is.

For those who believe in minimal government, how can you think that government should enter our lives and dictate against abortion. No one is forcing abortion on anyone. It is merely allowing that choice to be accessible for those who choose it.

Too little or too much government is really not the issue here. No. The real issue is that some people want to force others to live as they believe.  World War I and II both taught us that is not desirable.

So then what’s your gripe?

December 3, 2015