PRO-LIFE VS. ANTI-ABORTION

After reading Richard Morin’s article “Political Ads and the Voters They Attract” I was reminded of the issue of abortion. The opinion of our general voter population on the subject of the right to life has become one of the strongest influences on the American political process. Unfortunately, most voter’s stance on the issue is more dependant on the emotions played upon by political ad campaigns than common sense or reason. This play on emotion is addressed by Morin in his article.

During election seasons political ads play on these emotions without challenging the viewer or reader to think about what is really being said. This, to me, seems particularly prevalent in Pro-Life campaign ads put out by the Republican Party. Playing on the emotions of the evangelical right, which I am a part of, these ads portray the Republican Party as the voice of moral purpose and the “Right to Life.” The problem is that this emotionally charged anti-abortion stance used in their platform is only one aspect of the “Right to Life.”

Consider, if you would, the war on terrorism. How many innocent lives have been taken from men, women and children in Iraq and Afghanistan due to American intervention in the name of freedom? Isn’t the mortality of people living in these nations just as deserving of a “Right to Life?” After all, the bible states clearly in the Book of Romans that Christians are called to love their enemies, to feed them and to give them drink when they are thirsty. Some Christians might argue that in the Old Testament God’s use of war is mentioned many times. They would be correct, however godly nations only went to war when called by their maker to do so. I did not once hear our commander-in chief, a Republican , acknowledge that God had led us there. Here arises a question for the evangelical right. Is the war on terrorism God’s desire or is it our desire? I don’t profess to have the answer but as our former president Abraham Lincoln, a Republican I might add, once said, “We must not concern ourselves with whether or not God is on our side but whether or not we are on his side.” If God did not have some divine reason for the death of all those people who have died as a result of our war then their “Right to Life” has been taken away and therefore no political party can establish itself as a representative of that right!

All this I say in making the point that to be Pro- Life is to be so across the board. Being Anti- Abortion, which I am, does not qualify a political party as Pro- Life. It simply means they are against taking the lives of babies in the womb. I believe that this trumps the validity of the Pro- Life platform of the Republican Party. If evangelicals truly take in the scope of what it means to be Pro- Life they will recognize that this platform is simply an emotionally charged manipulation of their beliefs and does not represent what they or the nation their forefathers envisioned stand for. I must add that I am a Christian and I do not believe in abortion, but I will never allow my stance on this issue to sway my vote in a political election in one direction or the other, because I also believe in the “Right to Life" and neither political party honestly represents the concept. We must never allow our emotions to overcome our ability to use reasoning when weighing out our options in a political election. In doing so we not only threaten our identity as individuals but also as a nation.

In closing I must add that I DO NOT SUPPORT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY! I will only support leaders who desire the further His Kingdom because that is my desire. I am a member of the Constitution Party. You may view their platform at www.constitutionparty.com