Greetings!
I just love it when legislators and religious experts band together and decide what is right for everyone, especially for the disenfranchised, the oppressed, the poor, the marginalized, the minority or anyone who isn’t “NORMAL” by their standards. Their standards being white, male, wealthy and upper class. Oh and religious, especially the “religious right”. Because, you know, their standards are the correct and officially sanctioned ones by God. I feel that everyone should have the right to practice their beliefs in the way that they believe without anyone else interfering.
This week, in my State of Indiana, the legislators/”religious right” experts are deciding the medical fate of the women in Indiana because women can’t be trusted to do this on their own without guidance i.e. religious guidance. So the Indiana State Congress has taken it on their broad shoulders to call a special session to dictate to us when, where, how, if and under what circumstances, we can be allowed to decide to have an abortion.
What no on seems to realize is that this is really a personal medical decision, first and foremost, best made by each individual woman. Secondly, she may or may not notify the possible father because of the first reason. Thirdly, the religion/religious beliefs of others have no bearing on this choice and decision made by each individual woman. Fourth, there is no federal law in our country outlawing abortion as murder at this time, therefore, there is no basis for any individual state to be allowed to have any opinion about it, whatsoever. Fifth, in our country there is historically supposed to be SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. This attempt by the state to abolish and limit abortion is blatant “religious right” morality imposed on everyone through our government. THIS SHOULD TERRIFY EVERYONE. Remember Nazi Germany? The Holocaust? Rwanda? Slavery? The Civil War? Our Revolutionary War? ANY HISTORY AT ALL, ANYWHERE, EVER? Why and how do you think our country got started to begin with? Because nearly all of our ancestors were OPPRESSED! They couldn’t practice their religion the way they believed! There was no freedom to live their lives in the way they chose! They were in bondage or enslaved, they were treated badly, they had no rights! THIS is the foundation of our country. We are allowing the foundation of democracy and freedom in our country to be destroyed. WAKE UP! What freedoms will we lose next? Freedom of religious choice? Freedom of speech? Freedom from persecution because of race, religion, color, gender, belief, more? Go along with this and let’s see what other freedoms we will soon lose in our country.
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Sonnet by Emma Lazarus
This is the entire poem dedicated to Lady Liberty in New York Harbor. She probably greeted yours and my ancestors as they immigrated here to the United States. I only hope we can continue to live up to her promise.
Once we as a country and as a people allow any particular religion, even a majority religion such as Christianity, to infiltrate the government and begin dictating laws and moral codes for the whole based on those beliefs, is the day we all lose our freedoms both individually and as a whole. This is a fact. You can look into the history of any country or continent on the planet and see the pattern of what happens when religion rules over the government and the people through the government. It does not matter what religion it is because once religion takes over, it becomes more important than the people. This is also why religion has no place in our government because ours was founded on the precept of “government by the people, for the people”. This is not possible when any religion becomes involved with government because it will no longer be “by the people, for the people” but “by the church, for the church.”
Religions are like corporations in this regard, once established, they take on a life of their own. They become more invested in securing their own power and authority than in the general welfare and desires of the people. You can see this also in history. You may think this only happens in other countries or in other time periods. It does not. History repeats itself when no one learns the lessons that history offers. Of course, since we seem to be on the verge of repeating history, this may be why there is such a push to change how and what is taught in schools regarding our history. We seem to be allowing our history to be rewritten in the classroom. This sets a dangerous precedent reminiscent of the days of book burnings and prohibition. Would you like to return to those days?
Personally, I am happy to know the real history of what went down in these United States and to have the freedom to be able to read what I choose and to be able to vote and to be able to purchase alcohol if I choose and to have been able to marry who I wanted and to have been able to go to school and pursue an advanced degree. All of these freedoms and so many more that other countries under the control of religion, I would not have had in this lifetime if I did not live in these United States. Are you so willing to just throw this away in the name of one version, of one religion? I would hope that you would want your children to have the same, if not more freedoms than you got to enjoy. I know this is what I want for my daughter and grandsons and their children.
Love in the Light of the One True God of us all, Dawn