Bringing a tough discussion to the fore
Hi, welcome back, and thank you for joining us again with our continuing discussion.
A point I would like to make right away is that I am fully aware of the difficulty that is involved in the choices of this discussion. I have nothing but compassion for those whose lives have been effected by this topic.
In my first installment I made a point of comparing two contentious issues, one past and one present, slavery and abortion, on an equal scale. Some may protest against that and argue that they are not the same. In some respects there is some variance, but they definitely have many common characteristics and that will be a theme throughout this blog. One characteristic is that both issues involve one group of people or one individual deciding the fate of another individual or individuals. In both cases, neither the enslaved nor the aborted had or have a voice in the matter.
Another common characteristic, and I believe it too be the most striking, is how closely aligned the arguments used by the pro slavery advocates of yesterday and the pro-choice advocates of today are. Along those same lines it is also true how much the arguments against slavery sound much like today’s arguments against abortion. Pointing out these similarities will be another theme throughout.
Of course the greatest voice against slavery, aside from the enslaved themselves, was that of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln’s arguments to abolish slavery were powerful and could be used today to help abolish abortion. You will see how his argument remains as solid today as it did yesterday. There will also be many other notable quotes from prominent citizens of yesterday and today to help build the case against abortion.
Many will, and have said, that it is none of my business what others may do. And they will, and have said, that because I am a man I have no authority to speak at all on this subject. Judge Stephen Douglas, of the Lincoln Douglas debates, and a staunch supporter of the right to slave ownership may have had similar thoughts. This is what Lincoln said about all that; “Now what is Judge Douglas popular sovereignty? It is, as a principle no other than that, if one man choses to make a slave of another man, neither that other man nor anybody else has a right to object.” I choose to object.
I used a shortened version of a Lincoln quote about slavery in my first post and will use the extended version here. “Even Judge Douglas admits it to be an evil, and evil can’t stand discussion. In discussing it we have taught a great many thousands of people to hate it who had never given it a thought before. What kills the skunk is the publicity it gives itself. What a skunk wants to do is to keep snug under the barn in the day time, when men are around with shotguns.”
Yes abortion is a tough discussion, but let’s drag it out from under the barn and into the daylight and give it the publicity it deserves.
Again thanks for following along and please feel free to leave your comments, pro or con. More coming soon. Take care, God Bless.