Two moral and political issues that parallel time
The United States of America isn’t so united but rather, sharply divided. A great moral and political issue that won’t go away tears at her seams. In the middle of this atmosphere the POTUS is running for a second term and to some the chances of him winning appear dim. His supporters love him, his opponents HATE him. Some in his own political party rise up and speak out against him.
The issue dividing the country isn’t new, having been around for years it flares up during election cycles. The opposing sides of the issue pitch their tents and the combatants dig in. There are words of insult slung in all directions and skirmishes breakout in the streets. The conflict makes headlines daily.
Arguments for and against are fueled with passion from both sides. On one side the people argue; they are not really human beings, maybe subhuman. The other side counters; they are human, every bit as much as you and I. A third camp sits on the fence remaining silent. The subjects of this debate have no voice.
The one side opines; changing the law will tank our economy. with all these unwanted beings dumped onto the system, how could we ever afford them? Another voice offers; every person has a purpose and can contribute in some way. The third group sits. The subjects of discussion again have no voice.
One camp claims; It is ‘MY’ body, I own it, stay out of it. Those opposed to that argument are not believing it; they argue otherwise; it is not ‘YOUR’ body, you can never ‘own’ another. The third camp sits on the fence. Those in question again are voiceless.
What year is it? It is 1864 and Abraham Lincoln is soon to be re- elected President of the United States of America. At issue is legalized slavery and Lincoln strongly opposes it. Lincoln’s supporters love him, his detractors loathe him, and many others are on the fence. As has been the case for hundreds of years it is this great multitude of people, those that sit on the fence, which allows the evil of slave ownership to survive. A few months later after Lincoln is re-elected and slavery is no longer legal in the United States, a group of Lincoln haters conspire and assassinate him.
One hundred fifty plus years later in 2020 it is hard for us living today to imagine how such an atrocity could have been allowed to occur for a moment let alone hundreds of years. It is difficult to imagine how mankind could have turned their back on their own brothers and sisters, reducing them to mere property to be bought and sold by the highest bidder. And yet today we are presented by some with the exact same arguments promoting another moral and political issue, legal abortion, a medical procedure that reduces our own brothers and sisters to nothing at all. Abortion my friends is today’s ‘great issue’ that won’t go away without an ‘all hands on deck’ effort to end it.
Prayerfully we can end abortion sooner than later. If enough voices come down from there fences and rise to this occasion legal abortion, along with slavery, will one day be a sad chapter of this great nation’s history instead of its current nightmare. We can only pray it won’t take hundreds of years or a civil war to turn the tide. We can pray.
We can succeed in ending this malice by educating, informing, and persistence. Just as slavery was one hundred fifty years ago, abortion today is a tough discussion, but discuss it we must. Lincoln said of slavery, “In discussing it we have taught a great many thousands of people to hate it who had never given it a thought before.”
Lincoln also knew that when a hard fought victory came it would take compassion and understanding of and for those who opposed his position for the nation to unite as one and heal the wounds of division. In his second inaugural address, before the battle was won, he said, “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nations wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”
To borrow a phrase from Patrick Henry; ‘our brethren are already in the field, why stand we here idle?’ Let us join our brothers and sisters fighting the good fight. Let us lend our voices to the ever growing chorus seeking to end this stain on our great nation’s history. Please visit me again for future posts and feel free to add constructive commentary. God Bless.