The Religious Right: The Abortion of Freedom
Conservative Christians claim sanctimony, but what they really want is control.
The vast majority of Americans, contrary to the ongoing efforts of the Religious Right, do not believe they must abide by Christian Conservative views. Subsequently, screams of “Persecution” are ringing out from the Bible Belt. So once again we must re-visit the meaning of Religious Freedom and that poor old misunderstood First Amendment.
You are free to have your own opinions, no matter how ignorant. Everyone has a right to be stupid. But when that stupidity impacts others, expect pushback. If you are unable to alter your opinion when presented with evidence contrary to it, you lose credibility. It is not “Persecution” when you are disagreed with.
You are free to impose your Faith upon yourself but you may not force it onto anyone else. Your views only apply to you. Forcing others to live according to your belief system is not Religious Freedom. That is Religious Oppression.
The United States was formed as refuge from Religious Oppression. America, as a nation, was founded secularly. Saying it is a Christian country is a lie. Is America the nation with a large population of Christians? Yes. Is America a Christian country? No.
The Religious Right forces wedge issues throughout America, justified by their Faith. They say they know God’s Word. Good for them. So why is it that whenever Christian Conservatives “pray for guidance” it seems only a ritual they perform before doing what they want anyway?
No, they use their beliefs as leverage rather than as applied morality. They claim sanctimony, but what they really want is control. For an example, let’s look at their most heated issue, abortion.
Nobody should be forced into an unwanted abortion. That doesn’t happen a lot in America, anyway. You need to live in China for that. Right, Hobby Lobby? The biggest argument against abortion is due to religious belief. This is ignorance on a number of levels.
Whether or not Christian Conservatives can accept this, abortion and birth control are genuinely part of reproductive healthcare for women, which is in turn part of their overall healthcare. It really is that simple.
It’s fallacious to refer to a woman terminating a pregnancy she doesn’t want as a “mother.” If she doesn’t view hosting another organism as welcome in her body, that is her right, and her decision. You absolutely may not force another person to give up their body to sustain the existence of another organism.
This is what the Religious Right demands of women; give up their bodies to sustain the life of another against their wishes. Women must serve as incubators, sometimes at the risk of their own lives. Regardless of whether they were raped. Why? Because God.
You don’t have ANY right to superimpose your religious beliefs over women, or anyone else. There is no debate here, and it’s insane that this is a constant discussion. You do NOT get to determine what goes on in the very personal and private medical decisions made by others.
Women have the right to the integrity of their own person. So do men. So does everyone. Women do not warrant lesser treatment for their minor anatomical differences to men.
For Christian Conservatives to say the basic rights of women must be violated in order to uphold a non-existent human’s rights is incredibly ignorant and immoral. Arguing that an aborted blastocyst, or embryo, or fetus belongs to some kind of an oppressed class targeted for murder is not an argument grounded in reality. The obsession with multicellular potentiality is, quite frankly, creepy.
Don’t believe that? Here is a test. Imagine that in front of you lies a choice; a young child is about to take a lethal fall. A Petri dish with a fertilized human egg is also about to drop. You only have time to choose one. Which one do you save?
The child. Of course you save the child, not a few random cells. If that fertilized egg is worth sacrificing a child over, you need to seriously re-examine your life. If you offer the opinion that you are all about saving the unborn, then answer the following questions;
1) How many children have you adopted?
2) How many vaginas are on your body?
If the answer to either of these questions is “none” then sit down and shut up.
But as this site has written before, the basic facts of abortion, the hows, whys, and what it all entails, are lost on most people anyway. Strange that such a hot button issue creating so much division is misrepresented in and of itself. If that weren’t so sickening it would be funny.
The reason why the issue of abortion is so misrepresented while remaining so prevalent is because of the Religious Right. They have repeated their talking points and mistruths for so long that they have taken over the narrative nearly completely. People now argue very passionately about abortion without actually knowing much about it!
This is why Separation of Church and State is so vital. If someone equates that to the holocaust, that is a sure sign of their complete lack of comprehension of basic history. They are to be scorned, not followed. Certainly not elected.
But the Religious Right is happy to re-write history. They have repeatedly tried to insert their beliefs into public education. They are far more interested in proselytization than progression.
Christian Conservatives don’t care what polls say, unless they go along with what they personally believe. The democratic process doesn’t matter to the zealous unless they are the majority, so democracy is really secondary. They’ll never accept anyone’s right to believe differently. They certainly aren’t going to respect others’ rights to live as they wish.
Isn’t it strange how these same people scream for “smaller government” while advocating an elephant in every uterus?
And this lies at the heart of the motivation of the Religious Right. They are not really about bringing the rest of us The Word of God, they are about control. Do what they say and everything will be fine. No gays. No abortions. Women should be subservient to men. Other religions must not be tolerated. Guns for everyone!
You are not persecuted because you do not get your way every single time you want it. If you believe that Conservative Christians are in any way oppressed, you are demonstrably deluded. American Christians have had their belief system flattered more than anyone else’s. The Religious Right is merely acting like a pampered spoiled child, throwing tantrums for not being first in line every single time as they now feel entitled to be. This combination of self-absorption and religious zeal makes for bad countrymen.
Thusly, America remains divided. Zealots continually grab for more and more power over everyone. They wield abortion and women’s health like a weapon. They forward insane persecution claims. They subscribe to conspiracy theories that justify racism and hate. They tell you to support the President when he is conservative and scream for armed rebellion with blatantly treasonous statements when he is not.
Those who make up the Religious Right are not truly American. They are closer instead to whom the nation rebelled against. They are not truly Christian. They cannot be, to rail against the poor as they do. To discriminate like they do. To hate like they do.
To justify a child molestor as they do, because he hates the same people they hate.
They will not compromise. They will not reason. They see themselves as morally superior. They will march lockstep to the polling stations. That is how they have become so powerful. They vote. All of them.
But they do not outnumber the rest of us. Nor do they represent all Christians. They use the volume of their opinions to mask the lack of comparative volume in their numbers. They do not have to always get their way. If they do, things will only get worse for everyone.
When everyone votes, rationality wins. Apathy leads to defeat. Get out and vote. Get your family and friends off the couch to come with you. Have a dinner party when you’re all done. These words will be lost upon those that most need to understand them. If they reach you, then please take action.
Kevin Karstens
Yes, the top portion is a real meme being circulated on Conservative pages and sites...
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