A couple of months ago my friend Amanda and I hiked to the top of what is called the Oyster Dome near Bellingham. It wasn't particularly a great day for wonderful views but you could see some of the San Juan Islands from the top. Definitely a good hike and worth another visit on a clear day.
I know at times I can be quite cynical and harsh, case in point is my rant on politics a couple of days ago. This is not one of those posts.
A few months ago I read about a professor who gave his "Last Lecture". He was a lecturer at Carnegie-Mellon and diagnosed with cancer and given a few months to live. The university asked him to join their "Last Lecture" series, which was just the idea of what a prof would say if indeed it was their last lecture. For him, it was true. I started watching it on youtube, and even though it is long, I just couldn't stop watching. It was funny, interesting and moving. It was a good reminder that even though there are lots of things to rant about, at the core much is right and good in the world. So, here is the "Last Lecture" if you want to take the time to watch it or parts of it. He passed away this last week. For some reason my embedded video isn't working, so here is the link to it.
I'm trying to get back to posting more. This is from my spring break trip to Puerto Rico. Fabulous place...I highly recommend it. I'll try to post a few more pics later.Ok, I’ve had this post rattling in my head for a few days and I just have to get it out or I’ll go crazy.
I can’t really believe the America I have come back to. It is polarized. You are Democrat or Republic. You want Obama or McCain. It is really quite befuddling because neither is what they say they are.
Bush claims to be conservative and is on issues such as abortion. However, if you look at his blank check spending (Iraq War) and you find he is not a conservative at all. Another example would be the growth of debt and the increase of bureaucracy. In reality Bill Clinton was more conservative in his financial policies that Bush.
Now we come to McCain and Obama. They are actually quite similar beliefs in the different packages. The difference is on how the media portrays their policies. Obama rates near the middle of Democrats and McCain to the left (liberal) side of Republicans. See this site for further info.
I had decided not to vote, then I thought, “Well, I should do my civic duty, I’ll just choose a third party candidate.” So, I looked at all the other candidates and decided not to vote. Here is my problem. You are either one or the other and it makes little sense logically. Let me explain.
Conservatives are against abortion. They say that life starts at conception and it is murder to kill a fetus.
Liberals are for a woman’s right to choose. They argue life starts at birth and the mother has a right to end her pregnancy.
Conservatives are for the right to bear arms. They say private citizens should be able to arm themselves and defend themselves against criminals.
Liberals are for gun control. They argue that guns wind up in the hands of criminals and private citizens who prone to use them in ways that cause violence and death.
I don’t understand these positions. You see, conservatives argue life is sacred and shouldn’t be ended in an abortion. I support this. I believe life is sacred and should not be taken away. But, then you come to the gun problem. Conservatives think you should be able to carry around guns and defend yourself. A recent case is where a man shot two unarmed thieves (killing them) he caught robbing his neighbor’s house. How sacred is life? Well, evidently, sacred as a fetus but if I catch you in my house with my DVD player, forget it!
The reverse is true for liberals. Women have the right to choose to end a pregnancy but if you carry a gun and kill a person robbing your house, you criminal! Go to jail! You didn’t have the right to choose to shoot the robber.
(I won’t even include the death penalty in this analysis because it just gets worse.)
For me, human life is sacred. It should not be ended with a gun or by an abortion doctor. Why do I have to choose Democrat or Republican? I can’t because they don’t even come close to putting together a coherent framework of belief I can get behind. Have fun voting in November. I’m moving to Canada.
