AntiPro

I've been mulling this over in my head for weeks now, trying to think of the right words, the most sensitive phrasing, the best possible way to approach this subject. But here again, this morning on NPR, I heard it: "We are proponents of health care reform, but there is one subject that trumps all others, and that is the sanctity of life."

Sanctity of life. When the man on the radio said it he was talking about being pro-life, or anti-abortion or however you choose to describe it, but at this point I feel like it has been reduced to a propoganda buzzphrase that just serves to make its opponents sound like a-holes.

And at the risk of giving away my politics, I don't think I am an a-hole. Because I get being anti-abortion, I do. Where life begins is a belief and far be it from me to knock on anyone's beliefs. But. What confuses and frustrates me is when I hear that that it is the single most important politic in a person's repertoire. Because, if sanctity of life is truly your number one concern, shouldn't your top politic be adoption and foster care reform, or help for the homeless, or bigger budgets for rehabs and crime prevention? What about budgets for rape counseling at schools, abolition of death row, child-care and CPS reform, welfare reform, harsher penalties for dead-beat parents, or proper sex education?

Are people only important when they are half-made?

Because that doesn't seem fair to all the people who have been born and are trying to make it in our harsh, overcrowded world. And I don't think committing murder (see: Scott Roeder) is the way to show people how compassionate you are about all the unborn babies that are just as likely to become abortion doctors or homeless addicts as christian evangelists.

It is important for women to know and understand what their other options are, if for no other reason than that abortion can be extremely taxing for a woman on an emotional, physical, and spiritual level, but as it stands there aren't many because the money and support simply are not there.

So when people say shutting down abortion clinics is their number one concern, I can't help but feel frustrated and helpless, and like we are only pulling an unsightly band aid off a broken leg with no intention of resetting the bone.

Stand For Something

How many of us identify ourselves as Republicans? How many think that we're Democrats? Whom amongst those reading this blog is an Independant, Libertarian, or member of the Green Party? How do we let that self-identification shape our opinions regarding those who are of a separate affiliation?

During the last election, the Republicans invoked the name of Ronald Reagan over and over again. He was a revered figure, the heart of what modern Republicanism was supposed to be. Reagan, as you may remember, presided over massive economic downturns, deregulation, tax cuts for the wealthy, covert dealings with hostile foreign powers, along with healthy upswings in violent crime and drug use. He also waged a rhetorical war against an already-collapsing world power. Replace "Tear down this wall" with "Fuck Saddam, we're taking him out," and you can see that the GOP is still proud of the model Reagan established. For my part, it brought to mind what I thought was a good question. Abraham Lincoln was a Republican, why don't they invoke his name instead? The answer was eye-opening.

Abraham Lincoln as a Republican in his time would be a Democrat today. The ideas that the party preaches change as shift as one ideology becomes more popular with the voters. What they put out as firm foundations that they universally support are little more than platforms to help usher them into office where they can pursue their own agendas.

John McCain was as good a candidate as we've seen for the Presidency in decades. Yet in a country increasingly infuriated with the actions of the party in power, few were willing to even give him a chance. Barack Obama was villified to a ridiculous degree (one conservative columnist compared him to Hitler!) by merit of his being the Democratic nominee. Barely anyone in the country even knows the opinions of Bob Barr or Ron Paul, because we've been conditioned to believe 3rd party candidates have no chance to win, so their viewpoints don't matter.

What I'm driving at is that we have, by and large, come to represent beliefs in a flawed party system rather than standing on any actual belief. Were I to identify with a political party simply based on ideal, I would call myself a Republican. I believe in a small government. I support a free market economy. I believe in the 2nd Amendment. I don't support other beliefs of the party that are based on religious rather than social guidelines, but at the core, their ideals are in line with mine. It has been quite some time, however, since the GOP was able to practice what it preached.

The deregulation of the economy was supposed to provide greater opportunity for American citizens to advance based on their own merit. What was never imposed, however, were any restrictions which kept those who accumulated great wealth from holding down others who wanted to do the same. The belief in small government burgeoned out of control as the administration became increasingly bureaucratic. The right to bear arms was turned into little more than a "with us/against us" point, used to imply every Democrat in the nation had no other agenda than to completely repeal one of the foundations of our Bill of Rights. The people behind the ideas no longer cared about what they were saying. It only mattered insofar as it would get them in office.

I am calling upon the American public and the future political leaders which will rise from it to reverse this trend. It is time for us as individuals to decide what it is we really believe in. Being against something is not the same as standing for something else. Take a side. Do research. Know what you're talking about and be informed. Stand for something.

The most important thing we as voters can do is keep ourselves informed on the issues. Don't support a candidate or attack his opponent simply because they wear a red tie or a blue one. Find out what they really do. Research their records, look at their public statements, find out what the office they're running for is actually capable of. Never believe word-of-mouth. Never try to bend facts or rumors to support theories you already hold. Approach the world with an open mind and a healthy dose of skepticism. Sound like a lot of work? It is. But if we want to complain about the job the government does, we should accept our part of the responsibility for putting them there.

With the amount of information availble to us now, there is no reason we can't all be reasonably informed about our representatives. If you seriously have a position you believe in, then be willing to do the work it takes to stand up for it. Nothing will change because of people who sit back talking about an idea rather than acting on it. And if it really seems like too much of a bother, then take a good hard look at why you believe in something in the first place.


Check out more of David Pratt at http://prattforpresident.blogspot.com

And If So, In What?

Belief is a funny thing. It can be easy to feel, easy to express, and next to impossible to explain. It's like most relationships and certain kinds of ropes and cords - incredibly firm, strong, dependable to carry a weight up to a certain number of tons - but cut the right way, it unravels completely.

During my first year at Maryland I became friends with a guy named Jarl (yeah, like Carl with a "J" - I don't know why either). Jarl was a lifeguard at the JCC and became a regular at the Poker Nights which have now turned into burger nights. Jarl was also very different from most of my other friends, especially at the time - a deeply religious Christian who actually listened to and enjoyed Christian rock; an outdoor enthusiast who's idea of relaxation was four days in the woods without a shower; and an old school sensibility where he would get genuinely offended by curse words but not always the ethnic jokes. To put things in perspective, when he asked to pass out at my place one night I said, "Sure, but I just have a blanket and pillow, no extra mattress - that okay?"
And he replied in stone serious tones - "I've slept in standing water before. I'll be fine."

So a nice guy, but an odd fit.

Which can be good, to get a new perspective.
Except for that night he slept over.

We're at the point in the night when the conversation is naturally starting to wind down - the pauses are getting longer, we're both tired, my ability to distinguish between dream and reality is starting to give way - when suddenly Jarl askes "Jason, what do you believe in?"

Well, that's a hell of a question. And I'm not sure this is the best guy to have it with - knowing my thoughts and knowing his - he's got the faith and I don't. It's 2 am and I have work in the morning - I don't have time for the four hour spiritual debate.

So I say "I believe in love, Jarl."

He gets real pissed for a second and sort of barks out "I'm not joking."

"I'm serious. I believe in love. I can't see it, I can't prove it exists, but I believe in it."

There's a nice long pause and I'm ready to add 'bullet dodging' to the "Special Skills" section of my resume when suddenly -
"Why don't you believe in God?"

Oh, fuck.
I don't want to have this conversation at all. But Jarl's a nice guy and I don't want to just ignore him, so I need to think of something I can say that'll answer the question decisively and without provocation so I can get back to the important task of falling asleep.

"Well, Jarl - there are so many religions each with their own God, and I think part of what each of them believe must be right, or why else would they believe it - so I don't want to commit to one until I'm totally sure that it's right. Okay?"

Silence.
Fantastic.

I'm this close to what I'm sure would have been the dream of a lifetime when -
"Why don't you believe in the Christian God?"

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

"Because I'm JEWISH Jarl. I was born Jewish. If I was going to believe in any God, it would be the Jewish god and if I don't believe in that then I'm not jumping over to Jesus anytime soon!"

I was not pleased and finally just ended it. Because seriously? No. It's 2AM, I have work in the morning, you're a douchebag okay? Don't sleep on my floor and try to convert me. Ok? Just don't.

But here's the thing...
I was being totally serious to Jarl. I did believe in love. That perfect true love, where every morning you could wake up next to the same person and still be mesmerised by their face, just as stunned as the day before. Not a love without work, or compromise, or sacrifice - but one that embaced all of the above, without boundaries or limits as long as two people were willing. This was the core of my morality, the core of my person - my faith. My religion. I spent years truly believing that love was the single most powerful force in the world and if two people really loved each other, really, everything else was complications or excuses. Distance, life plans, etc. - utterly surmountable by anyone who really wanted to. And those were the excuses if you didn't want it bad enough.

I believed in Love with all my heart, and built my dreams and my desires around it.

But faith is a funny thing.
Everyone has the moment where their faith is tested, or shattered. And it's different for everyone, based on your core. For some people it's the death of a loved one and the realization of mortality. For some people it's questioning the existence of God for the first time. For some people it's seeing their parents cry, and realizing that they're just people too.

Well - God has never been more than a character in a story to me, and a childish and petulant one at that. I've known my parents to be human beings, with all the good and bad that comes with, for a long time.

I had my moment in a relationship. And that may seem simple, or sad, or silly to some of you - but to me it was like realizing there is no God. Because it's not about the break up - it's about the loss of love.

I meant it when I said "you are the love of my life." And when I said it I never intended to say it to anyone else. I had no doubts. And that's maybe the most important sentence I am capable of saying.

But now they're not.
It was real and it wasn't strong enough.
Or it wasn't real and I don't know the difference. Except I truly believe I do.

So either I was wrong, or that's that. Game over, glad you played - that was your shot.
One choice is utterly depressing, the other requires a total re-evaluation of basic truths I've always known. A worldview. A belief that has defined me as long as I've known how to define and that is crumbling to a cynicism I despise. I know it's really not that simple, there are shades of gray - this doesn't have to be black and white.

But if you've wondered why I haven't seemed as happy in the past few months - if you're one of the people who have been asking where the 'old' Jason went - "you were more jovial before" - That's why.

This is my crisis of faith.
I'm not sure what I believe in any more.

Belief is a funny thing. It can be easy to feel, easy to express, and next to impossible to explain. It's like most relationships and certain kinds of ropes and cords - incredibly firm, strong, dependable to carry a weight up to a certain number of tons - but cut the right way, it unravels.

Do You Believe?

You can't see it, but you know its there.

Every year in Montgomery County (and maybe all or most of Maryland) we have high school "Physics Day." Once a year all the students taking physics get to blow off classes and go to a school sponsored field trip to Six Flags to see the application of physics in action. It's not all fun and games - there's a worksheet to fill out on the rides in order to prove you actually learned something.

Unless you were me. Or one of 13 other students. Because in JDS, we had a total class size of about 88 - and in eleventh grade we had the choice of what kind of science to take. So while all those other suckers were slaving over equations, Elan and I chose to be the only guys in our grade to take Genetics, along with 12 of the girls. Given that everyone else was taking physics, they couldn't leave 14 of us at school all day. And so we got the free amusement park trip, and absolutely no work.

It was awesome.

I spent most of the day with Elan and his then-girlfriend Rachel (the same Rachel I slaughtered my ankle over in the now classic post An Assortment of Stupid Things That I Have Done). Except the two of them were uber lame and would wait by the side and cuddle or make cooey noises at each other while I road the rides.

To be fair, this was before I became a roller-coaster fiend, so maybe I was a little lame too. But not likely.

I was getting on "The Riddler's Revenge" which is a ride where you stand straight up against a wall of a big circle. There's a safety latch about a foot in front of you, but no real way to strap yourself in, and plenty of room to move around. Then the circle starts to spin and you're pushed to the wall by the force. Then the circle starts to rotate up until you're facing the ground with nothing but physics keeping you safe.

I get on the ride and we're all waiting when one of the other students quiets everyone down without saying a word. He's a tall black kid with long dreadlocks, a top hat, and a cape.

And as the ride starts to spin he calls out to the riders in a voice an evangelist would envy

"Do you BELIEVE in centrifugal force?"

And every one of us shouted back "I BELIEVE in centrifugal force!"

I believe.