Right to life or what?
- By Doug Coleman
- Published 01/22/2008
Doug Coleman
I like simplicity. I write about simple things like easy (simple) time management and customer service without slogans, just good sense. I enjoy auto racing, opera, jazz, puppies, and sunsets. There's nothing better than a glass of wine watching a brilliant sunset listening to Oscar Peterson's piano. Life is good.
I'm confused. I hear and see all the protesting and hand wringing by people who claim life is sacred and abortion must be stopped. Then I see news stories about protests against attempts by some states to abolish the death penalty. The final piece of the this confusion is the support the killing of our military and Iraqi civilians by the same groups that claim life to be sacred. As the kids say, "Go figure."
What is the difference between these lives: An unborn child, a convicted murderer, a military person, and an Iraqi civilian? If one death is wrong, why isn't it wrong to kill others? Those who are against abortion quote, "Thou shall not kill." as their divine justification. It seems to me that their justification for opposition, including bombings that kill, is not driven by conviction
as much as by an intent to spread their religious beliefs. In other words, the same zeal to spread their religious beliefs is the same zeal with which the United States attempts to spread its form of government, by force if necessary.
I happen to believe the death penalty should be abolished because it is not a punishment. I believe it is revenge and not a deterrent to murder. I further believe that the United States should not be able to send its citizens to war and death without the express approval of every elected congressional representative. Our mass killing of Iraqi civilians is without justification by any analysis. We are selective in our opposition to killing. If life is so sacred, why do those same groups that protest abortion demand the death penalty and support the slaughter in Iraq? Again, as the kids say, "Go figure."
What is the difference between these lives: An unborn child, a convicted murderer, a military person, and an Iraqi civilian? If one death is wrong, why isn't it wrong to kill others? Those who are against abortion quote, "Thou shall not kill." as their divine justification. It seems to me that their justification for opposition, including bombings that kill, is not driven by conviction
I happen to believe the death penalty should be abolished because it is not a punishment. I believe it is revenge and not a deterrent to murder. I further believe that the United States should not be able to send its citizens to war and death without the express approval of every elected congressional representative. Our mass killing of Iraqi civilians is without justification by any analysis. We are selective in our opposition to killing. If life is so sacred, why do those same groups that protest abortion demand the death penalty and support the slaughter in Iraq? Again, as the kids say, "Go figure."
