Much has happened in the years since I last posted. Both my father and my sister have passed away. My father of a sudden heart attack and my sister by a sudden cerebral aneurysm. My brother and myself are all that remain of my family. You often hear stories of family conflict, arguments and outright abuse. Everywhere that you look: on television, in the newspaper and in magazines familial strife is portrayed as common and even normal. I must say that that wasn't my experience at all. Oh, we had the occasional disagreement, but nothing that would be considered a fight. I have trouble remembering even a raised voice. My parents and my sister were wonderful and I miss them so very much.
I've never been married. It just doesn't suit me. Although sometimes I regret never having children. I frequently like to be alone reading books or staying up all hours of the night on the computer or taking solo ten mile hikes from midnight to three in the morning. I don't know of a woman who would appreciate those characteristics in a husband.
I may post again soon, or maybe I wont. Who knows?
Sunday, June 02, 2013
Sunday, June 26, 2005
ABORTION
La Bona has inquired on my views on abortion La Bona's comment. He wrote:
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"I personally see abortion as a NECESSARY EVIL and that unwanted pregnancy is not only a personal problem and it is also a very real problem for the society at large.
Do you think it is right to burden say a 15 years old school-going girl with a new life when she is yet to have any economic mean to sustain herself and obviously, most girls of her age are not mentally ready for a family life. Furthermore, is it fair to rob her of her career, aspiration, dream etc., in the name of preserving a life that is yet to be fully developed."
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Well; I can agree that abortion is evil, though not a necessary one. I also partially agree that an unwanted pregnancy CAN be both a personal problem as well as a societal one. It is a mistake to conclude, however, that unwanted pregnancies are only problems; they can also sometimes be blessings and opportunities in disguise -both personally and socially.
The argument that a teenager should have an abortion because "she doesn't have the economic means to sustain herself" is baseless, at least in the United States. There are literally thousands of programs at the federal, state, local, religious, and private levels to sustain and support families in need.
The argument that a teenager should consider having an abortion if she is "not mentally ready for a family life" is also somewhat unclear. Does this line of reasoning mean to argue that it would do more psychological harm for a teenager to have an unwanted baby than the memories, remorse and heartache that many women experience after an abortion that haunts them for the rest of their life; or does it argue that the child born to the teenager "not mentally ready for a family life" would endure lifelong mental suffering if born to such a mother? Again; both logic and experience say that this is not necessarily so. One would do well to remember that until the twentieth century most mothers became so as teenagers.
Finally; the argument that the unwed teenager should consider an abortion because having a child would "rob her of her career, aspiration, dream etc., in the name of preserving a life that is yet to be fully developed." is also not well developed. Thousands upon thousands of teenage mothers have not only finished high school but gone on to get advanced degrees and establish professional careers. Logic and experience again show us that being a teenage mother makes education and a career much more difficult to attain, but not impossible.
Even if it is agreed that in a specific case a teenager having a baby would experience economic, social, and psychological stresses the question ultimately comes down to this: Does the ends justify the means? If you, like La Bona, feel "that it is not fair to burden a school girl in the name of preserving a life that is yet to be fully developed" then what you are really saying is that: The ends justifies the means. If it could be proven, for the sake of argument, that children born to teenage mothers actually experienced economic prosperity and psychological contentment, and that abortion ultimately led to economic and psychological disaster; most abortion proponents would remain proponents. Conversely; if the opposite could be proven most anti-abortionists would remain so because to them: The ends does not justify the means.
I believe that abortion is inherently wrong and a tragedy. Even if it were true that unwanted children and their mothers usually live undesirable lives. That, in itself, is not necessarily an argument for abortion as per the maxim:"Two wrongs don't make a right." Of course my lines of argument, though valid, are over-simplified and not fully developed here because I have neither the time nor the inclination to argue the abortion issue. Minds much clearer and more studied than mine have written on both sides of this issue for years and will do so for years to come. I leave it to the reader to study further the validity and basis of their point of view on abortion and the courage to change it if logic dictates that necessity.
======================================================
"I personally see abortion as a NECESSARY EVIL and that unwanted pregnancy is not only a personal problem and it is also a very real problem for the society at large.
Do you think it is right to burden say a 15 years old school-going girl with a new life when she is yet to have any economic mean to sustain herself and obviously, most girls of her age are not mentally ready for a family life. Furthermore, is it fair to rob her of her career, aspiration, dream etc., in the name of preserving a life that is yet to be fully developed."
=====================================================
Well; I can agree that abortion is evil, though not a necessary one. I also partially agree that an unwanted pregnancy CAN be both a personal problem as well as a societal one. It is a mistake to conclude, however, that unwanted pregnancies are only problems; they can also sometimes be blessings and opportunities in disguise -both personally and socially.
The argument that a teenager should have an abortion because "she doesn't have the economic means to sustain herself" is baseless, at least in the United States. There are literally thousands of programs at the federal, state, local, religious, and private levels to sustain and support families in need.
The argument that a teenager should consider having an abortion if she is "not mentally ready for a family life" is also somewhat unclear. Does this line of reasoning mean to argue that it would do more psychological harm for a teenager to have an unwanted baby than the memories, remorse and heartache that many women experience after an abortion that haunts them for the rest of their life; or does it argue that the child born to the teenager "not mentally ready for a family life" would endure lifelong mental suffering if born to such a mother? Again; both logic and experience say that this is not necessarily so. One would do well to remember that until the twentieth century most mothers became so as teenagers.
Finally; the argument that the unwed teenager should consider an abortion because having a child would "rob her of her career, aspiration, dream etc., in the name of preserving a life that is yet to be fully developed." is also not well developed. Thousands upon thousands of teenage mothers have not only finished high school but gone on to get advanced degrees and establish professional careers. Logic and experience again show us that being a teenage mother makes education and a career much more difficult to attain, but not impossible.
Even if it is agreed that in a specific case a teenager having a baby would experience economic, social, and psychological stresses the question ultimately comes down to this: Does the ends justify the means? If you, like La Bona, feel "that it is not fair to burden a school girl in the name of preserving a life that is yet to be fully developed" then what you are really saying is that: The ends justifies the means. If it could be proven, for the sake of argument, that children born to teenage mothers actually experienced economic prosperity and psychological contentment, and that abortion ultimately led to economic and psychological disaster; most abortion proponents would remain proponents. Conversely; if the opposite could be proven most anti-abortionists would remain so because to them: The ends does not justify the means.
I believe that abortion is inherently wrong and a tragedy. Even if it were true that unwanted children and their mothers usually live undesirable lives. That, in itself, is not necessarily an argument for abortion as per the maxim:"Two wrongs don't make a right." Of course my lines of argument, though valid, are over-simplified and not fully developed here because I have neither the time nor the inclination to argue the abortion issue. Minds much clearer and more studied than mine have written on both sides of this issue for years and will do so for years to come. I leave it to the reader to study further the validity and basis of their point of view on abortion and the courage to change it if logic dictates that necessity.
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Political philosophy
Dear Reader:
This post lists some of the influences in the development of my political philosophy. A useful political philosophy must avoid both unrealistic idealism as well as unjustified pessimism and instead account for the true nature of man, both good and bad, when formulating a world view that is both pertinent and relevant in the real world. Below are some quotes and paraphrases that I have found useful in guiding me in evaluating the appropriateness and efficacy of governments, laws, and philosophies in the course of my studies.
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Aristotle saw the competing views of the democratic and oligarchical schools of political thought as mutually lacking in a full understanding and appreciation of political justice. "It is as unjust to treat equals unequally as it is to treat unequals equally." The oligarch violates the first of these principles, the democrat the second.
-The Great Ideas Vol. 2
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1: My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2: For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3: And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
-The Bible James 2:1-4
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We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
-The Declaration of Independence
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Our rights come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.
-President John F. Kennedy
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Any man who is under 30 and is not a Liberal has no heart; and any man who is over 30 and not a Conservative has no brains.
-Winston Churchill
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