Blogging for choice
On this, the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, lots of people out there are Blogging for Choice.
For my part, I like to think I "blog for choice" every day. I think it's unfortunate that the term "choice" in our national dialog has become so tightly bound up in the abortion issue. I think that's much too narrow a view, and that being "pro choice" should mean so much more than that.
For the record, I fully support a woman's right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. I also support her right to choose which school to enroll her kids in, or whether to purchase a firearm, or whether to opt out of Social Security, or whether to wear her seat belt or smoke or eat trans fats. You get the idea.
I am a libertarian, and I support choice across the board. Unfortunately, I'm typically forced to choose between two parties who protect my choice on one set of issues but try to deny it on others. That's a tough balance to make.
During the 80s and most of the 90s, I weighed the issues out and I leaned Republican for most of that time. I felt, for example, that our second amendment rights were in more immediate danger than the right to abortion, and I voted accordingly. It's an oversimplification, of course, but you get the idea. Now, however, a shift has occurred. For the first time in a long time, I believe the right to abortion is in more serious jeopardy than the right to bear arms. Those are just two issues, of course, but they're bellwethers. In the end, I found myself actually pulling for the Democrats last year. That's fine, and I don't regret it, but I just wish there could be a viable party that stands for choice across the board.
Comments
Great post!
The case can be more easily made that neither Party stands for Liberty/choice.
Yes, from about 1964 - 1980 the Democrats inflicted so much "big government" harm that they were clearly the worst Party by the time Ronald Reagan ran for office.
Sadly, over the last twelve years the Republicasn showed themselves as content to tinker around the edges, in order to not upset the apple cart and not anger their cheap labor advocating benefactors - the Country Club/"Moderate" Republicans.
The last election saw a large number of "new Democrats," mostly Conservative Dems elected, so that now over 20% of the Democrats in Congress are Blue Dog/Conservative Democrats.
Perhaps there'll be some sort of evolution from that in the future, with Conservatives from both Parties forming a new Party.
After all the only new ideas are coming from Conservatives and Libertarians and that is the real fault line in America today.
The day of the Keynesian Carter-Liberal is as much history as the Greek Empire.
Posted by: JMK | January 22, 2007 08:49 PM
You'll still find that the Democrats want to give you much more choice than the Republicans. Democrats want you to be able to choose whether to have an abortion, what gender you want to marry, what fun stuff you do in the bedroom, what television shows you can watch, and even when you want to die.
Most Dems I know want you to have as much choice as possible among companies, too, hence the usual unpleasantness you often hear when companies seem to get a little too big and start crushing all their competitors.
I think choosing whether or not to give to SS is a nice thing, too, as long as we can figure out how to get it funded properly.
Posted by: Tracy Miller | January 26, 2007 02:34 PM
> Democrats want you to be able to choose whether to have an abortion, what gender you want to marry, what fun stuff you do in the bedroom, what television shows you can watch, and even when you want to die.
I'll agree with you that, in general, Democrats are better on these issues than Republicans. Still, I think you have to weigh these out in the proper context, which is:
1. Abortion: Still legal, even after 6 years of GOP monopoly on power.
2. Gay marriage. Still illegal, and will continue to be even if the *Dems* obtain a monopoly on power.
3. "Fun stuff in the bedroom." Despite the uptight nature of some Republicans on the issue, Americans are not incarcerated for engaging in consensual, adult sex in the privacy of their own homes.
4. TV shows: Ditto. We can watch what we want, even under the Republicans.
In other words, none of these are all choices we currently already enjoy, except for gay marriage, which finds vanishingly few supporters even among the Democrats.
School choice and Social Security choice, however, are *not* freedoms we have, and that's largely due to the Democrats.
Posted by: BNJ | January 26, 2007 03:19 PM