Sometimes, I look at our world, and I see things that are good and right. And other times, I see things that are just plain stupid. Too often, lately, I've been finding a lot of stupid things, and the list continues to grow.
My new favorite act of stupidity: The uproar over the Catholic Church's stance on birth control. Personally, I don't care what each one of us believes. I assume that you believe as you do for your own reasons - and those reasons make sense to you, much like I believe as I do because it makes sense to me. I'm not out to change opinions. But by now, I'm assuming that most people reading this are asking, "Then why do you call it stupid?" I'm glad you asked!!
Here's what's happening: The Catholic Church believes that contraception violates the covenant of marriage by limiting the presence of God within the sexual act. As such, and under the auspices of "separation of church and state," the Church does not want to pay for someone's birth control. Here's the important distinction that a lot of what I've seen is FAILING to understand: The Church can't force anyone to do anything. All it can do is provide people with information - moral, ethical, theological, philosophical information - on how to make the best decisions possible and still remain in the graces of God (here's the uber-important part) AS GOD IS UNDERSTOOD BY MAN ("man," as in the all-inclusive plural - meaning "everyone." If you cannot understand this term, there's the door, get out.) What the Church CAN do, and is attempting to do, is make the statement, "You can do what we believe is wrong - but you're on your own for it. The choice is yours, and YOU must answer for it." In short - the Church wants you to have a spiritual threesome, and is giving you the choice to behave however you want!!!!
So, back to the point, now that the background information is out there: Why do I say the uproar over this is stupid? It's simple, really: we (as a society) do not understand that with "choice" comes "consequence." They are, in fact, inseparable. I choose to post this blog - someone (likely many people) will be offended. Someone chooses to not pay attention to the road while driving, and someone else dies from the ensuing accident. Every choice we make has a consequence, and some have a higher cost than others. BUT - the rhetoric being used is that it is a person's RIGHT TO CHOOSE birth control oo not. WHERE IN THIS ARGUMENT IS THE PART ABOUT RESPONSIBILITY TO BEAR THE CONSEQUENCE OF CHOICE? We don't want to talk about that, do we?
Wait - oh we DO want to talk about it - when it comes to things like banking and auto manufacturing bailouts! THEN - we ALL want the people responsible for making bad decisions to PAY FOR IT. Or what about unemployment? Medicare? Immigration? THEN - everyone talks about drains on the system, and is it really necessary, and WHY SHOULD WE PAY FOR SOMEONE ELSE?? But when the Church says the same thing, everyone is up in arms over it. We want accountability when and where it is CONVENIENT for us. THAT is hipocracy, and THAT is stupid. To top it off, we're also wasting time and money debating this topic in our public courts. HOW IS THIS INTELLIGENT BEHAVIOR?
Now - for those whom are already incensed (I'm talking to you, science-citers)- there IS a viable argument that medically and scientifically, birth control is a good thing. Does it make life easier? Yes. Is it beneficial to a woman's overall health? Well, if you define "health" as simply "not being in pain from cramps, bloating, etc.," then yes, for a lot of women, this is the case. Are there other medical benefits? Yes, there are. I know women who suffer from chronic migraines who benefit from the use of birth control, just to name ONE of those benefits. There are others, I'm sure, of which I am not familiar. I do not discount their existence, nor that for many people, these are reasons enough to use birth control. I'll say it again, because I'm sure there are some who need to be reminded, I DO NOT CARE HOW YOU CHOOSE. Make up your mind as you will - that's NOT mine to judge.
BUT - no matter which side you choose, there are consequences, and you MUST bear them. That is TRUE freedom. By eliminating the consequence of monetary cost, the government is eliminating "choice," (remember, choice and consequence are inseparable) and making us more and more the servants of government. That's NOT how it's supposed to function. That is NOT freedom. You want the freedom to choose whether or not to use birth control? You've already got it.
Intelligent commentary and dialog is invited, but there are a few protocols you should know about:
1) This commentary is about CHOICE, and the nature of CHOICE and our society. It is NOT about how backwards-thinking the Church is in your opinion. Keep it there.
2)"Flame wars" will not be tolerated. Part of the consequence here is that people may be angry - I accept that, and further, I won't apologize for it. Lashing out in anger makes a person look like an utter moron. The choice (and consequence)is yours.
3) My blog, my rules. I get to determine what "intelligent commentary" means, not you. If I determine your comments to be "unintelligent," I will give you ONE chance to rectify it. No more than ONE.
4) The Catholic Church: supporting spiritual threesomes.
5) I am not "against" women's healthcare, nor am I, in any way against women.
Thanks for reading.
The Fat Kid.
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