Quote:
Originally Posted by SydneyK
Someone up-thread mentioned that people don't live/work in a vacuum, and so we shouldn't be surprised when a politician's actions/words are influenced by his/her religion. While I think this is true, I don't think it's right. In my opinion, a person's faith should guide their own decisions in life, but not the decisions of others (unless those others have expressed a belief in the same faith).
|
That's fine, as long as all other politicians and elected officials also leave their personal values at the door when making decisions for us all. Of course, that might be tricky, since few if any of us compartmentalize our values in that way. So, not really realistic.
And it's not really desirable, I don't think. It's hard for me to imagine what the abolitionist and civil rights movements would have looked like without the participation of those who who were motivated by their religious beliefs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Low C Sharp
I'd be totally on board with this if others were. There aren't many (any?) pro-life groups that support comprehensive sex education and free birth control. Even Feminists for Life is officially neutral on the issue of contraception. If you can point me to an organization that supports comprehensive sex education and the promotion of free birth control, while opposing legal abortion, I'm very interested in learning about it.
|
I can't point you to any. There might be some, but I'm out of my depth there. And I recognize that to the extent opposition to abortion is motivated by Catholic teaching, agreeing to promotion of free birth control isn't likely.
Perhaps the possibility of finding this kind of common ground is slim. I don't know. What I do know is that as long as groups on each side feed the polarization and define themselves, in whole or in part, by how they are opposed to The Other Side, the possibility is nil. So, I'd err on the side of encouraging civil, respectful dialogue and seeking to find common ground on the chance, slim though it may be, that some common ground and even common purpose might be found. Even if that goal isn't reached, society as a whole wins if the heat is turned down in the debate.
Threaded Mode
