Preach on Father!

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/22/opinion/22chaput.html?oref=login&oref=login&oref=login

One of the things that bothers me most about Kerry's "stance" on abortion is his complete lack of a legitimate defense for ignoring the teachings of the Catholic Church, the church he claims to love and honor as his spiritual home.

The tired "I don't want to impose my morals on anyone else" is pure, unadulterated B.S. The text of this NYTimes article addresses just that when Archbishop Chaput says:

"Lawmaking inevitably involves some group imposing its beliefs on the rest of us. That's the nature of the democratic process. If we say that we "ought" to do something, we are making a moral judgment. When our legislators turn that judgment into law, somebody's ought becomes a "must" for the whole of society. This is not inherently dangerous; it's how pluralism works."

"People who support permissive abortion laws have no qualms about imposing their views on society. Often working against popular opinion, they have tried to block any effort to change permissive abortion laws since the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. That's fair. That's their right. But why should the rules of engagement be different for citizens who oppose those laws?"

"Catholics have an obligation to work for the common good and the dignity of every person. We see abortion as a matter of civil rights and human dignity, not simply as a matter of religious teaching. We are doubly unfaithful - both to our religious convictions and to our democratic responsibilities - if we fail to support the right to life of the unborn child. Our duties to social justice by no means end there. But they do always begin there, because the right to life is foundational."

Foundational. Period.

On the surface, I could say that I could never vote for Kerry just because of his record on abortion (and some folks, even some friends of mine, would consider that naive and narrow). But the reality is that the underlying impotence of his own belief damns him more in my eyes than even his public stand on behalf of unlimited, unfettered, unimpeded destruction of human life.

If you say, "I believe strongly" in something, you should have the balls to actually stand up for it. He certainly doesn't blanche at imposing his values upon us when it comes to medical issues. Imagine if Kerry said, "I really believe seniors deserve free medications, but I don't want to impose that view upon those who don't share it."

Where would African-Americans be today if the Civil Rights leaders of the 50's and 60's had said, "Well, we think black folks should be able to work and vote and go to good schools and not fear those bastards with the white hoods and burning crosses, but we shouldn't impose our morals on those who disagree with us...good people can come to different conclusions after all."

But that is what John Kerry is saying: "Well, I think abortion is awful, personally, and it is sad that every day more and more real, live, human beings are being ripped apart limb-by-limb by those bastards with the white masks and surgical tools, and mothers are being left with emotional and physical scars, but I can't impose my moral conviction that abortion is wrong on those who disagree...good people can come to different conclusions after all."

Any American born since Roe v. Wade should look at John Kerry with the same incredulous, blank stare that an African-American would have had someone advocated the position above.