Well, as you have probably heard, President Bush has vetoed the stem cell research bill. Thank God for that. Crazy as our president sometimes seems, he still gets some things right. Speaking of right, the media seems to spin this as an attempt to garner the conservative vote for the upcoming congressional elections, but I don't really see it as especially politically motivated, unless there are a lot more truly conservative people than I think. The article I link to, as well as most of the media coverage, shows how divided the Republican party is on the embryonic stem cell issue. We need leaders who actually tackle the hard questions about life and morality instead of sidestepping them, and Bush's vote definitely sent a message that we are not ready simply to abandon ethics in favor of supposed scientific progress.
On the flip side, while browsing the news I also discovered this disgusting innovation. This quote pretty much sums it up: "You can start it and forget about it." It's not enough to have birth control, to block life, but also it must be pushed as much into the subconscious as possible that one is doing this. I don't know, though. It seems to me that having a rod in my arm would effectively remind me of exactly what I was doing. How horrid. In case you hadn't figured it out already, the FDA does not approve things based on whether they are good for humans! Thus, as far as I can see, the FDA's approval of anything is meaningless. We have to be vigilant, because our country's drug and grocery store shelves are now chock full of foods and drugs that are deleterious to our well-being. Rather a sobering thought, isn't it?
And what am I up to, you ask? Oh, the same thing as ever. Currently, I am waiting for the tech support people at my work to fix a problem so I can finish out my work day. This past weekend, Michael came to visit me and my family. I shuffled him between my two houses, but we had a lot of fun celebrating my sister's birthday, going to the driving range, visiting the Alamo and the Riverwalk, and attending Holy Mass at Our Lady of the Atonement. When life is good, it is very good. Still, I can't wait to go back to school and see everyone. The end of the summer is certainly in sight--just a month left--but I also have plenty of things to do in it. Work as much as possible is the first priority, with attempting to begin my thesis a close second. I should put in there spending more family time, because I don't get to see them much and I know I will miss them. However, I have my cell phone so they can always call me. And you can always email me! I will try to reply.
God bless,
Sylvia
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9 comments:
The FDA is just plain evil.
News such as that always gets me riled.
But on a less serioir note...glad to hear that your summer is going well Sylvia. I too look forward to seeing everyone in four weeks.
Crazy stuff. Although, noble as it may seem, I think many of these "pro-life" acts by President Bush end up just being bones that he throws to pro-lifers, reminding them that, no matter how many human rights violations he commits, he's still on our side. I don't know. Maybe I'm cynical.
If that is the case, Colin, that means that the pro-life movement has gained considerable political clout--in itself a good thing. I suppose it's one of the nice things about having a democracy. :)
The pro-choice movement is a self-correcting problem.
That's a good point, Sylvia. I really don't mean to belittle the work of the pro-life movement at all, I just think that Bush has been really inconsistent on his human rights stance all throughout both of his terms. It's sometimes difficult for me to decipher actions that appear to be strongly pro-life. What are his motiviations? It may be that he really does think he's doing the right thing; in which case I commend him. I guess I just think it seems inconsistent.
BTW, what do you mean, Emily, when you say the pro-choice movement is a self-correcting problem? I'm really not seeing it.
I know what you mean, Colin. In a lot of ways, our current president seems an enigma. Some of the things he does are so very, well, stupid and others, like you said, might be "from the goodness of his heart." Probably, like a lot of men who reach the age of 60, his opinions and prejudices have hardened into a mold that forms the pattern for all his decisions and statements. If it's a particularly schizophrenic mold, that just speaks to the chaos of our culture right now; in a lot of ways Bush is representative, the product of his generation.
As far as Emily's comment, I believe she refers to the fact that pro-life people will eventually outnumber pro-choice people simply because they are more...prolific. In the meantime, however, thousands of children continue to die.
I think your description of Bush's character is very insightful, Sylvia. He does some strange things, but I often believe that he does many things because he thinks they are the right things to do. That is rare in a politician.
What I mean, Colin, is that eventually those who are pro-life will outnumber the pro-death people, because pro-life families are going to have higher birth rates. Contraception and abortion can only lead to one thing--extinction. I'm kind of surprised they don't see the problems that await their cause. The scales will eventually tip in our direction but at such a cost! I wish the "Pro-choice" would pick on someone their own size.
Check. I understand you now. I agree with you that Bush does many things he believes is right, and I think that is almost the most dangerous thing of all. He really does think that what he is doing is good, and so he feels like he has the mroal high ground when he's called into criticism. Anyway, Bush's particular brand of fundamentalism is very much an American product.
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