Okay, that’s not exactly how I feel. And I’m not an advocate of stirring up trouble, really.
Hell, I barely have any family left to throw up against the metaphorical wall, anyway. Alcoholism, workaholism and ridiculous squabbling over money have reduced my once-vast clan to a small (but fantastic, generous and hardy) few (for whom I am extremely grateful, thankyouverymuch).
Plus, because of our family dispersal pattern, I’m celebrating this holiday with a few geographically (and otherwise) desirable friends who are as whack-job liberal as I am, so I don’t anticipate any need for backup.
But Atrios has such a great post on how to deal with, um, non-likeminded relatives of the loud and/or bellicose variety that I had to hook y’alls up with the link.
And I’m copping his fantastic strategy for dealing with the choice issue for my non-holiday use, as well:
(Additional note: If the issue of abortion comes up I’m at the ready with a line of question I’ve had some recent successes with: Ask them to guess where the US ranks in infant mortality rate. Tell them Sweden, with the lowest infant mortality rate, ranks #1. Press them to guess where the US falls after that. Really, get their best guess. The correct and highly embarasing answer for these self-rightious, Holier Then Thou, save the babies at all costs crusaders is . . . 41st. Cuba has a lower infant mortality rate. Let them chew on that.)
Woo-hoo! An abortion post on Thanksgiving!
Happy-happy, everyone!
xxx
c
Great post! There was a great segment on NOW with Bill Moyers a couple of weeks ago; Bill interviewed Sister (and author) Joan Chittister:
(begin clip of transcript)
MOYERS: Dobson, Falwell, Robertson and a lot of secular pundits and columnists are saying that this election was decided by moral issues. Do you think moral issues were that decisive in this campaign?
CHITTISTER: Well, I don’t believe.. I’m not exactly sure that they were as decisive in the end. And I’m not sure that there’s any way we can measure that. But even if I say, “Yes, they were,” the fact of the matter is that they are some moral issues, they’re not all moral issues.
The fact of the matter is that they’re all in contention with something else which is also a moral value and also equally important unless you put it completely out of your mind or your heart. For instance, let’s look at the abortion question. I’m opposed to abortion.
But I do not believe that just because you’re opposed to abortion that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking. If all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed and why would I think that you don’t? Because you don’t want any tax money to go there. That’s not pro-life. That’s pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is.
(end of clip)
I am pro-choice… but I think if you asked most people who are “pro-life”, what you’ll really find is that they are also for the death penalty… that makes them pro-life and pro-death, and anti everything else.