Opaque Lucidity

Redefine

The Terri Schiavo case has brought a phrase to the fore that has been used in the abortion debate for years: the culture of death. This phrase is used by pro-life advocates to describe those who support abortion, assisted suicide and the starvation death of Mrs. Schiavo. It’s appealing to use phraseology such as this because it creates a clear demarcation line between one side and the other. But it’s inaccurate, and not for the reasons you might believe.

Modern liberals and their fellow travelers in our society have become very good at redefining even the most basic points of any argument. Move away from life issues for a moment and take a look at poverty. The number of families living below the poverty line in the United States has risen in direct proportion to the illegitimacy rate. It’s simple math: one-parent homes do not, on average, earn the same income as two-parent homes. The logical solution, to most conservatives, is to encourage abstinence and marriage. But the liberals, who “care” more, dropped this idea on its head. First, they redefined illegitimacy and began calling is single parenthood in an attempt to remove the social stigma associated with having bastard children. Was this kind? Yes, it was. Did it solve any problems? No, it didn’t. The illegitimacy rate in the United States is still incredibly high and costs all of us more and more every year. All the liberal solution did was introduce some newspeak into the lexicon and make everyone feel better about themselves.

When attacked on the concept of single parenthood, liberals respond by saying that single parenthood should be respected as another lifestyle choice, just like marriage. Anyone who says otherwise is trying to push their morals on everyone else. It does not matter, apparently, that children from two-parent households tend to do better in school, are less likely to take drugs, have a lower suicide rate and are more likely to seek a higher education---the liberals made it an argument about me wanting you to live by my moral standards.

And so it is with life issues. Instead of admitting that abortion is murder of an unborn child and that they support it anyway, liberals have redefined what life is. Life, it would seem, is defined as any condition that you find comfortable and livable. Don’t want to see a child born into poverty? Abort it! After all, you wouldn’t want live that way, would you? So it is with Terri Schiavo: since you don’t want to live that way (or you wouldn’t want to deal with someone who does), kill her. Anyone who believes otherwise is a religious zealot. Do you think I’m overstating the case? Go cruising around the blogosphere for an hour and tell me I’m wrong.

Many in our nation talk about how divided we are. I agree. It is not issues which divide us, for the debate over issues small and large has always consumed this country. Our division comes from the fact that the argument is no longer made from a common ground of common belief and basic fact.