Babies in a barrel

I haven't been vocal for awhile, but I recently read an article and ensuing comments that made me want to punch a wall... twice.   It was a horrifying news report about a Russian fisherman who came across a number of barrels ditched in the woods.  Upon inspection, they were found to contain human fetuses... 248 of them, all tagged with names and dates; the bio-waste from a hospital in Ekaterinberg.   (http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/140852/248_human_fetuses_discovered_by) As you can imagine, this gruesome discovery caused a firestorm of vitriol from readers around the world. '...how could this happen?', '...those poor babies', '...they deserve more respect', '...that would never happen in America', etc.  All of a sudden the topic was veered off into the various respectful ways that hospitals in America honored these lives with birth certificates and burials. I was pretty much in agreement with most of the commentary until I reached one that chose not to attack the perpetrators of the crime, but rather to lash out at someone who chose to refer to the fetuses as 'babies', calling her out for being a pro-life extremist who needs to 'wake up'.  The comment was so random and unexpected that I had to stop and ponder it for awhile.   It was then that my blood began to boil...

At that moment, I saw just how distorted our perception of life has become and what a blatant double standard our society has for it.  Let me explain:

Example A: A woman who wants a child miscarries in her 20th week of pregnancy . Her baby is issued a birth certificate and either takes the body for a private burial, or the hospital provides a burial in a special cemetery for that purpose.  The baby is considered a human and is given its due respect.

Example B: A woman who does not want a child goes for an abortion at 20 weeks.  The 'thing' is chopped up and sucked out of her body and down the drain of a bio-waste disposal system, treated like a malignant tumor.  No remorse as it's not a 'life', so no respect is warranted.  The pregnancy is done and forgotten.

Pardon my language, but WTF??  I'm pretty confident that this little blog will stir up a hornets nest of controversy but I can no longer handle the supreme contradiction of it all.  If the child is wanted, it is considered a life; if the child is not wanted, it's considered not a life and therefore not subject to moral or ethical laws, let alone judicial ones.  Have we become so self-absorbed that we cannot see the conflict here?  And if we do see it, why are we vilified and berated for speaking out about it?  Why do the extremists of the 'pro-choice' movement crucify us for questioning the right to life?  It's not about choice... there are plenty of choices out there.  Just ask the thousands of couples who go to great lengths and exorbitant costs to have a child; the countless people waiting years for the privilege to adopt.  As a society, have we become so complacent that we'll just continue to allow this process to continue because we don't want to rattle cages and look like the bad guys? Because we want it 'dealt with' today? If so, we are doomed to allow ever greater acts of injustice to permeate our lives.  We'll become immune to its infection while deceiving ourselves to its danger.  Eventually, all morality will ultimately break down and we'll have no one to blame but ourselves.

OK... I'm done venting.  I'm done punching walls.  I will, however, not forget the 248 dead babies found in barrels and pray we can stop this travesty from ever happening again. 

Pundit in training

We got Dan on the plane for Edmonton today; back to Camrose for his second semester.  I managed not to cry.  He used his holiday to catch up on much needed sleep... and keep up with American politics.

I have to admit, I am not a political animal.  I try and stay informed, but I sure don't put a lot of effort into it.   This fact makes me confused as to why I have a son who is passionate about ours and USA's  governments.  Where did that come from?  What crazy dormant gene decided to assert itself when Dan was in the making?  It's a mystery.

I blame it on Nelson.  That's where it all started.  Onetime when I wasn't looking he decided to join the Green Party.  Apparently the local candidate was busy visiting the schools and preaching the party line to an obvious captive audience.  The kicker came when she started handing out tiny evergreen saplings... what kid wouldn't want their very own tree?  That sealed the deal for Dan and he became a man on a mission.  First he made his way to the Green Party headquarters and got a sign, buttons, pamphlets and the blessings of said candidate.  Then, he gathered his tree, a TV table, his sign and pamphlets and parked himself on main street in order to convert the deceived and undecided. I'm pretty sure that wasn't legal, so we hoped the cops were too tied up with pot busts to notice.  I think he managed to stay almost 2 hours before being encouraged to pack it in before the other candidates complained.  That was the beginning and he never looked back.

This Christmas found Dan glued to the Republican primary.  He's studied every running candidate and staked his ground behind Ron Paul.  He's spend hours on Youtube listening to interviews and debates featuring RP.  He knows all about his foreign and domestic policies,  personal stands on all the hot buttons, and his desire to 'get America back on it's feet'.  He was glued to the TV during the Iowa primaries and no doubt will do the same with New Hampshire.  When RP ended up in third place behind Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, he sulked for the rest of the night and into the next day.  I hate to think of how he'll react if (or when as most would believe) Ron Paul does not get the nomination.  This is the dark side of major emotional investments in politics, my friends.

Still, when all is said and done, I kinda like that he feels so strongly about the leadership of this country and has not grown cynical like so many of the rest of us.  Maybe that's his calling... after all he is a Drama major!  Naw, I wouldn't wish that life on him.  I'm just happy I have him as a great resource; someone to answer all my questions on the subject. And maybe, just maybe, I'll learn to embrace the process myself.

But I wouldn't vote on it...

New Year

I can't believe it is already January 3rd.  It feels like I lost a month somewhere in the shuffle.  Nothing has changed really, and yet everything has.  We're into another year that, according to the Mayans, will be our last.  That puts a lot of pressure on it to be something spectacular, which makes me nervous.  How do you do enforce spectacular?  It seems like a big job.

No snow.  We have no snow and it's January.  Usually that's when the real winter fun begins and we are socked in for a good 2 months, ending our winter with another month of dirt, slush and sand covering the roads and walkways.  The only positive thing about January is that you know that in a few months, you hit SPRING!  Spring is my most favourite season... I revel in it.  Maybe spring will bring with it my spectacular this year!  I hope so; I could use it.

I guess my biggest challenge now is facing the inevitable: both sons leaving for the long haul.  It'll be hard for me, but they have the right to embrace their own spectacular, so it's good they go.  When I'm not missing them, I am actually really excited for the experiences they will be creating.  I've come to  the conclusion that it's the realization that they are creating them on their own, with no help from us as parents, that throws me off.  This seismic shift of control transfer sends the message that somehow, without your knowledge, you've become redundant... and it happens so fast you become confused and disoriented as to what to do now.  That's where I'm at right now.
Disoriented.  And somehow, once it's all over but the crying, I have to now figure out who am I... what's my job description gonna be?  The unknown always scares me.  

I guess I have no other choice but to forge ahead and hope that somewhere in this life, I'll find a bigger purpose.

Now that would be spectacular.