I am Pro-Choice: Why Choice isn't just a Woman's Right

I am pro-choice.

I have come to realize that I need to admit this to my family, church, and community. I do believe it is a woman's right to decide whether to have a child or not, and nobody can take this right from her. Not a Christian, not even a conservative atheist. Especially not government. There will be no government-imposed, forced sterilization on my watch, and neither will I ever accept a justification worthy enough to mandate that a woman must have a child.

Since this choice is a right, Women shouldn't be left alone to speak out on this issue. I believe it is every human being's responsibility to speak out for human rights, even if they are the opposite sex of those who deserve that right. For instance, if an employer decided not to hire me based solely on her prejudice against me as a male, I would hope both men and woman would speak out against this discrimination. Forcing a woman to stay silent--claiming she has no right to speak up for me because she doesn't share my same genitalia--is pure sexism. So is saying I don't have a right to speak out on the pro-choice issue just because I am a man.

What's more though, I've realized that it's not only women who have the right to choose whether to have a baby or not, but also men. This choice is their personal choice, and they too, like women, should speak out to defend it. For me personally, I have chosen not to have a baby right now. I am 21 and still a virgin because I know I am not ready to start a family and provide for a baby.

You see, if you've lived more than a few years, you know the answer to the question "where do babies come from?"  It's a proven fact that the pleasure of sex brings babies into this world. That is not debated. It is also not debated that the embryo is similar yet distinct from its parents at the moment of conception. Because the DNA specifies human, the embryo is human like its parents, and in that way it is similar. However, since the DNA is spliced together from both the mom and dad's chromosomes, this little person (let's say the DNA specifies "boy" for clarity's sake) is neither his mother or father--or a part of his mother's body, for that matter. He is a distinct human being at the earliest stage of development.

The preamble to the Declaration of Independence states: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." I believe every human being has the right to live in freedom, so that they can make choices to better themselves and live in peace and happiness. To take these choices away from anyone is despicable. That's why slavery is wrong. That's why eugenics is wrong. And that's why killing little human beings inside the womb is wrong.

Abortion is not a personal choice, but a perverse crime since it robs human beings of their unalienable rights.  Since I am pro choice, I believe all human beings have the right to choice, and I stand against any practice that takes those choices away. We all have the right to choose whether or not to bring a baby into this world, but when our choices lead to the conception of a new human being, we no longer have a choice to bring a baby into the world or not, because the baby is already here. I will always speak out against abortion, because choices are personal to me, as they should be to every human being. I don't want my choices taken from me or any other human being.

You see, you don't have to be pro-abortion to be pro-choice. Quite the opposite. Abortion doesn't rob a woman of her choice to bear a child; she's already accepted that possibility would come as a result of sex. Instead, abortion takes all the choices from the child in the womb. Yes, I am pro-choice, family and friends. And that is why I stand against abortion.

Liberty and Justice for All--Even Suspected Terrorists

Imagine a suspected ISIS terrorist is caught in your neighborhood. Not only do the police find a van full of weapons and explosives, but there is evidence to suggest that he was going to go on his killing rampage the very next day. Your mind flashes to images of other attacks like those in San Bernardino or at Ohio State University, or the terrible attacks abroad like those in France or Sweden. It makes you sick to think that such terror could have happened in your own backyard.

You want this fear removed as far away from you as possible. You want this suspected terrorist to be dealt with swiftly--locked up for life, or even better, eliminated. That way you never have to fear that he will return to your neighborhood. You know how long the courts take to condemn someone. You can't imagine what the hold up could possibly be, though. The man is Muslim. He posts pro-Islam Facebook articles on his wall. And he had a van full of deadly weapons, for goodness sake!

A thought crosses your mind that you wish the lengthy court process could be skipped all together, and that this terrorist could be dealt with some good ole frontier justice. People strung up on a high tree don't have a chance at escaping custody, after all.

Believe it or not, though, I am thankful for that long court process.

Never before has a nation been built on such a fair judicial system. The balance between judge and jury and the rights of the accused to due process and equal representation was almost if not completely unheard of before America. I am incredibly thankful that if I am accused of a crime, I can't be secretly carted away and dealt with behind the scenes like victims of the German Gestapo were. And I am very, very wary of measures to remove those amazing checks and balances in our judicial system for anyone, even suspected terrorists.

Believe it or not, a lot of these privileges have been removed for suspected terrorists, thanks to the Patriot Act. They may be searched without a warrant, have their property seized as "evidence", and they may be detained without access to a lawyer, hearings, or any formal sentencing. Though I understand the importance of having legislation to allow for quickly neutralizing a terror threat, the Patriot Act clearly takes it too far in that it erodes deeply-seated principles in our constitution like the fifth and sixth amendments (right of due process and trial by jury).

No matter how guilty we think a person is, it is imperative that we uphold the fairness of our judicial system! What happens if the sentiments in our nation change (like they already have been) against conservative Christians?  What if it was deemed child abuse to homeschool your own children, or anarchy to own your own weapon? Wouldn't we want a fair trial, as opposed to our rights being immediately violated on the grounds that we are so dangerous or despicable as to be a "special case"?

If we start cutting the corners in our judicial system now, who knows where it might lead. This does not mean that our courts are coming to "moral" decisions all the time either. There are some crazy decisions our courts are making. Believe me, I am very aware of that. But at least those decisions were made out in the open, through a fair trial that can be reviewed and hopefully criticized. This post is not about the relativistic liberalism that has snuck into our courts, but the importance of the way our courts were established and how they should be upheld. We need to keep the idea of "innocent until proven guilty" in the forefront of our nations psyche, and we need to make sure that the process of proving someone guilty remains just and fair. Let's not let fear drive us to undermine the very system that protects us. Our nation has been founded on liberty and justice for all; let's pledge ourselves once again to protect those ideals! The integrity of the United States of America depends on it.

Disney: The Beauty or the Beast?

I love Disney.

I grew up with Buzz Lightyear being my best buddy. I was that kid who literally broke Buzz's arm, because I was so sure he could fly that I launched him down a flight of stairs. And of course, I sobbed at the realization that he couldn't, and my poor parents had a distraught kid on their hands as they tried with no success to but Buzz back together again. Even further proof that I was obsessed with Buzz? I, um, owe my being potty trained to him. Seriously. I wasn't getting it until my parents drew me a picture of Buzz sitting on the porcelain throne. If he could do it, I could do it.

I also loved Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo. Disney and Pixar had a great thing going. Some of my best childhood memories are my times spent at Disneyland. Trips to that special land of happiness also mark important milestones in my life. A trip there when I turned thirteen, and again at 18.

Disney is interwoven into my life, like a familiar friend.

But I hardly recognize my friend anymore. My first glimpse of Disney's recent transformation was their film Frozen, with a glimpse at a potentially gay character and the possible Lesbian analogy in Elsa. Next came Zootopia, which encouraged us that you can be anything you want to be, and biology doesn't matter. It also featured a very strong secular humanist message (look inside yourself and be the change), a nudist colony made only slightly less disturbing by the fact that they were animals, and a wink wink moment where male characters are playing around with an app on their phone that lets them appear to dance sensually with Gazelle, a pop singer who is portrayed to be just as immodest and seductive as the pop singers of our culture today.  And now, judging off the Plugged In review, Disney's live action version of The Beauty and the Beast has a prominent gay character with a small handful of scenes dedicated to him and a crossdresser who preens towards the screen for us--and later shares a dance in the background with the gay character.

Disney has gone off the deep end. It's as if there is no longer anything ethically off limits for them. They have become very good at sneaking in filth while keeping a PG rating. But how much more of it are we going to take?

I seriously doubt we are going to find many more positive messages from Disney, unless they have a radical change of heart. Gone are the messages of the importance and steadfastness of friendship (Toy Story) or in letting go of your dreams to love selflessly (Up). Gone, most likely, is even the more ethically tolerable though still questionable message about pursuing your dreams with all your heart. Disney has been sucked into espousing the talking points of the liberal political agenda, which flies in the face of traditional conservative values. Giving moral, family-affirming messages is going to become less and less important for them as they continue to spiral down and continue the destructive cycle of a worldview completely apart from God.

So again I ask, how much more of this are we going to take? When will we no longer be content to give Disney a captive audience for an hour and a half as they attempt to weave glittering, brilliantly-put-together lies into our psyche? More importantly, will we allow our children to sit through these lies? What happens when they grow up with their Disney role models being negative ones?

This mom, for one, is no longer willing to put up with Disney. Brooke Poston, author of the blog This Modest Mom, cancelled her family's $6,000 dollar trip to Disneyland and started a boycott of all things Disney. You can view and sign the boycott here if you are ready to take that step.

Or, maybe you're like me, and are not willing to completely ban Disney. I definitely don't plan on visiting Disneyland any time soon but will be taking a movie-by-movie approach to banning their films. If they are willing to return to a friendly, positive family film like UP, then I will support that movie. However, like I said, the chances of that seem to be getting increasingly rare.

It's time, guys, to start cutting ties with Disney. You may decide to go completely cold turkey off all things Disney. Fair warning, though: this will mean banning more movies than you would at first assume, because Disney has their hands in the Marvel movies and Star Wars for instance. Or, you may decide to go it by a movie-to-movie basis. But please do something. If nothing else--because realistically, thinking we can boycott Disney out of business is a stretch--do it for your children. Don't let them be captivated by brilliantly put together lies that pull at their young heartstrings.

Cutting ties with Disney will leave a void, sure, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. There are tons of great books out there to opt for instead. I found family reading time to be way more profitable than sitting in front of a screen anyway! Also, it would appear that Disney and Hollywood in general are fresh out of ideas, as Eric Metaxes pointed out in Breakpoint yesterday. Christian storytellers, be inspired! Let's use our redeemed creative abilities to write and film captivating, original stories that will reach an audience that might just be getting tired of the same old same old.

It's painful seeing the end of an era; it's painful watching Disney evolve from the beauty of their brilliant, morals-affirming stories to the beast of their present, glitzy filth. But there's no need to mourn. We're Christians. Our satisfaction is found in Christ and the amazing story of grace, forgiveness, redemption, and triumph that can be found in Him alone. Maybe Disney will one day realize this and turn from their destructive deceptions; we should definitely be praying for them. But until then, let's be careful to fill our minds with stories other than the new Disney norm.

 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Philippians 4:8 

Donald Trump will not Make America Great Again

How many of you were surprised by our resent election results? Let’s see a show of hands. Ah ha, I am not alone. Looks like all of us where a little surprised. Even shell shocked. It sure looked like Hillary Rodham Clinton was our next president. And Mr. Bill Clinton our first first man. (that has a terrible ring to it, btw)

But here we are! Donald Trump, our President Elect! I won’t ask for a show of hands of who voted for him. Though if you didn’t, and since he still won, man you have the best of both worlds! If he turns out to be the next Adolph Hitler like the venerable, balanced, completely non-biased NPR would have you believe (sorry, local joke, scratch out NPR and insert liberal media of choice in the blank), than you can look your grandkids in the eye and say “I did not vote for that man”. If he turns out to save America, well he’ll be saving you too so all’s good.

So what will Donald Trump do as president? We’ve got a month and a half to speculate. Now let’s see another show of hands. Who is cautiously optimistic, especially after the appointments of several great conservatives like Jeff Sessions to Attorney General?  Here goes my hand! Who’s with me?

Now, who thinks he is just what America needs? Might he, just might he, actually save America?? Can he stop our free falling debt and revive our economy? Can he appoint Supreme Court nominees that will uphold our constitution and stand for Christian morals? Can he defeat ISIS? Will he put in place reforms much like Ronald Reagan did? Is he, in fact, our next Ronald Reagan?

Yep, the hands are very cautious to go skyward on this one.

But let’s admit it. How many of us, deep down inside, want it to be true? How many of us secretly hope that Mr. Trump will save our nation. How many of us day dream about the change that he could bring, especially with both a republican House and Senate? Even if you can’t admit to these secret thoughts (I do, in case you were wondering. Sorry. I’m kind of a day dreamer anyway), I think all of us can agree that we are breathing a sigh of relief. The evil empire is defeated. We torpedoed their death star. Conservatism won. Liberals lost. We can all relax.

Or can we?

I want to put it point blank. Donald Trump will not save America. Not. Even. Close. You see, he can’t. No mere man can. America is made up of people, and in their natural state people are radically depraved. Unfortunately, no man, including our president, can change people’s hearts. Our president and government can punish wrong-doing, but it can’t completely stop the wrong-doing from happening. What’s more, our nation was set up so that the people would have a profound say in who gets to lead them. So if our nation is indeed made up of a majority of people following the natural, selfish desires of their hearts, guess who they are going to vote for? Someone who will force them to change? Haha, of course not, you guessed it! They will vote for someone naturally fallen and selfish like themselves. As John Adams wisely put it: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Donald Trump may do a lot of good in restoring and preserving conservative--maybe even Christian--values in our country, but in the end four or even eight years is but a glimmer of time to make positive, lasting change. Take Ronald Reagan's presidency as a recent example of how lasting the positive change of one presidency is. Our nation is declining, and though it will be awesome if we at least hold steady or even climb upwards these next few years on the morality charts, we will again nose dive if we as a people don’t repent from our sinful, selfish ways and come back to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Donald Trump is not and can never be a savior. There is only one Savior for America, and His name is Jesus.

We can rejoice, maybe, that we blew up a liberal “Death Star” in that Hilary Clinton is not our next president, but believe me, the Empire still lives, and it’s getting ready to strike back (cliché, I know . . .). This Empire isn’t in some galaxy far, far away either. Neither is it a certain political party, just to be clear. It’s right here, a spiritual force of darkness bent on stealing, killing, and destroying anything that resembles goodness. We are called to throw on our spiritual armor and fight it. This is the real battle.

So don’t relax, Christian friends. As significant as it is that conservativism is getting another shot in America, we should be seeking with even more fervor something far more significant: a Christian revival! Let’s seek to show genuine love and kindness to all those we meet. Let’s be that example of those who believe by our speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. Let’s pray with all sincerity that our leaders would come to faith in Jesus, that we may live quiet, peaceful lives in all Godliness and dignity. As we cultivate this faithfulness in our own lives, may the hardened ground of America again become fertile. May it blossom with the abundant life and rich spiritual fruit of a nation truly under God! Just imagine that for a minute! What if this was the start of something different in America. What if we could look back on this year, 2016, as the lowest point we ever reached as a nation before we skyrocketed back up to the prosperous, God-fearing country we once were. With Donald Trump, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible.

I have no hope that America will be great again thanks to Donald Trump. But I have every hope in what my almighty God can do. That’s where my hope is. So Lord, I trust in you to save this nation, if it be your will. Help me to do my part to cultivate faithfulness in my own life and in my circles of influence. Save Donald Trump, I pray, that he may live for you. I pray you would humble him to receive the wisdom we all so desperately need, that he may know how to wisely govern our nation. I pray for each and every Christian in this nation, that we would place our hope solely in you. I pray that we would use this time of relative freedom to preach your Gospel by our words and deeds. Wake us of our apathy, and make us vibrant and proactive, instead of passive. I pray that you would use us to revive this nation to a genuine faith in you. This I pray in the powerful name of the only One mighty to save, amen!

if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14