Election Issues

The assignment from Chocolate on my Cranium this week was to choose an issue: Abortion, Economy, Education, Immigration, Marriage (just between one man and one woman or should gays be allowed to marry?) ,War (Iraq, Afghanistan, or war in general). I really am not a debater, so this was kind of difficult for me. I have my own opinions and am not really wishy-washy, but at the same time, I really don't like to disagree with anyone. I like to keep my thoughts to myself. But hey, the reason I started participating in Wordfull Wednesday was so I could stretch myself a little bit, and this does. It's also starting to get late, so I really hope this all makes sense.

The kids had mock elections at school last week. Anne asked me a couple of days before the election who I am going to vote for. I told her, but I really wanted her to understand why I had made that choice and I wanted her to think about things and what she thinks is right or best. But I realized, as I started talking about different issues, that most of these issues are just over her head. Really, how do you explain taxes and health care and war to a 6 year old? At this point I had to leave Anne at school, but I continued throughout the day to ponder the issues and what I could tell her. I decided that the only things she would really understand were issues dealing with families. She is part of a family. She gets family. And family is really what matters isn’t it? Family is the only thing that doesn’t go away. It only grows. At the same time, however, I realized that I did not want to discuss these issues with my first-grader. How can I tell her (and why would I want to right now) that there are people who think it is perfectly alright to end an unborn baby’s life? That there are people who feel this way that want to lead our country?

Why am I so opposed to abortion and why can I not support any candidate who agrees with it? To me the issue of abortion is the most prevalent because it is the most basic. It deals with life. Taxes, health care, and war are really all superficial compared to abortion. If we are not alive, do we really care how prescriptions are paid for, or who is paying more or less taxes than we are, or which country has the most nuclear weapons? Those things become irrelevant.

I am a mother to five beautiful and amazing children. Each time I gave birth I was overwhelmed by the fact that a living, breathing, real person had come from me. This new person had a complex brain that functioned and worked. A heart and lungs. Limbs and fingers and toes that could move. Eyes that could see and ears that could hear. And, in the case of my fourth child, a mouth that could really smile the day she was born. I do not understand how any person can feel like they can deny another person the ability to breathe and see and hear and live. And anyone who will not fight to preserve this most basic need, the need to live, does not deserve to lead our country nor does he deserve my vote.