Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Life Is Precious


JANUARY 7, 2015.

That was the  day as the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris. I was so sad that day for Paris, for humanity, for freedom of speech. I did not realize that I wasn't even seeing the bodies at my feet.

Research led me to find out that the same day as that attack, merely one week into this year; January 7th- the 20th person killed by police in the United States this year had died.

Today, April 14, 2015 that number is 328. That is people killed by police during this year in the United States. You read that right. This is slaughter.

And it has me thinking. Particularly about the conservative pro life stance.

If all life is precious, and we must enact legislation to protect all life,

1. Why do we have the death penalty?

2. Why do we have lax gun laws and allow corporate interest to trump science?

3. Why don't we do more to stop companies who allow hazardous workplaces?

4. Why don't we fund health care, pre-natal care, palliative care and nutrition at full levels?

5. Why do we send young men to war to protect a democracy that is not in place or to support our efforts to control the economy of another country? Why not spend that human talent and ability saving the people who need us? The ones who are starving? Dying of preventable illness?

6. Why don't we do more to educate people about religious and ethnic diversity and the value that brings to all of our lives rather than let them mow people down with military weapons for their differences?

7. Why don't we make high school mandatory and not allow students to drop out at 16, knowing that they don't have the ability to make long range decisions yet?

8. Why do we talk about life being precious when we allow citizens to be killed by our own local security forces? Before they are charged? Before they are given a day in court?

9. Why do we shoot first and ask questions (or plant evidence) later?

10. Whose lives are really all that precious that we would change?


IF all life is precious
If ALL life is precious
If all LIFE is precious
If all life IS precious
If all life is PRECIOUS

When you look at it with your eyes open, only certain lives are precious. Only those that meet the criteria of worthy. We've been down this road before, America. I'm looking at you, too Europe, Asia, South America, Africa! Don't try to hide, India! I'm talking about women's lives too!  Don't get proud, America! I mean Poor people! Brown and black people!

ALL PEOPLE, right?

Isn't that what you meant? That is what you said. All life is precious. That's what you keep saying.

Put your money, your merit, your heart, your effort, your votes, your special interests and your taxes where your mouth is. Or is it so full of hate and misogyny for the freedom of women that you got caught up in a battle to save every embryonic life form ever begotten in the U.S.? Because we have ourselves a quandary. 

Where will you put all these bodies?

How will you explain yourselves at the jury table of history with this blood on your hands?





No comments:

Post a Comment