Monday, July 02, 2012

What I Believe

I have no objection to individual choice. I would never deny anyone that right. Individual choice is just that - individual - and it's one of the cornerstone foundations of our country.
But giving everyone a choice isn't what President Obama is doing. He is mandating that religious institutions participate in coverage that they have not offered up to this time. This puts all religions in direct conflict with the mandate. Many religious institutions will roll with it because they already are anyway. But many more, whether Jewish, Muslim, or Christian, would and will resist this. That is why the Church has instituted A Fortnight for Freedom.

The Church has also told its members to be prepared for active civil disobedience. Ghandi defeated the British Empire, the Civil Rights Movement blew the doors of equality wide open, and civil disobedience against the Viet Nam War ended the war and drove a President to not run for a second term. All this has happened in my lifetime (though I don't recall Ghandi in any meaningful, I-was-there, sort of way). I appreciate the willingness of some of my more liberal friends to talk about this in a dispassionate way.  I have more in common with people I like than anything that might be construed as differences.

I have learned over time that people often agree on a goal but disagree on how best to get there. So, for me, it really doesn't matter what side of the political fence a person lands on as long as there is respect. 

1 comment:

Amy said...

Thank you Annie. I agree with you.
We'll get through this. 'Americans, God has given you a great country....Be not unworthy of Heaven's confidence.'

-Archbishop Ireland, Chicago, 1895