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Monday, August 23, 2010

On Mongering In Fear

From an unsigned piece in The Interim:

A pro-life stance requires a willingness to make sacrifices to create a home for a stranger. Making a place for an unexpected child can involve huge changes in one’s life. The willingness to do so is choked off by an attitude which says that your only concern should be your own welfare and safety, that since no one is looking out for you, you had better look out for yourself.

Powerful forces are aligned behind the fear-mongering Media outlets, security companies, various politicians and police forces stand to benefit by the public being convinced that crime is out of control. The fear created has implications which extend far beyond the issue of crime. We need to think and discuss as a society what all those implications are. The evils which such fear breeds will in the end be far greater than any crime problem we presently have. The victims, I believe, will include the unborn.

2 comments:

  1. It makes me sad that my immediate reaction is to think of the flaws in the author's arguments, because this is the sort of article we need more of.

    To the best of my knowledge, the pro-life stance isn't about creating a home for a stranger. That's what parenthood is about, but I don't see a direct connection to abortion.

    People like Marc Ouellet are pro-life because it lets them cultivate a sense of moral superiority over other people. Likewise, the entire fearmongering trend is about cultivating a sense of ethnic superiority over others. The two go together quite well.

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  2. so...if we replace the word fetus with immigrant...

    are they trying to make some false equivalence between born and active newcomers to the country and potential life? ie: if we're so willing to welcome immigrants we should be as rabid about unborn babies?

    or...what?

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