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Dancing Between the Party Lines

Parenting makes it not so black and white.

By Jennifer Cummins

I too, like many others, fall within the two political lines. I tend to lean to the right, but not so much so as to make me standoffish. The right seems to offer me more personal protections to safeguard my personal freedoms than the liberal left. The left took away my opportunities for aid that could have allowed me to achieve certain educational and professional goals. However my views on abortion tends to lean to the left. Although I believe in the sanctity of new life, I believe that women should be the sole individuals to make the decision on what they can and should do to their bodies. Men do not get pregnant, therefore do not have the experiences of the consequenses of an abortion. I think we have come along enough in civilization where men should not make laws that personnaly effects the bodies of women. Men may advise, but women have to make the decision and deal with the consequences.

Posted by: Jeff Schwartz | Aug 18, 2006 10:23

I seem to be the resident "radical lefty" at this site (cf. my "Red Fish, Blue Fish" piece about politics and history in schools), but I'm also a "maverick" within the left in some areas (take a look at my blog header for the details). I'm not very happy with the high numbers of abortions in this country (though like Jeff I think they should remain legal), but I'd point out that abortions went down under Clinton and it is Democratic policies like expanding aid for education and family planning that help prevent unwanted pregnancies to begin with, which is far better than letting it get to the stage of abortion. And unlike Republicans, Democrats support programs that would help mothers and their babies after the children are born, and if we had more of that kind of thing perhaps people wouldn't feel as much pressure to get abortions.

I'd also point out to Jennifer that the true "pro-life" position, as in for example the Catholic church, also includes opposition to the death penalty.

Now, Jeff: I'd be very curious to know how you feel that the right offers you more safeguard of your personal freedoms. This is the crowd that came up with laws to check into your library habits without a warrant, to do "sneak and peek" searches of your home, and of course snoop around with your phone calls and/or phone records without a warrant. My side is the predominant supporter of the ACLU, who was just in the news for getting the NSA phone snooping program declared unconstitutional, and also recently helped overturn a school district's policy to require all students (not just athletes) to file through the gymnasium and pee into a cup so as to have Big Brother analyze the content of their urine.

The only possible thing I can imagine you thinking of is some kind of NRA propaganda. But the reality is that the NRA has won, and Democrats have not proposed any new gun control laws in this millennium! And the ones they proposed last millennium did not involve taking away people's guns in any event, only requiring new guns to be sold with trigger locks and closing the gun show loophole.

How you can claim you'd get more financial aid from Republicans, I have no clue whatsoever. That's just completely bizarre.

Posted by: Alan | Aug 18, 2006 14:11

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