The
Wisconsin
Citizen
by Richard
Stark
Letters to Bucky Badger
Dear
Bucky,
Consider
this word: "Pro-choice."
It
means believing that people should have a choice.
Specifically, it means believing, or supporting the idea, that
pregnant people should be able to choose whether or not to give birth.
If they choose to give birth, then they do the best they can to take
care of themselves, and their baby, until the birth occurs. If
they choose not to give birth, then there are ways to "abort," or end,
the pregnancy.
People who say they are "pro-choice" also say that everyone should be
able to choose.
But what if the people who were pregnant before the "pro-choice"
people were born also claimed to be pro-choice? And what if
those people chose to "abort," or end, their pregnancies? Then
the very same people who are choosing to be "pro-choice" today would
never have been born. They would not be able to be "pro-choice."
Now how can that be?
I am pro-choice.
That is, I believe that everyone should be able to make choices.
Isn't that what freedom is?
And this world is certainly chock full of choices. Good Lord, we
can even choose to believe that God does, or doesn't, exist.
We can also choose to believe that Satan, or the Devil (or Lucifer,
Scratch, Beelzebub, the Prince of Darkness, the Great Deceiver...)
does or doesn't exist either. But now that's a strange thing.
If something doesn't exist, why would there be so many different names
for it?
Anyway, if we
choose to believe that God does exist, then of course we would also
choose to do what we believe God wants us to do. Why believe in
God and not act according to our beliefs? That would be dumb.
And if we
choose to believe that Satan exists, then I should think we would
want to be wary. Why believe in the devil and not watch out?
That would be equally dumb.
God says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I
have come that they may have life, and have it to the
full." Actually, Jesus said that. But Jesus also said that
He was sent to do the Will of the Father, and that He and the Father are one. So it's like the same thing.
As for Satan, he says a lot of things - but he lies.
That's what he does, it's his job. That's what makes him Satan.
The very name in Hebrew means "Adversary."
Now then - what if we choose not to believe in God? Or Satan?
Well, let's think about that. Let's say I choose to believe in
gravity. When I go bowling, for instance, and some of the pins
fall down, it's because of "gravity." But what if I
choose not to believe? Would the pins not fall down? If I
told people that, then most people, even pro-choice people like
myself, would think I was weird. I might not even be allowed in
the bowling alley.
So
- does the existence of God, or the Devil, depend upon our believing
it?
And here's a thought: if
we choose not to believe, is it possible we are being deceived by the
Great Deceiver himself? He's very good at his job, I'm told,
which is to destroy.
So many choices for us
pro-choice people! We get to choose if we are going to believe,
and who.
And we get to choose if we are
going to act in accordance with our beliefs, and when.
Well, I am pro-choice.
And I choose Life. Today.
The First Nine Months
***
Editor's note:
Richard Stark is
a
Wisconsin
native, ten-year
Navy
veteran, and former legislative intern in the office of
Dale Schultz.
He lives with his family in northern
Virginia
near
Washington,
D.C.
|