3 days is what it took to pull me out of blogging retirement. 3 days of media analysis, political grandstanding and average ordinaries posting their anger or delight (because there truly is no in-between on this one) had me looking up the ol’ password. 3 days and here I am logging back into a website that I had pretty much decided would remain quiet for eternity.
You probably think I’m going to write about how delighted I am with the recent SCOTUS decision… seeing as how I’m Catholic and it’s pretty difficult to adhere to the faith and give a pass on the abortion issue unless you are a “cafeteria Catholic” of which there are plenty out there in the world including the President of the USA.
You’d be wrong. I’m not going to write about that.
This is about the media and what is truthful. They are the ones the world turns to in times like this to report the facts. It’s who we rely on to “stick to the script”. Read the SCOTUS opinion. Have a legal scholar on to “explain” the legal jargon. And then, move on to the next topic of the day.
But…. no sir-ee. We don’t live in a world like that. Even Don Lemon (CNN) admitted last week, “We DON’T give equal time or equal reporting to issues” Yeah… I’m thinking the management team mighta had a word with him afterwards on that one. “Ummmm… Don, please don’t say the quiet part out loud anymore! It’s kinda hard to say we’re the MOST TRUSTED NAME IN NEWS, when you’re out there saying we aren’t news and we shouldn’t be trusted”
So, as I was saying…. the truth! Good grief it’s a rarity these days!!! I’ve listened to enough “news” over the past 3 days that I can confidently say that the TRUTH is clearly missing in the analysis of the story. It’s not about what you believe morally or whether this is disastrous for women or heroic for babies. I choose to stay out of that fray because there is nothing I could write that would persuade anyone to change their mind on this issue . I simply think that if anyone is going to do a commentary or take to their social media to lament this decision, it ought to at least be factually based. But, alas….. a lot of it isn’t. Here are some of the things I’ve seen:
Roe v Wade was “settled law”. “Those SCOTUS nominees even said so during their confirmation hearings. They lied.” Here’s the thing…. and it’s in the tiny details, but…. they didn’t lie. It WAS “settled law”. Nothing had come up thus far in front of the Supreme Court to “unsettle” it. Look back in history before you start flinging that one in the world because you look like a DUMBO!
Scott v Sanford was “settled law” in 1857 when SCOTUS ruled. It remained settled law until 1865. Are you gonna say that Scott v Sanford which was a HUUUUGE ruling by SCOTUS should never have been “unsettled”? Are you going to say that Roe v Wade is a BIGGER or more important issue? Face it… you’ve got no argument on this one. Drop it. Move along! THIS one isn’t gonna get you where you want to be in this fight.
Next up, SCOTUS abolished abortion. Ummmm, no they did’t. They didn’t do that AT ALL. They actually ruled that abortion isn’t illegal. They ruled that THEY don’t have the constitutional authority to rule it legal or illegal. They ruled that the citizens in this country get to decide. So, for those of you flinging the “unelected robe wearing gang of 6” just made a law effecting 330 million people you are wrong. You are very wrong.
They actually ruled that YOU get to make that law. So, technically it’s a win for YOU regardless of which side of the topic you sit on. We, as citizens, elect officials to represent us and those officials now get to voice YOUR opinion when they cast a ballot. If you don’t like them or what they vote for or against… every year you get the opportunity to elect different people. Unlike the people “wearing the robes” that sit in the seats of the Supreme Court which you DON’T get to elect and you DON’T have a say in their decisions… this is actually a win for democracy.
The great Ruth Bader Ginsburg stated that Roe v Wade was on shaky ground legally and that this ruling was eventually going to happen once the right argument was made against it. She warned us that there were issues about Roe that she saw that were NOT going to withstand the test of time legally.
Some states will have restrictions on abortion. Others will not. It’s certainly worth pausing a moment to look at the reality that changing laws within a state is certainly doable. Changing federal laws that effect the entire country, not so much. If you don’t like things within your state, at least you’ve got a chance at change this time around.
Moving on… the “My Body My Choice” crowd. After the past 2 years in this country, you really need to sit down and zip it on this one. For 2 years… these same sign carrying protest screaming peeps have been carrying signs and screaming that the decision on whether to be vaccinated isn’t “a right”.
For 2 years, they’ve waged war against people that refused to get a vaccine and told them they have NO rights to freely move, work, or attend school in this country. THOUSANDS of people lost their jobs because they wouldn’t comply. THOUSANDS had to drop out of universities because they wouldn’t comply. THOUSANDS could not attend concerts or events or travel without showing proof they had a vaccine. So, ZIP IT!
It’s either MY BODY MY CHOICE on all things medical or it isn’t! You don’t get to act like you’re going through the cafeteria line at the Piccadilly… YOU can’t argue that no one should make decisions about your body and then tell millions of people what they have to do with theirs.
I’d like to know where the hell those “My Body My Choice” people were when airline pilots lost their jobs? When nurses lost their jobs? When college kids were prohibited from attending college? Where were they? Why didn’t the “My Body My Choice” peeps show up to the businesses, hospitals, and universities to support them? Their hypocrisy is visible to the world now and they have no response to this glaring issue that they ignored for 2 years. NONE!
Then, we have world leaders speaking out on this issue and saying it’s a travesty. The media was all too happy to share that Emmanuel Macron (France) said this was an abhorrent slap in the face to women in this country. Well….did he happen to mention that in France up until February, they only allowed abortions through 12 weeks and then they changed it to 14 weeks. So, he kinda needs to zip it as well.
The media and many “ordinaries” are slinging the argument that now the USA has more restrictive abortion laws than the rest of the civilized world. Welp…. Sorry Finland, India, Germany and France, according to our austere media, you are not considered part of the civilized world.
Then, there’s the media telling us that polls show that the American people are clearly against banning abortion. What polls? Yes, the majority of Americans don’t think abortion should be banned. The majority think that in certain circumstances abortion should absolutely be allowed. Why don’t they show the details in the poll? Well, it would torpedo the bullshit they are slinging! The majority of Americans think there should be limits on abortion. It shouldn’t be allowed up until the day you give birth. But, when they take the tiny print out of the poll and just give the big number at the end, it appears that the majority of Americans think anyone should be able to have an abortion at any time for any reason. They don’t.
Then there’s the “Experts say…” piece of this story. Oh my gosh! What experts? The ones that said, “Wear a mask” to stop the spread of Covid. Yeah… that scrap of fabric really was the key to ending the pandemic. Or…the ones that told us, “microwave your mail” to kill germs. How many people accidentally microwaved their new credit card that was mailed to them and it’s now a charcoal briquette? Or…was it the experts that said, “Get the vaccine and you won’t get COVID”? HAHA! That one is the epitome of an epic failure! So….which experts are they touting as the “smart people in the room” this time around?
I heard every one of those examples on “news” shows and they were regurgitated numerous times by average ordinaries on social media. It’s not a whoops moment. It’s not a … editorial error. This is willful absolute bullcrap being spread. And people wonder why we are so divided and filled with disdain for one another. Well, could it possibly be that no one seems to give a damn about the truth? They just wanna win the argument. Whether their beliefs or their “facts” are true is completely irrelevant.
The media, the politicians, and the celebrities in this country have huge microphones. They can swing this recent decision any ‘ol way they want. I’d argue that the truth is the inconvenient nugget in this recent SCOTUS decision and they aren’t swinging it. They aren’t interested in the truth of the decision. Because, the reality of it is…. it is a win for citizens. It is a win to have our voices heard on this topic. Instead of this issue being behind the walls of the Supreme Court never to be touched by average ordinaries…. it is now in the hands of 50 communities in this country.
In my opinion, it doesn’t get more fair than that! Up until Friday, you, me, Alex Ocasio-Cortez, Madonna, and the manager at Kroger had NO SAY on this issue. Now….we do!
Good Day! Be Brave!!!!
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