(no subject)

[adderslj]

When did western culture become so moronic? Why has debate reached the point where the only option seems to be "pick a side and defend its values until the death"?

Take abortion. Abortion is one of the terrible, hard decisions we as a society have to face regularly.

The facts are these: there will always be unwanted pregnancies and women will always seek to end them in some fashion. However, doing so ends the existence of something that will, without intervention, become a human being.

This is actually simple to grasp, yet the debate is dominated by two groups, one of which is unwilling to deal with the reality of backstreet abortions and the human cost of unwanted children, while the other is unwilling to countenance for a second that an abortion might be taking the life of a human being (or that there might be serious emotional consequences for the mother further down the line).

So there we have it, one of the most serious ethical dilemmas our society has to face, and it's reduced to a shouting match between two groups of morons. There are people who are pro-life and people who are pro-choice, but precious few who are pro-thought.

Really, I hope there are better sentient species than us out there somewhere, because we're not using this gift of intelligence terribly well right now.

Comments

[fraserspeirs.livejournal.com]

Like evolution, abortion is one of these topics I no longer get involved in discussions about. I know what I think about both, but there's rarely a pleasant outcome to any conversation which touches on either....

Come to think of it, there's also Operating Systems, text editors, email clients........

[adders.livejournal.com]

Indeed. One of the key reasons that such discussions are, usually, fruitless, is that often the person you're debating with seeks to categorise you into a "pro" or "anti" camp, and once they've done so, stops listening to what you're actually saying.

Ugh. Are you in my tribe? Ugh. No. I must smash you. Ugh.

[fraserspeirs.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, football as well. And, er, any topic on a 5 Live phone-in....

[slog.livejournal.com]

often the person you're debating with seeks to categorise you into a "pro" or "anti" camp

yup, that's my biggest issue as well. This is not a cut-and-dry issue for anyone unless you ARE in the pro and anti camps. I wish people would realize that life is not black and white.

ugh.