If you haven't already noticed, we're heading into another election cycle. We're due to elect another (or re-elect the old) President. And while the internet and the TV news shows and Talk Radio (both conservative and the (really bad) liberal versions) are talking about the economy and jobs, about the falling dollar and rising gas prices, it's imperative we Christians don't lose focus of what should be the key issue of any election: abortion.
Oh, I know that results in groans and grumblings from both sides. After all, being a one-issue voter is out-of-fashion at best and simple-minded or flatly unintelligent at worst. At least that's what we've been told.
In the last couple years I've run into countless conservative friends and acquaintances who make the case that with this election, we need to be "open-minded." We need to vote for the fiscally conservative candidate regardless of party. We need to put people in office who are going to work towards debt reduction, controlled spending, etc. I've been told that if there's a candidate in a given race who will stand for those things, we need to vote for him or her, regardless of party lines. I've been told that doing so is "responsible". To do so is to be politically astute. It's to care about my country. It's to be patriotic.
And yet, I can't do it. Because that's not how I think. I guess I'm that dyed-in-the-wool one-issue voter. And my one-issue is abortion. Every vote I cast hangs on a candidate's stance on abortion. Period.
I will not vote for my pocketbook at the expense of human life. I will not vote for jobs or for lower gas prices at the expense of the millions of babies who are dismembered in the womb for the sake of convenience.
Now, that doesn't mean that I can't do both. Many candidates will support strong, fiscally conservative platforms while at the same time maintaining a rigid pro-life stance.
I'm just saying that in this current climate of Tea Parties and fiscal conservatism, I pray that we as Christians don't lose sight of what should be the core issue in American life and politics.
Debt and jobs and the economy and social security are all about money. Abortion's about the soul.
Oh, I know that results in groans and grumblings from both sides. After all, being a one-issue voter is out-of-fashion at best and simple-minded or flatly unintelligent at worst. At least that's what we've been told.
In the last couple years I've run into countless conservative friends and acquaintances who make the case that with this election, we need to be "open-minded." We need to vote for the fiscally conservative candidate regardless of party. We need to put people in office who are going to work towards debt reduction, controlled spending, etc. I've been told that if there's a candidate in a given race who will stand for those things, we need to vote for him or her, regardless of party lines. I've been told that doing so is "responsible". To do so is to be politically astute. It's to care about my country. It's to be patriotic.
And yet, I can't do it. Because that's not how I think. I guess I'm that dyed-in-the-wool one-issue voter. And my one-issue is abortion. Every vote I cast hangs on a candidate's stance on abortion. Period.
I will not vote for my pocketbook at the expense of human life. I will not vote for jobs or for lower gas prices at the expense of the millions of babies who are dismembered in the womb for the sake of convenience.
Now, that doesn't mean that I can't do both. Many candidates will support strong, fiscally conservative platforms while at the same time maintaining a rigid pro-life stance.
I'm just saying that in this current climate of Tea Parties and fiscal conservatism, I pray that we as Christians don't lose sight of what should be the core issue in American life and politics.
Debt and jobs and the economy and social security are all about money. Abortion's about the soul.
Here's Fr. Frank Pavone from Priests for Life talking
about what a Dismemberment Abortion is.
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