Confused & Conflicted

CONFUSED & CONFLICTED

My Views on the Abortion Debate


Oh, yes, I am confused. I consider myself somewhat superior. That’s only because I can point to certain of my attributes in which I find justifiable rationale that support my superiority complex. Sadly however, I am under the impression that everyone else holds similarly inflated opinions of themselves. If I’m right about that, and no doubt I am, I don’t understand all of the antiabortion sentiment.

A trip to the mall, dinner at a favorite restaurant, a drive along any of our fine highways, an evening at the movies, all provide the inevitable encounter with other people; many, maybe most it seems to me, are living, walking testimonials in support of abortion. Though in some cases it seems justified, I do not advocate retroactively taking measures that would achieve what abortions could easily have accomplished years ago. Looking forward though, I am hopeful and reasonably optimistic for future generations. All we need is to apply a little more common sense to the issue.

Now lest you brand me a white supremacist, a Christian supremacist, a Hitler, a Muslim supremacist, a black supremacist or any other hate-group advocate, let me dash such thoughts. There are no superior groups. Every race, creed, religion, tribe, club, society has more than its share of undesirables. There is no avoiding it. Where there are people there are losers. Logically then, where there are fewer people there will be fewer losers. It’s a numbers thing. Mathematics are involved here, specifically probability.

All of this, I’m afraid, causes me to be baffled by the strong stands being taken against abortion. The strongest objections seem to be based on religious beliefs. It is claimed that God said, “Go forth and multiply.” If God did say that, I say, fine, we’ve done that and we’ve done a good job of it. And you must admit that we continue to multiply even while abortions are going on. Some also say that God said, “Let there be light.” Nonetheless, it’s dark about half of the time. So much for literal interpretations. And God is also credited with admonishing that, “Thou shalt not kill.” Well, I’m not advocating for forty days and forty nights of rain, bringing floods to kill off any and all who aren’t on my ark. No one is advocating mandatory abortions, only freedom of choice. If you don’t want an abortion because of religious beliefs, don’t have one. If I do, that’s my decision. It doesn’t concern you. If God doesn’t like it, let God and me deal with it. He doesn’t need your help. Have faith. Surely He is mighty enough to do His own work. After all, no one was around to help Him with that flood.

Restricting or eliminating abortion results in increased numbers of unwanted children being brought into an already unfriendly world. No one wants to be or should be unwanted. The consequences of being unwanted can be devastating. Personally, I’d rather deal with it as a fetus than as an abused or ignored foundling.

There are those who insist on promoting the crap-shoot consequences often attributed to abortions. What if, they say, an abortion denies us a genius, an Einstein, a Mozart? No individual, no matter how significant, how unique, is indispensable. As the Desiderata eloquently reassures us, “No doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”

But in the end, as is so often the case, it comes down to the almighty dollar. Who pays for a woman’s abortion? There are those who grudgingly acknowledge the legal status of abortion, but staunchly object to paying for them with “taxpayer” dollars – as if abortions were a major factor contributing to the national debt or our skyrocketing health care costs. The fallacy of that objection is its failure to take into consideration the long term total costs. An abortion is less expensive and less of a financial burden on society than child welfare, education, incarceration and the other potential costs to society that result from unwanted and neglected children.

Not only should we favor free choice, we should enthusiastically support and pay for abortion. Granted I’d still be subjected to encounters with undesirables and losers, but there’d probably be fewer of them.

A.N. Pavia
November 2009

Just a Little Hate

Just a Little Hate


Eyes open
searching for that which has changed
Hope holding fast
though no progress yet gained
Leaving hate ever growing
becoming ingrained

Hoping
moping
doping
mostly misanthroping
Feeble endeavors
attempts at mere coping
You try to get out
but there’s no place to go
Traveling in circles
in hate’s undertow

Hate
it’s a verb
it’s a noun
an adjective of late
Describing what one will not tolerate
such as tastes that the palate won’t cultivate
All of which we adamantly say that we hate

We hate
the snow
the wind
the cold
the heat
broccoli, liver, any gristly meat
Neighbors
bosses
and cops – ‘til we need ‘um
Then of course there’s noise
maybe silence
and God forbid tedium



To hate is so easy
a natural state
Covers what we don’t know
can’t contemplate
If it’s different or foreign or just out of date
there are plenty of reasons to bring on a spate

Greeks and Slovaks
Russians Ukraine’s
haughtily flaunt their long strange-sounding names
So it’s okay to despise them
with the rest of those sots
the Rag Heads the Frogs
the Spades Krauts and Wops

We’ve got hate groups a plenty
committing hate crimes
which I’d never heard of
until recent times

We hate weeds
but not weed
In others it’s greed
But in ourselves it’s that goddamned
dependent need

So gather around
It is time we insist
that the nation compile an official hate list
All can contribute
yours won’t contradict
We’ve a capacity for hating
damn near limitless

A.N. Pavia May, 2009