Like Deck Chairs on the Titanic

Once again, our country finds itself in the midst of an emotionally-charged political tornado. It’s like we just can’t help ourselves, like hormonally-charged teenagers spoiling for a fight, cruising the streets for emotional outlets to vent our spleens. In the highly unlikely event that it’s escaped your notice, this country’s highest court is on the verge of overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision on abortion. In a first in our country, the pending decision was leaked to the press on Tuesday, and it didn’t take long for the shouting to begin. As I said, it seems we just can’t help ourselves when it comes to the shouting match that has invaded our political arena these past few years.

As in most cases, violence begets violence.  Whether it’s the physical violence of assault, rape, murder or spousal abuse; or the institutionalized violence of corporate greed, political power, or the violence of racial and social discrimination, it’s ultimately the same. [1] There are so many moral issues about which we could also come to blows and yet, the issue of whether a woman should be allowed to abort an unborn life continues - even after 50 years of disagreement.  And make no mistake: this is no polite discussion or debate. The shouts and screams, the raised fists and physical violence that underscore the deep divide on this issue is all too real and heartbreaking.

I do not identify with any political party, or any known political persuasion such as liberal or conservative. I find them to be very poor monikers of what is often a complex stance on a wide variety of issues and concerns that plague our nation, that haunt our world. I don’t rely upon the press or social media to inform my thoughts, to direct my heart; far too often, they are gravely empty of fact and reasoning, and too full of innuendo and insult to be of much value. My guiding star is Love as Jesus taught us, and that is the measuring stick by which I gauge my reactions. My heart most often leads my head. I find it has served me well. 

In the shouting and fist-shaking, in the protests and hot tempers flaring, we forget - or maybe we never actually acknowledged - that the issues underlying all of what is encompassed in the battle over abortion have little to do with politics, and everything to do with human beings struggling to survive, to understand, to cope. We engage in a war of words that obfuscate the very difficult issues that lie beneath the maelstrom. Early on in the abortion rights battle, “white-washing words” were used to cover over the deeper social issues and concerns that lurked beneath the surface. Abortion rights advocates said they were “pro-choice”- all about a woman’s right to choose what to do with her own body (better than being labeled a baby-killer). Those opposed to abortion called themselves “pro-life”, but never addressed the myriad social and economic problems surrounding unwanted pregnancies. There’s so much more to the conversation than this dualistic simplicity of “right” and “wrong”. When dealing with human beings, it’s always more complicated that that.

Joan Chittister, O.S.B. a theologian and well known author has said: “… your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. …That's not pro-life. That's pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is.” Sadly, emotionally charged words do nothing to encourage the dissenting groups to enter into that compassionate “broader conversation” of what the real issues are, and fail miserably to bring about any real change that provides genuine understanding and heat-felt reconciliation.

The real tragedy here is not just the abortion rights struggle, (though that is heartbreaking on so many levels) but that we - as a country and as a society - just don’t get it. Again, we’ve missed the point - we are like the passengers on the Titanic, rearranging the deck chairs, refusing to see that the ship is sinking, and that what we are doing to right the ship is futile. The battle over Roe v. Wade will likely devolve into yet another loud political shouting match, with each side trying to convince the other of their absolute “rightness” while around us, men, women and children will continue to struggle to deal with deep hurts, chronic anxiety, poverty, illness and death. We shout instead of discuss; our action is violence to each other instead of feeding and healing and loving. We simply don’t understand that we cannot legislate morality and love. We simply don’t understand that it’s not about changing laws; it’s about changing our hearts.

When one reads the gospel accounts of Jesus, one sees that he paid little attention to the law itself, telling his disciples he came not to destroy the law, but to perfect it. I didn’t understand that for a long while, until my heart started to see not just what Jesus said, but what he did: he healed on the Sabbath; he ate with tax collectors and former prostitutes; he touched and healed the “unclean” the lepers and the bleeding woman. He rose above the letter of the law to the Spirit of the law, which was love. Jesus understood that the law could not change lives on its own; love had to be at the center of the law. In fact, without love, the law was empty and meaningless. It’s no different today.

Abortion is a difficult moral, legal and ethical issue confronting our society, not only today, but it has plagued us since the dawn of mankind. The paradox of the good and evil contained therein must be held in our hands with infinite care and wisdom. We must acknowledge the harsh realities presented to us, and not shy away from the dialogue: it is wrong to end a life, but it is also wrong to ignore a life being lived in misery and heartache. It is wrong to ignore violence on any level, and also wrong to ignore the deeper issues, thinking the bandaid of a legal precedent will solve the problem. It hasn’t yet - and it won’t. We need to figure out a better way. A gentler way. A way that will address the complexities of these moral and ethical issues with love and understanding. Until we do, the shouting will only get louder.

[1] Violence is behavior that involves force, whether physical, emotional or institutional, that is intended to control, hurt, damage or destroy. When seen in that broad light, we truly do live in a violent time.