Driving my daughter to choir practice, I passed a Catholic church that apparently took to heart Bush’s proclamation of National Sanctity of Life Day. The lawn was covered with white crosses, and there was a sign that said “abortion kills babies”. I couldn’t read all of the words as I drove past, but apparently there was a numercal comparison between abortion victims and Holocaust victims.
Wonder how many crosses the Bush administration has racked up in the past 5 years. The easy part would be coming up with the number of deaths brought about as a result of his misguided misadventure in Iraq. The hard part would be finding out how many lives have been lost, either directly or indirectly, as a result of his domestic policies.
I still believe that we need to respond to this utter hypocrisy. Bush, who as Governor of Texas, signed a “pull the plug law“, preaching to Americans about the “sanctity of life”. And, reading the proclamation, one can’t help but notice the religious language he uses. What a truly frightening man this is–with this mix of warmongering and the mantle of piety he wears, the words “Holy Roman Emperor” come to mind.
But here’s the part that deserves response, in thoughtful letters to the editor as well as any eye-catching statements we can come up with…
National Sanctity of Human Life Day is an opportunity to strengthen our resolve in creating a society where every life has meaning and our most vulnerable members are protected and defended including unborn children, the sick and dying, and persons with disabilities and birth defects. This is an ideal that appeals to the noblest and most generous instincts within us, and this is the America we will achieve by working together.
So, let’s look at the Bush administration’s track record on protecting and defending the most vulnerable members of our society. Unborn children? Right, this is supposed to be a point in his favor, since he’s against abortion. But I would think that protecting and defending them would also involve making sure that their mothers have access to affordable medical care, and that their jobs pay a living wage. The sick and dying? Persons with disabilities? I’m thinking the main idea here is that he is against euthanasia, but I’ll bet that administration policies have adversely affected each of these groups.
Let’s not miss this opportunity. Let’s make sure that newspapers around the country receive letters tomorrow morning addressing the Bush administration’s callous disregard for the sanctity of life, giving specific examples. Please use the comments to share facts that can be used in letters to the editor, or to post your own letter that you are sending…or any other ideas this sparks for you.