Thursday, May 29, 2008

I'm Changing My Mind

I've always thought of myself as more liberal than my peers. I would sit through conversations with really conservative people and think "Nope, I feel differently."

I'm prochoice not because I think abortion is moral but because I feel that a woman should have the freedom to make up her own mind and also because some women will put their lives at risk with unsafe abortion procedures if desperate enough. So, why not make it safe for them. I also believe that people suffer the consequences of poor choices and so let them.

Now on the issue of Gay marriages I have always felt the same way....people have free agency. I also felt that gay people are being discriminated against. It's that social worker in me that wants to stand up for the down trodden.

However, recently I saw a picture of a famous guy and his boy friend holding hands and walking together. It disturbed me. Not because I dislike them but because I thought about how I would explain such a picture to my sons if they saw it. I realized that although I am desensitized to so many things, I don't want my kids to be at such an early age. I don't want my boys to think this lifestyle is OK because I personally wouldn't want that kind of life for my kids. Although at one point in my life I felt it was o.k. for gay marriages to be legalized, now I feel really uneasy with what's going on in California.

Having and raising kids has changed me so much. I realize I am still growing and changing.

Now back to the issue of abortion. I still feel the same but I wonder if I will feel differently if I have a daughter later down the road.

3 comments:

the narrator said...

i feel kind of the same way. if someone wants to be (or just is) gay, i'm fine with it. i don't even think it's sinful. and to be gay and mormon seems to be one of the saddest and loneliest states someone could be in. however, if bobby called and told me he was gay... i dunno how i'd react. it'd be a bit weird.

Anonymous said...

Nancy, the same sex marriage topic is one that I am personally divided on. I have a very difficult time legally justifying the prohibition of same sex marriage. I cannot see any way that the constitution would allow that. I would even say that basing my decision solely off of the way the law is written, it is unfair to ban them.
The only logical rational that I have to defend the ban is the few studies that have shown the long term negative affects that same sex partnerships have on the children. But on the flip side, so does divorce, and that is not banned. It's a really sticky subject.
I, however, know that I don't want it allowed because of moral issues. The church and prophets have been very explicit about this subject. Just go to http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary and see their response to the recent events in California regarding this topic. I guess what I am trying to say is that if I am presented with the opportunity to vote, I would vote for an ammendment to the constitution to redefine marriage. This decision comes from my firm faith in the leaders of the church and my knowledge that the constitution (as wonderful as it is) is a man made document that has its shortcomings. How else can you explain that slavery was included in the original constitution? Because it has its flaws.

lucy said...

I agree that there is unfairness going on and that's why I have felt like the gay community is often discriminated against.

Unfortunately I often don't care about the issues because I have a hard time seeing how they affect me. The gay thing is something that occurs but I didn't see it living in my bubble. Thus I've had the attitude that it's ok.

Now a days, however, I see more and more gay life around. Way more than I've ever seen before. People think it's cool and are more and more willing to let everyone know. It makes it even harder to raise kids with high morals because the world around them doesn't hold the same values I would want my children to have. That's why I'm changing my mind on the Gay issue. It's that protective instinct that's grown tremendously since having kids.

On the constitution...Are you saying you would like to see the constitution tighten up a bit? I can see why people would want to attack the problem from the root. However, I think the founding fathers were inspired more than we know and messing with the constitution would have ramifications that we can't imagine.