AP: President Barack Obama strode head-on Sunday into the stormy abortion debate and told graduates at America's leading Roman Catholic university that both sides must stop demonizing one another.
Here are some excerpts from the speech via The Washington Post:
And I also want to thank you for the honorary degree that I received. I know it has not been without controversy. I dont know if youre aware of this, but these honorary degrees are apparently pretty hard to come by. So far I'm only 1 for 2 as President. Father Hesburgh is 150 for 150. I guess that's better. So, Father Ted, after the ceremony, maybe you can give me some pointers to boost my average.
Here's a pointer: stop turning America into a socio-fascist dictatorship!
This generation, your generation is the one that must find a path back to prosperity and decide how we respond to a global economy that left millions behind even before the most recent crisis hit _ an economy where greed and short-term thinking were too often rewarded at the expense of fairness, and diligence, and an honest day's work.
Capitalism sucks. America sucks. Rich people suck. Unless your last name happens to be Obama. Then it's okay.
Your generation must decide how to save God's creation from a changing climate that threatens to destroy it.
Maybe the climate change is God's handiwork? I wonder if any of the President's radical environmentalist friends thought of that. But why would they, the green moonbats hate religion as well.
Your generation must seek peace at a time when there are those who will stop at nothing to do us harm, and when weapons in the hands of a few can destroy the many.
You mean like, Iran?
And part of the problem, of course, lies in the imperfections of man _ our selfishness, our pride, our stubbornness, our acquisitiveness, our insecurities, our egos; all the cruelties large and small that those of us in the Christian tradition understand to be rooted in original sin.
And Obama is the biggest sinner when it comes to an inflated sense of pride, stubbornness and ego.
Too many of us view life only through the lens of immediate self-interest and crass materialism; in which the world is necessarily a zero-sum game.
Hello kettle? It's pot; you're black.
The strong too often dominate the weak, and too many of those with wealth and with power find all manner of justification for their own privilege in the face of poverty and injustice.
See above, Hypocrite-in-Chief!
On abortion, he says:
The soldier and the lawyer may both love this country with equal passion, and yet reach very different conclusions on the specific steps needed to protect us from harm. The gay activist and the evangelical pastor may both deplore the ravages of HIV/AIDS, but find themselves unable to bridge the cultural divide that might unite their efforts. Those who speak out against stem cell research may be rooted in an admirable conviction about the sacredness of life, but so are the parents of a child with juvenile diabetes who are convinced that their son's or daughter's hardships can be relieved.
The question, then _ the question then is how do we work through these conflicts? Is it possible for us to join hands in common effort? As citizens of a vibrant and varied democracy, how do we engage in vigorous debate? How does each of us remain firm in our principles, and fight for what we consider right, without, as Father John said, demonizing those with just as strongly held convictions on the other side?
And of course, nowhere do these questions come up more powerfully than on the issue of abortion.
As I considered the controversy surrounding my visit here, I was reminded of an encounter I had during my Senate campaign, one that I describe in a book I wrote called "The Audacity of Hope." A few days after I won the Democratic nomination, I received an e-mail from a doctor who told me that while he voted for me in the Illinois primary, he had a serious concern that might prevent him from voting for me in the general election. He described himself as a Christian who was strongly pro-life _ but that was not what was preventing him potentially from voting for me.
What bothered the doctor was an entry that my campaign staff had posted on my Web site _ an entry that said I would fight "right-wing ideologues who want to take away a woman's right to choose." The doctor said he had assumed I was a reasonable person, he supported my policy initiatives to help the poor and to lift up our educational system, but that if I truly believed that every pro-life individual was simply an ideologue who wanted to inflict suffering on women, then I was not very reasonable. He wrote, "I do not ask at this point that you oppose abortion, only that you speak about this issue in fair-minded words." Fair-minded words.
That's when we begin to say, "Maybe we won't agree on abortion, but we can still agree that this heart-wrenching decision for any woman is not made casually, it has both moral and spiritual dimensions."
So let us work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions, let's reduce unintended pregnancies. Let's make adoption more available. Let's provide care and support for women who do carry their children to term. Let's honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion, and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded not only in sound science, but also in clear ethics, as well as respect for the equality of women." Those are things we can do.
Okay, I'll give him some credit for addressing the issue and not avoiding it. However, I reject the line 'my campaign staff had posted on my Web site _ an entry that said I would fight "right-wing ideologues who want to take away a woman's right to choose."' Again, he passed the buck, claiming not have known about it -- just as he does so often (see the Air Force One photo scandal, Reverend Wright, Tony Rezko "I had no idea".)
He summarizes:
Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction. But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature.
If he truly believes in such tolerance for the opinions of others, why do him and his cronies continually attack the right on a myriad of issues? Has he not attempted to make a caricature out of the likes of Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney and virtually anyone else who dares to dissent?
And in this world of competing claims about what is right and what is true, have confidence in the values with which you've been raised and educated. Be unafraid to speak your mind when those values are at stake. Hold firm to your faith and allow it to guide you on your journey. In other words, stand as a lighthouse.
And ready yourself to be crucified from Left Wingers if you don't support their radical agenda.
To sum up the speech: A Lesson In Tolerance by Barack Obama; do as I say, not as I do.
No comments:
Post a Comment