Supreme Madness

I want you to imagine something for a moment. Imagine that you lived in a place that was ruled by a few select individuals that could never be voted off or replaced: they were there for life. Now imagine that I told you that that is essentially what we have here now in the United States. Yes, it's called the Supreme Court. On the surface we have representative democracy. Big issues, like abortion and birth control, the internment of Japanese Americans: these are just some of the life changing issues that have been decided on by this unelected, non replaceable body of government. I think it's insane that we leave some of the most important issues, to what I consider to be a direct attack on the democratic ideal. In my opinion, the Supreme Court needs to be demolished, or at least drastically reformed. They need to hold term limits and be able to be fired. We can no longer allow this small group of defacto leaders of our nation to make such important, life changing decisions for all of us. Reform or end the Supreme Court now.

The Right to Die

In the 1990's a doctor named Jack Kevorkian made headlines when he invented a machine that could assist in the suicide of terminally ill patients. Even though Dr. Kevorkian had video tapes of his patients stating they wanted to die, he was still convicted of murder and sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. The question is: do patients have the right to end their lives with the help of a physician? My opinion is yes, and I am not alone. Switzerland, Oregon, Washington state, and Vermont have lifted their ban on assisted suicide.
But I also see there are legitimate concerns, like when a person is in severe pain, they might make irrational decisions that they cannot take back later. But I still think that a person's body is theirs to choose what to do with. And, I think it's arrogant of the state to force the patient to take chemo drugs, lose their hair, vomit, and make them more miserable than they already are just because they're afraid of what might happen. After all, wasn't America founded on risky undertakings? The founding fathers knew that if they were caught they would be executed. But, they still did the right thing.

So, What's Your Real Motive?

In recent years, the right wing, socially conservative Pro-Life movement in America has differed a bit from years past. Where they used to say all human life is sacred, they now say anyone who supports birth control or women's reproductive rights is racist. Well, they don't actually say that, but that is what they imply. Let me explain: in recent years, there has been an increasing amount of focus on the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, for her supposedly racist, eugenic views. Eugenics, for those who don't know, is the belief that one can improve the human condition by controlling who has children and who doesn't. It was put into use most infamously in Nazi Germany.

But what the pro-life movement won't tell you is that Margaret Sanger was not alone in her eugenicist or racial views. Many scientists and prominent figures of the twentieth century held views that we would today consider racist. Let's not forget how Henry Ford used to hand out copies of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an infamously anti-Semitic, conspiratorial screed, with every new car that he sold. Or, shall we go to old Walt Disney? Disney was notorious for asking his employees about their genetic makeup before he hired them. If they had one drop of Jewish blood in their system, sorry, no room for you at the Magic Kingdom. Some even get Hollywood movies: King Edward VIII, perhaps best-known for abdicating England's throne to marry an American divorcee, sent Hitler himself a birthday card in 1939, 5 months before the Nazis rolled into Poland. My point is, this is not about exposing the racist nature of Planned Parenthood, or even condemning eugenics. This is about controlling women, and making them little more than breeders. Do not be fooled by the new mask: this is about taking away a woman's most basic right, to direct her own destiny.