Early Morning Stream of Consciouness

This is a teeny bit of a rant. I wrote it last night (Saturday) before the results of the S.C. primary were in. I don't pretend to be a social conservative, but I don't want to turn anyone off who is. I hope you'll come back for more when I'm back to writing nonsense instead of more political content. 

I am, by the way, in awe of the Gingrich win last night. I can't say there is a universe in which I would vote for him, but it will make for some interesting media consumption in the coming weeks.

I woke up this morning just before 5AM. Being Saturday, I didn't need to hop up and start my day. I went to the bathroom and prepared to snuggle down for another hour or so of sleep. But, as fate would have it, my brain was going all kinds of places.

For some reason - probably because of the Republican primaries - I have been thinking a lot about "Family Values". I will try to remain non-politcal here but I am just plain flabbergasted by the hypocrisy of certain candidates. I won't say that all of the questions asked of Said Specific Candidate were appropriate given the forum, but when a person plans to set himself up as a Traditional Conservative Family Man, he really ought to remember what a Jack Wagon he was in the past and maybe, just maybe, rethink how hard he wants to hit that message home.

Just like we all grew up, huh?

And then my mind went to the topic of family planning. I share my sister Heather's opinion that far too many candidates who call themselves "staunchly Pro Life" are, in reality, merely "pro-birth". Meaning, they want to make sure every possible sperm meets up with every potential egg and implants itself in any available uterus. After that, well, that's the Mama's problem. Health insurance? Pahh! Even Start and Head Start? Funding that is outrageous in these economic times! Subsidized childcare so Mom & Dad can go to work? Puh-lease!

Further, I get really annoyed when people confuse the term "Pro Choice" with "Pro Abortion". No. No. No. NO ONE is "pro abortion". No one wants there to be MORE abortions. What pro choice folks want is increased access to ALL forms of birth control. (Oh, yeah, and one fella from Pennsylvania definitely does not want couples to have insurance coverage for any form of birth control... regardless of their marital status.) Wouldn't it be amazing if all the babies conceived were conceived by consenting, loving adults who were delighted to welcome a new love into their lives?

And, yes, I know that adoption is an option for these unintended pregnancies. Where would I be without adoption? Four siblings and scads of nieces and nephews shy, for one thing.

Okay, now back to my stream of consciousness. I was thinking about the "Abstinence Only" education plans. and I came up with a GREAT name for any organization that wants to promote it.

EKIN: Just DON'T Do It.

(EKIN is NIKE backwards...)

I spent a good 15 minutes silently giggling about the brilliance of this marketing strategy. If you happen to believe in Abstinence Only programs and want to start one, you are more than welcome to use this name and tagline. You are welcome!

As if on cue, this afternoon I came across a column by Steve Chapman of the Chicago Tribune called "The truth about 'secular' America". It looks at the popular argument that many of our modern day ills would be alleviated or cured if the nation would simply return to its Christian roots. Chapman points out that socially speaking, we are doing BETTER, not worse than we were 30 years ago: teen pregnancy, divorce, abortion... all DOWN from previous decades. And, to add to the "Well, gee!" factor, the states with the biggest social problems are smack in the Bible Belt. (His example is Mississippi, which has the highest church attendance rate AND the highest murder rate.) Fascinating.

Now, I haven't researched his sources and I am willing to bet that a better indication of social struggles would be high rates of poverty and not high rates of religiosity... but that doesn't change the fact that being a Believer amongst a whole lot of other Believers does not insulate one from trouble or bad choices.

Now I've forgotten all of the other weird things that went through my head this morning. Just like trying to retell a crazy dream, this remembrance of my brilliant thoughts (sarcasm alert!) is just going to peter out. Maybe next time I think about writing about politics I'll remember the advice of my favorite fictional sex ed program... EKIN: Just DON'T Do It!