It's 911 Everyday

Susannah blogged:
"As we sit here at our computers, viewing this screen, a life-size representation of Sarah Heath Palin hangs from a noose in the eaves of Chad Morrisette’s house in West Hollywood, CA. This kind of display is very, very dangerous, friends. It speaks to the character of those who erected it, yes, but that’s not all. It’s getting national attention, and sinking into the collective consciousness of our nation.

Yes, recent death threats against Senator Obama were vile, & the offenders are right where they belong – in jail. The authorities in whom we place our public trust are handling the threats justly; the public would not have it if they didn’t. And yet, the public is watching Mr. Morrisette & draws the only conclusion it can. While threatening Mr. Obama is a crime, this murderous display against Mrs. Palin is okay. It is tolerable. It is an acceptable paradigm of soft violence toward her, and women."

Her entry made me think, once again, about the inconsistencies in our country. Sometimes they are blatent, sometimes vague. Thanks to bloggers like Susannah, we are coming to a point where we can hold this nation accountable. It is with a heavy heart I applied some of this thinking to 911.

911 was terrible. We lost so many lives in so little time. I didn't snort or grunt one bit when I found out we were starting a war against terrorism. It was needed. We can't allow anyone to come into our country and take American lives needlessly like that. I don't believe anyone in the country disagreed with the fact 911 was tragic and somebody needed to answer for it.

Keeping that same logic, where is the war on abortion? If 911 was a senseless loss of lives, what about the lives lost daily at the hands of doctors because of the conscious decision of the mothers to be? If women are entitled to chose, why aren't terrorists? Why declare a war against one group and wink at the other? As a mom, how would I explain that one is wrong and punishable but the other is a choice and an American right?

Inconsistant.

Where are the task forces designed to seek and destroy the idea of "choice"? Where are the silent candle light vigils for the aborted? Where are the monuments? Where is the compassion? We somehow have compassion and sadness and anger for those lost on 911, but brush off the innocent lives lost daily in hospitals, clinics and back-alley operations.

This is not a dig against the way President Bush handled 911 or against those who lost loved ones on that day. Instead, this is a cry to take that same resolve to not let it happen again and apply it towards abortion. Each lost life counts-no matter what the age. If it had a beating heart, we should all mourn the silencing of such. We should not fear terrorists when we do the same thing to our own people.

If these ideas bother you, they should. We should get a little uncomfortable when we are inconsistant. When the smoke is cleared, and we see the raw reality of our double standards, it should sting like a fresh skin scrape. Nurse that scrape and it becomes new skin, healed to the point of never knowing it existed. I can only hope one day our country comes to the realization that we need to open the wound of indifference, clean it out, and let it heal. We can become a nation that has compassion on all life. Maybe if a few more Susannah's will step up to the plate, we can get the job done!