Stop obsessing on abortion
I admit. I possess the Mark of Cain. If I wanted to, I could present you with conservative credentials. As a freshman and sophomore, I worked for the Northwestern Chronicle, not The Daily.
Yes, sacrilege, I know. What can I say? I was obsessed with Ayn Rand during that time period. I did seven years in a Catholic educational institution, and I’m from a stereotypical redneck state (Oklahoma).
Now that I’ve firmly established my credentials as a right-wing wackjob, let me provoke your vapid, commie-loving liberal sensibilities even more, by writing about abortion, specifically in the context of the Supreme Court’s decision on Wednesday to uphold a law banning certain types of abortion.
The court’s decision should be hailed by all God-fearing Americans as a victory in the crusade against the Godless liberals plotting to pervert the values imparted to us by our Founding Fathers.
Ha. Got you. I support Roe v. Wade, and I disagree with the court’s most recent decision on the subject of abortion. Yes, I still consider myself a practicing Catholic. Yes, I have qualms about the morality of the procedure. But I believe that abortion should remain legal.
My reasoning is simple. I don’t think that the government should have much to do with abortion, beyond enforcing quality control.Abortion should be between a person and her moral convictions, not between her and nine justices or a guy with a megaphone screaming biblical passages in her face outside Planned Parenthood.
The amount of time, money and political capital that contemporary Americans spend frothing at the mouth over the issue of abortion horrifies me as well. There are so many other problems that deserve attention.
Not that I don’t care about the unborn. But I also care about the children who don’t have enough to eat or access to quality healthcare. I care about the people getting blown up in places like Baghdad and Darfur. Don’t such atrocities deserve more attention than a medical procedure that’s become de rigeur in the West?
– David KucinskasForum editor
Long live Los Angeles
Chicago may have won the contest for the U.S. bid to host the 2016 Olympics, but my hometown, Los Angeles, can still beat Chicago any day.
To begin with, it was a huge mistake to pass over Los Angeles. Passing on Los Angeles was like passing on Ringo Starr, Disneyland (it’s close enough!), California rolls, the Pacific Ocean and the destination of Oceanic Flight 815 on the show “Lost.” And nobody can say no to “Lost.” Or Ringo – “Back off Boogaloo” is pivotal to music history.
Compare summertime in these two cities. During this Olympics season, the only thing Los Angeles would be plagued with is a throng of celebrities; Chicago – rodent-sized cicadas. How appealing would it be for unsuspecting tourists who think they’re getting a fun-filled day at Millennium Park only to find out they have to shelter themselves from a horrendous summer infestation? On the other hand, tourists love stalking celebrities.
If “I Love Lucy” showed us anything, it’s that tourists live for moments to stalk the adored, such as John Wayne, even going through lengths to steal blocks of cement with footprints. Bottom line: The tourists would love, and do love, Los Angeles.
But really, in a showdown between the two cities, we’ll find the Second City to live up to its name. The 2.84 million that inhabit Chicago will be pummeled by Los Angeles’s population of almost a million more. And vengeance will run deep. USC and UCLA will stop feuding and work together to defend their great home (and uniting to destroy the lesser Chicago). And the Windy City will have Northwestern’s lackluster football team. In this ring – let’s just say, it’s way too easy.
– Alice TruongAssistant Forum editor
