Written by David Smith, founder of Continue To Serve
My father was a baptist minister. I grew up with the stories of fire and brimstone, thinking I was going to hell for saying words like “shit” and “damn.” Like a good Christian conservative, I despised those who were siphons on the system, i.e., the poor (spoiler alert, my family was poor, yet somehow we were not “them”). I believed gays were destroying the fabric of our country. And I generally looked upon those who didn’t look like me, a straight white male, with immediate judgment, implicit or otherwise. Most of all, I would become enraged with the topic of abortion. There was never a reason good enough in my mind. And it shouldn’t be legal. Ever.
Join us June 4th on the steps of the Supreme Court to stand up for abortion rights www.vets4choice.com
It literally took a war for me to see outside of what I was taught to believe. I don’t pray anymore, but if I did, I’d say that I pray it doesn’t take a war for everyone to see the truth. Whatever your logic for being pro-life,” understand that those on the Supreme Court, the Republicans pushing this agenda, none of them actually care about the unborn. Like I was manipulated and indoctrinated, so too are the many more who think this is about protecting life. It’s not. It never has been. It’s about control.
I now understand that everyone’s situation is different and never easily defined by the bullet points Rush Limbaugh used to give my family on the radio every day. I now know the biggest siphons on our American economy are corporations and the hyper wealthy. I’ve come to respect and love many friends who are gay. And without fail, I still have implicitly biased thoughts that permeate in my head, after a few decades of indoctrination. Every day I work through those thoughts and repair them with new knowledge and educating myself. In all this, I think my biggest achievement is seeking understanding, prior to finding blame.
In the hardened hearts of all those conservatives, I can’t help but think that if I can change, surely there is a way to reach others. I wish there was a way to have frank conversations that lead to resolution. I wish I didn't have this fear of a growing apathy regarding the status of our great nation. I wish if they were going to pay attention to bullet points, it would look something like this:
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Abortion is healthcare.
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Abortion is a woman’s right.
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Abortions will happen whether legal or not.
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If people can receive chemotherapy to destroy countless cells in their body to kill cancer, women should be able to decide which cells can live or die in theirs.
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The wealthy will still have abortions safely and those in poverty will risk death.
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Christians who say only God can decide who lives and dies are the same people who then quote the Bible saying, “an eye for an eye” while supporting the death penalty.
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We are not a theocracy and therefore, the rule of law should not be dictated by religion.
These conservative leaders wield religion not because they care about people, but because it gives them power. They could give two shits about the message. About faith. About God. About Christ. No. For those in power, this is about more power. And when Roe V Wade is taken away, stand by. Because next will fall many more cards. And if you’re a conservative still reading this article and think, “good, I don’t want gays to get married anyway,” congrats. You’re falling for the same bullshit I did when I was younger. Because the control won’t stop there. Don’t believe me? Just look at any other country that uses religion to dictate their laws. Tell me, of those countries, which ones are stable? Which ones allow its people the greatest freedoms? Which ones would you gladly send your children or loved ones to spend time in?
Roe V Wade isn’t just about abortion, though it is a huge setback to women’s rights. Behind the facade of abortion rights is a Supreme Court that is saying precedent doesn’t matter. It’s diminishing the value of every law that has ever been written or any court case that has ever been decided on those laws. It is using religion as a justification, which destroys the very foundation of our republic. One that was not created for Christianity, but for religious freedom.
John Adams once said, “I fear that in every elected office, members will obtain an influence by noise, not sense. By meanness, not greatness. By ignorance, not learning. By contracted hearts, not large souls . . . There must be decency and respect.” When I was a teenager, I would have read this quote and applied it through the lens of religion. I would have justified my pro-life stance by saying decency is letting a cluster of cells grow into a child. After almost a decade and a half in medicine, I now know that we have people on life support right now that will never recover. A heart beat does not indicate brain function. Lungs perfusing oxygen do not decide whether a person will live or not. Biology aside, I know that not everyone’s situation is the same. I know that I can only seek understanding and stop trying to blame people. Decency and respect is allowing a woman to choose what she believes is best for her body. Period. Women, for the better part of human history, have been told their values, their opinions, and their insights are not relevant by men, by religion, and by those in power. We are about to take a step backwards in this country. And as these Republicans “make America great again,” women will be the first to suffer, but not the last to be punished.
So what do we do? We have to stand. This is no time to rest. This is no time to sit back and hope that someone else will step up and speak for you. The time has come that we all must rise or we may never get this chance again.
Join us on June 4th as we invite women veterans to come speak about their time in the military. They will address the importance of women's rights, as they are still diminished in the ranks of our military. Sexual assaults are still occurring. Women are limited in options for reporting, often by their chain of command, regardless of what procedures and laws are established by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Women face control of their bodies when they seek healthcare. And if Roe is repealed, women stationed in states like Texas may find themselves facing very difficult decisions.
I said it two years ago, I'll say it again now. We. Need. You. Join us. Stand with us. Raise your voice with us. Let us use our veteran voice to speak to these issues. We served because we believe in this country. It is my hope, we all still do. And if that is the case, we must rise to this occasion now. We must act. We must not be silent. Because in silence, we will be drowned out by the voice of this violent, racist, patriarchal minority.
Vets4Choice Rally: www.vets4choice.com