Time to Clarify Some Terms in the Abortion Debate

Before we talk about life with the Culture of Death, let’s get a few things straight

State Rep. Brian Sims with Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL, at an event for the organization's 45th anniversary, Feb. 4, 2014, in the San Francisco area.
State Rep. Brian Sims with Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL, at an event for the organization's 45th anniversary, Feb. 4, 2014, in the San Francisco area. (photo: CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

The brouhaha caused by Pennsylvania State Representative Brian Sims’ May 2 meltdown ― on a videotape of his own making ― is a classic example of a conflict of values that can be helped with a simple clarification of terms.

So, let’s clarify some terms.

Peace. Threatening people is neither “just” nor “peaceful.” Violently confronting people who are practicing their right to peacefully assembly and employing their freedom of speech in the name of “civil rights” is foolish and hypocritical.

Righteousness. Degrading other people isn’t “righteousness.” Rather, it’s “having a temper tantrum.”

Racism. Calling a Caucasian woman,“white” in a degrading tone isn’t a “blow against racism.” Instead, it isracism. When you reduce an individual to her race and then dismiss her and her values, behavior and any held opinions, that’s just old-fashioned, KKK-grade bigotry.

Courage. Asking a male protester a question and then stomping off in a hot huff is rude. To harass and treat a woman differently is sexist, hypocritical and cowardly. Sims knew on some level that a man would fight back and so chose to fight old women and little girls. Scaring helpless people isn’t being “brave” — it’s cowardice and will be labelled thusly.

Bullying. Calling your opponent a “Bible bully” isn’t a way to end bullying. In fact, calling someone a name makes you no better than a petulant third-grader. And the rationalization, “Well, they did it first!” isn’t a logical retort. It’s just something that a child would say.

Intimidation. Scaring children by yelling at them isn’t “standing up for the rights of the oppressed,” but rather felonious intimidation and an arrestable offense. A good lawyer would know that. Odd that Sims didn’t. The state of Pennsylvania defines ethnic intimidation as occurring when, “with malicious intention[my italics] toward the actual or perceived race, color, religionnationaloriginancestry, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, genderor gender identity of another individual or group of individuals, he commits an offense under any other provision of this article…” I’m not a big-city lawyer like Sims hopes to be one day, but I can read. Apparently, this man has broken the laws of the state he has sworn to protect when he got his license to practice law.

Justice. Revenge isn’t justice. Justice is never determined by a man who isn’t in full control of his mental facilities but rather in a self-righteous fury. Someone on a personal crusade over a perceived slight or a supposed injustice is rightfully dubbed a “criminal,” not a “hero.” “Vigilante justice” is “justice” only in the sense that military music is music and airplane box lunches are “fine dining.” In other words, it’s not.

Democracy. It is not a democracy Sims seems to call for but rather a dictatorship in which he and his ilk have total control of anti-Christian group-think. Inclusiveness means all people are accorded the decency and respect that the individual would require for himself. The Golden Rule is not defined as “Do as I tell you or I’ll make your life miserable.” That’s the gospel of the god of this world.

Open-Mindedness. Yelling at someone who doesn’t agree with you isn’t “open-mindedness” on Sims’ part. If it is, then he can’t complain when pro-life protestors raise their voices. It’s also not an intelligent way to change hearts and minds. If I’m wrong, I’m sure Sims won’t mind if we take his advice about changing his mind. One or the other. Logic demands it.

Attacking a woman is misogyny. It’s not “commendable behavior.” Indulging in emotional “venting” isn’t the same as “reasoning.” A tirade isn’t the same as “indignant discourse.” And killing a baby is never a human right.