Excuse me if this blog post goes off on rants in all directions, or becomes illegibly stream-of-consciousness. I have a million ideas floating around in my head, and want to get them all out before I get too tired to think.
So. First: I'm taking a class about... well, I guess you could say it's about storytelling. But it's not REALLY about storytelling, it's about being a political writer. But it's not REALLY about being a political writer, it's about determining what exactly is "the truth." To this end, we've been reading stories about writers in war zones, writers covering genocide, writers telling the stories of marginalized people. Yesterday I led a small discussion group about the meaning of the word "truth". One of the questions I asked my group was "how do we determine what our own 'story' is?"
We talked for a long time about the nature of a good story - how it needs characters, conflict, detail. I tried to steer the group to talk about their own stories, to define who they were, but everyone steered away from that. Understandably. We don't know each other outside of class, why would we bare our souls?
But... I kinda WANT to bare my soul. No I don't. But I would like to know who I am, and where I fit in this crazy world. What are my stories? What are my obsessions? What are my passions?

Right now, I'm obsessed with the abortion debate that's raging in the USA. It's just INSANE. I mean, I sit up late at night, trying to understand it. It baffles me. I'm reading every article I can find on it, and all I can say, once again, is that I'm very happy to live in Canada. Even if I don't want or need an abortion, it's very relieving to know that the option is there. I mean, birth control comes first. But birth control isn't 100% foolproof, you know?
The other day, H. and I were talking about the abortion debate... well, actually, we've been talking about it a lot, because I keep bringing it up. I don't understand how two countries can be right next door to each other, have basically the same culture, and yet one country is full of crazy people. Anyways, he said something along the lines of "I don't understand the anti-choice logic." He didn't say that exactly, but you get the idea. So I had to think about it, like, what is the actual debate here? We get so focused on the violence and the politics, it's hard to keep the eye on the actual issue.
Here's what it is: it's philosophy. It's religion. Anti-choicers argue that life begins at conception, while pro-choicers argue that life begins when a creature can survive without medical assistance. One side is arguing religion, the other is arguing science, and they can't find a common ground.
I'm definitely pro-choice. That's not to say I PLAN on having an abortion. I don't think anyone looks forward to an abortion as if it's a rite of passage. But if I was pregnant, and in a bad situation, I would terminate the pregnancy. It's my decision, and my CHOICE, to do so. Don't get me wrong, I want kids. I plan to have kids. But if, as a mother, I'd have to choose between a bad life and no life for my child... well, I've done the bad life thing, and it would break my heart to think of anyone else going through that. Know what I mean? We want BETTER things for our children, not WORSE.
There's also the question of "the soul". H. doesn't truly believe in the soul, I think, but I do. I think the soul is linked to consciousness. Like when you think and dream, that's the soul. Some religions believe the soul is created at conception (Christianity, Islam), while others believe the soul passes from one being to another upon death and birth (Buddhism, Hinduism). In the case of one, abortion is equal to murder. In the case of the other, it's not.

Anti-choicers truly believe that a fetus, a "two-celled zygote" as they say, is a human being. And no amount of scientific facts or figures is going to change that belief. You can argue with them all you want, but if they truly believe in their cause, they won't hear a word you say. Their minds are closed to discussion. They think they're right, and moral, and justified in whatever they do. They think they're fighting a war, and in war, the rules are different.
I don't know... I keep thinking of Jesus Camp.
And I keep thinking how thankful I am to be in Canada, where I can make my own choices. But also where I can find the information I need to make INFORMED choices. I found a great quote yesterday that sums up how I feel about this whole thing:

“Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true.”