I was thinking about the laws governing marijuana use as well as abortion rights. Consider these questions:
Is it right to grant more liberty at the expense of morality?
Is it right to command strict morality at the expense of liberty?
Is forced morality actually … immoral?
In other words, in the balance between morality and liberty, which is more important to you?
Which is more important to our country?
I personally find it ludicrous that our government tries to force us into not smoking marijuana. The chemical THC is not as dangerous or addictive as alcohol or nicotine. And yet the alcohol and tobacco industries are doing just fine. Some regulations surrounding harmful and potentially harmful substances are appropriate, such as making alcohol and tobacco use by teens illegal, but banning the use of something as inconsequential as marijuana is immoral. Our government needs to address real problems. Marijuana use isn't one of them. For the record, I've never touched the stuff, but I think I should have the right to if I so desire.
Now abortion. From a physiological perspective, a sperm and an egg are as alive as any other cell in your body - including the cells in a developing embryo. Life did have a beginning, but that probably only happened once. When we see a baby being born, what we're seeing is a continuation of life - an absolutely beautiful thing. But the question I'm asking is - Should the government force us into a moral corner on unnatural abortion?
Most citizens of this country find no problem putting to death murderers and child molesters. I think it's because deep down, we feel that what they were convicted of is below us, and as dehumanized flesh, do not deserve to be part of the human species. We kill every species of animal and plant out there if they stand in our way. Killing is all around us. We see it when we eat a hamburger or spread herbicides and pesticides on our immaculate lawns. We can’t relate to a dandelion. Nor to a roach. But it could only be because we lack the motivation, and for most of us, ending the life of non-human species is a "natural" consequence of our own survival.
But abortion (the unnatural kind) is different. A species should not kill its own. Humans ending the life of humans is wrong because it’s not in the interest of our species' survival. From this perspective, abortion is wrong ... but let's consider one very important thing.
Humans have the most peculiar ability to make choices. We are unlike any other life form in this respect. We can visualize an outcome before it occurs. We can change and adapt our emotions and thought-processes. Among other reasons, we do it to arrive at more rational conclusions. Our days are full of choices. Some we make quickly because we can and should. Some take more time. Abortion is one of these issues.
In my personal opinion, the government should not infringe on a person’s right to their own body. If a person wants to kill herself, that is her right. If a person wants to remove a small mass of cells called an embryo growing within her, that is her right. Would it be the morally correct decision? No, I don't believe so. But in my book, liberty trumps morality, and as long as we as a species are not in danger of being wiped out, why can’t we just let it alone?
