Digby on Storytelling
A great little essay by Digby on his blog Hullabaloo about the abortion debate. As he says, one reason for the general public rejection of Republican pandering in the Terry Schiavo case is because so many Americans have experienced painful choices surrounding the death of a loved one and are willing to share those stories over dinner tables, around water coolers, and during play groups. However, people tend to be much more reticent about their experiences with unwanted pregnancy because of the shame and stigma still associated with it. This means that the painful and morally ambiguous dilemmas that underlie most abortions don't get fully aired, making it much easier for those on the far right to get away with caricaturing women who terminate pregnancies as selfish, irresponsible, and evil. Being willing to think about and talk about real life is an essential first step to weaning ourselves from the juvenile narrowmindedness of black-and-white ideologies.
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