Mixed Emotions

I'm a pretty logical guy but I do admit my emotions are tied up in the Terri Schiavo case.

To begin, I do hold a pro-life view in every sense of the term. I'm pro life for the unborn, pro life for the elderly, pro-life for the poor, pro-life for the hungry around the world and pro-life for citizens of other countries.

Privately I've discussed this case and have heard just about every side of this argument. I feel horrible that this woman is a fraction of her former 'self'. I feel terrible that she's been in this condition for 15 years. I can see how both sides of this case have gotten to this point.

I have mixed emotions because of several beliefs I hold at the same time.

1. I'd imagine I could be defined as a federalist. One who believes we should defer to states rights as much as possible and even local city rights as much as possible always in an effort to best protect individual liberties. The higher up the chain we go in Government, the more of an opportunity for the individual to become less-free.
2. I don't see the tube as "life-support". In one sense it completely is life support. Without food and water we die. However this is a mechanism used to introduce substances into the body. This is not a machine acting for the body such as a respirator. I see the tube as an IV that provides nourishment.
3. I'm skeptical of the former husband who has already moved on and has a new family (for over 10 years now). Part of me wonders why he'd fight this woman's family. He's fought the family for Terri's death longer than he knew Terri before her complications. At what point is it more about him winning and less about Terri's best interest?

Okay, so my thoughts.
1. I wish Terri (as should we all) would have written out a living will.
2. I wish the husband would have given responsibility to the family the moment he decided to walk away from Terri and move on with his life.
3. I wish the husband would pull back even now and let this woman's blood relatives decide what they want to do with her.
4. I wish the Congress would not have gotten involved as they did this weekend. Although I am completely supportive of the action (keeping Terri alive) I am very concerned with what they did and how they did it. I admire the sentiment and value for this woman's life but I wish every life got as much concern from our Federal government.

Some of those lives include:
- Those in the inner city who are killed everyday from violence (ex:Baltimore, MD)
- Those who starve not because of a lack of a tube but because of a lack of compassion.
- Those men and women in the Sudan who are killed or starve to death because of their religious beliefs.
- Those like my new friend George at Dillard's who can barely pay for his monthly medication let alone try to help his aging sister.
- Those children of our fallen soldiers who have lost their lives in combat to protect ours. Can't our state schools provide free tuition to children of those killed in combat? Most classes could take an extra person or two without hurting the infastructure at the institutions protected by our service men and women.

On some issues I may sound more liberal than conservative but I don't care. I care about helping humanity and sharing the love of Christ. Political labels we apply to ourselves distort our minds and many times lead us to 'group think'.

We must all ignore our ideologies and look to Love as our guide.
We must look towards the orphans and widows as described in scripture.
We must look at Government as a tool, not as an institution.
Our society has come to view "government" as something separate and out of touch. The reality is that our governmental system is the most accessible system in the world. In many local elections it takes 5-10k votes to win. Imagine if the Senior class of 3 High Schools in your area all rallied around a candidate who wanted to make a difference...

Sorry, this turned into a blant (blog-rant). I guess this morning I'm sad for this woman, sad for our government, sad for the apathy but excited about God and his sovereignty over it all.