Why Talk About Political Issues?

Others have asked me why I include political issues in this blog. What's the connection between politics and living a meaningful life? In order to live a more meaningful life, one would need the freedom to pursue a meaningful life. So if this freedom is denied to a person, then an injustice is being committed against that person. Such a person would not be happy. For example, when African-Americans were sold as slaves, their freedom to live genuinely human lives were denied to them. When a child is aborted, the child's right & freedom to live a meaningful life is denied to that child. When a disabled person's life is terminated, such as Terri Schiavo's life, then her freedom to live a meaningful life is also being denied. There are several cases of people, in similar or worse condition than her, who were able to recover with rehabilitation. Terri was denied rehabilitation. In conclusion, freedom and justice are required in order for people to pursue a more meaningful life. These issues happen to be considered "political" issues also. Therefore, it becomes necessary to address these "political" issues if they interfere with a person's legitimate pursuit of a meaningful and purposeful life.

Freedom

When I was a student at UC Berkeley (the bastion of the Free Speech Movement) I read, in the school newspaper, about an incident that occurred on campus. A Pro-Life student group wanted to hold a private meeting at a school facility. When pro-abortion (aka Pro-Choice) students found out about it, they barged into the meeting uninvited, assaulted some of the Pro-Life students, destroyed the audio/visual equipment of the university, and stole some of the printed materials from the Pro-Life group. Now I'd like to ask everyone, "Do you think these 'Freedom of Choice' people really believe in freedom? Or do they believe in freedom only if your beliefs agree with theirs?" You decide.

Home Schooling is a Right. It is Not a Crime.

Many of you may have heard about the new spelling bee champion in the news last week. According to the news, this kid from Danville, California was home schooled by his parents. So I was wondering why politicians, especially the Democrats, are very much opposed to home schooling. In Sacramento, the Democratic-controlled state legislature attempted to criminalize home schooling a few years ago by classifying it as "child abuse." What were they thinking? Perhaps the more relevant question is, "Who's lobbying them to do this?" Luckily, it was defeated when some Democrats broke ranks with their party to vote against it. I know quite a few people, and I'm sure you do too, who home school their kids. I certainly don't want them to end up in jail just because they're doing what's best for their kids. It appears to me that parents who do this are doing a great job, and the kids sometimes turn out to be smarter than those who attend either public or private schools. We need to contact our legislators and demand that they respect parental rights, and allow parents the freedom to home school their kids.

Suicide vs. the Value of Life

I came across an article on the Internet where a self-proclaimed philosopher believed that suicide was the ultimate expression of freedom because one had control over one's life and death. Since there had been several incidents in this country where a person, who was suicidal, had killed other people before killing themselves, I wanted to pose a question to everyone, especially those who adhere to the aforementioned philosophy. If people don't value their own lives, why would they value the lives of others?