I’ve been quiet about Friday’s decision. I’ve seen some people in my various channels claim that such behavior in itself makes me a bad guy. I’ve also seen what seems to be a slightly more prevalent view: that quiet is exactly what I should be, because men are not entitled to opinions on abortion.
I reject both of these positions as absurd.
I don’t talk about abortion much. The issue is quite complex in several different ways, and I think people who regard it as simple are being disingenuous (though possibly with themselves as much as anyone).
What I have said occasionally is that I’m too pro-choice for pro-life ideologues and too pro-life for pro-choice ideologues. Nothing about that changed on Friday.
One thing is quite clear to me, however. There are many, many people—both those who regard this as cause for celebration and those who regard this as a complete catastrophe—who are thinking, behaving, and speaking irrationally right now.
Abortion is perhaps the single most contentious issue with which we grapple. I get that. However, it is just like any other debatable issue in that there are large numbers of pensive, reasonable people who have reached positions different from our own. That is, in fact, the essence of “debatable,” is it not?
“Most of our visions of a desirable world look pretty similar. We just differ on how to get there.”
I don’t remember where I first encountered this thought, but it’s often helpful for me to remember it. As I consider it, I think it might be less true for abortion. I don’t think that changes for a moment, however, that common ground remains the only reasonable ideal. And we’re never going to find it screaming at each other.
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