The Dreaded “C” Word
No, I don’t mean that one. Anything associated with the word Christian seems to draw suspicion and ire from many on the Left. The last group I knew to so adamantly oppose religion was the Soviets, but as we’ve seen before, much of the Left claims ideological kinship to that mentality.
The recent cause for panic among local lefties is the announcement that “Choose Life” license plates will be available in Indiana through our BMV this year. The real bur in their saddle is that money from the sale of the plates will go to the Indiana Association of Pregnancy Centers, a group founded by Christian ministers as an alternative for pregnant women to the money machine that is Planned Parenthood. Our wonderful local weekly of the Left, NUVO, offered an impressively outraged article on the subject.
Now, anyone who has lived in Indiana for some length of time knows that “specialty plates” like this are easily acquired. All you have to get is 500 signatures of people who promise to buy the plate and boom you have your own special interest plate. It’s a great way to make money for any organization or school and it’s been a boon to the BMV. What I think really sticks in the craw of the Leftists opposing the plate is that approximately $3 million will go to pro-Life organizations due to a little bit of free enterprise, and there’s not a lot they can do about it.
The article spends several paragraphs going over the history of the Crisis Pregnance Centers, the visible arm of the IAPC, noting how they required that board members, directors and volunteers “are expected to know Christ as their Savior and Lord”. So a religious organization wants its employees to feel the same way? SCANDALOUS! How do we let this stand in such a secularly perfect society as the People’s Republic of…wait, no this is still the United States and companies can (for the most part) hire who they want and expect what they want out of employees. The article continues to note how the agency has guidelines designed to push their point of view (again, what nerve) regarding abortion as an abomination.
Where does this pathological hatred for a Christian organization come from? Well, my guess would be in childhood. Maybe they had to spend too much time sitting in church or got their knuckles whacked by a nun or just have a beef with their Creator, perhaps don’t even believe they have a Creator. Who knows and normally I’d say who cares? If you want to play the “I hate Christians and all they stand for game”, fine. Waste your time.
I wouldn’t even usually give time of day to such a hit piece, but NUVO can’t help but trumpet the idea that litigation will and needs to follow such an egregious act as a new specialty license plate. It seems that attorneys like Howard Bashman of Law.com thinks such plates provide a “bully pulpit” (no pun intended) and thus constitute government endorsement of speech. Amazingly, the ACLU, also quoted in the article, gets it right by noting that no one has a right to stifle this group’s speech as long as the opposing viewpoint isn’t squashed.
Naturally, no Planned Parenthood plate is currently forthcoming. NUVO notes the saintly organization is “focusing [their] time and energy on helping women receive accurate and available reproductive health care”. It’s such a shame they ran out of column inches to point out, after their lengthy hit piece of the Christian group that Planned Parenthood is a for-profit organization that is in the business of promoting abortion, because that’s what butters their bread. Nor have I ever seen NUVO note that the founders of Planned Parenthood, by the admission of one of their very own, manufactured out of whole cloth many of the statistics and data that led to the very bad case law of Roe v. Wade. But they’re not in the business of hit pieces on their friends, regardless of how morally repulsive they are.
Look, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again for the knee-jerks. I have my own opinion on abortion. I’m sure you do too. It’s hard not to these days. Most don’t like it. Some think it’s essential to have at least a little bit. Some want to be able to kill the baby in or out of the womb. That’s an argument for the legislatures of the country should they ever get around to dumping that worthless case law. However, I don’t like demonizing sloppy hit pieces like this NUVO’s, just because many of the Left think everything Christian = EVIL. And there’s no reason I can’t hit a little back. Maybe their argument will be a little snappier next time and not so bigoted. Yes, NUVO, you’re a bigot-rich publication. Enjoy.
Maybe a few people will have a more considered opinion of the issue if they’re able to separate simple bigotry towards Christian groups like this article from the facts and maybe we can have an honest debate on this issue rather than just assuming the other side has nothing to say. Maybe, but if articles like this serve and survive as the only source of information for one side or the other, I doubt it.
No, I don’t mean that one. Anything associated with the word Christian seems to draw suspicion and ire from many on the Left. The last group I knew to so adamantly oppose religion was the Soviets, but as we’ve seen before, much of the Left claims ideological kinship to that mentality.
The recent cause for panic among local lefties is the announcement that “Choose Life” license plates will be available in Indiana through our BMV this year. The real bur in their saddle is that money from the sale of the plates will go to the Indiana Association of Pregnancy Centers, a group founded by Christian ministers as an alternative for pregnant women to the money machine that is Planned Parenthood. Our wonderful local weekly of the Left, NUVO, offered an impressively outraged article on the subject.
Now, anyone who has lived in Indiana for some length of time knows that “specialty plates” like this are easily acquired. All you have to get is 500 signatures of people who promise to buy the plate and boom you have your own special interest plate. It’s a great way to make money for any organization or school and it’s been a boon to the BMV. What I think really sticks in the craw of the Leftists opposing the plate is that approximately $3 million will go to pro-Life organizations due to a little bit of free enterprise, and there’s not a lot they can do about it.
The article spends several paragraphs going over the history of the Crisis Pregnance Centers, the visible arm of the IAPC, noting how they required that board members, directors and volunteers “are expected to know Christ as their Savior and Lord”. So a religious organization wants its employees to feel the same way? SCANDALOUS! How do we let this stand in such a secularly perfect society as the People’s Republic of…wait, no this is still the United States and companies can (for the most part) hire who they want and expect what they want out of employees. The article continues to note how the agency has guidelines designed to push their point of view (again, what nerve) regarding abortion as an abomination.
Where does this pathological hatred for a Christian organization come from? Well, my guess would be in childhood. Maybe they had to spend too much time sitting in church or got their knuckles whacked by a nun or just have a beef with their Creator, perhaps don’t even believe they have a Creator. Who knows and normally I’d say who cares? If you want to play the “I hate Christians and all they stand for game”, fine. Waste your time.
I wouldn’t even usually give time of day to such a hit piece, but NUVO can’t help but trumpet the idea that litigation will and needs to follow such an egregious act as a new specialty license plate. It seems that attorneys like Howard Bashman of Law.com thinks such plates provide a “bully pulpit” (no pun intended) and thus constitute government endorsement of speech. Amazingly, the ACLU, also quoted in the article, gets it right by noting that no one has a right to stifle this group’s speech as long as the opposing viewpoint isn’t squashed.
Naturally, no Planned Parenthood plate is currently forthcoming. NUVO notes the saintly organization is “focusing [their] time and energy on helping women receive accurate and available reproductive health care”. It’s such a shame they ran out of column inches to point out, after their lengthy hit piece of the Christian group that Planned Parenthood is a for-profit organization that is in the business of promoting abortion, because that’s what butters their bread. Nor have I ever seen NUVO note that the founders of Planned Parenthood, by the admission of one of their very own, manufactured out of whole cloth many of the statistics and data that led to the very bad case law of Roe v. Wade. But they’re not in the business of hit pieces on their friends, regardless of how morally repulsive they are.
Look, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again for the knee-jerks. I have my own opinion on abortion. I’m sure you do too. It’s hard not to these days. Most don’t like it. Some think it’s essential to have at least a little bit. Some want to be able to kill the baby in or out of the womb. That’s an argument for the legislatures of the country should they ever get around to dumping that worthless case law. However, I don’t like demonizing sloppy hit pieces like this NUVO’s, just because many of the Left think everything Christian = EVIL. And there’s no reason I can’t hit a little back. Maybe their argument will be a little snappier next time and not so bigoted. Yes, NUVO, you’re a bigot-rich publication. Enjoy.
Maybe a few people will have a more considered opinion of the issue if they’re able to separate simple bigotry towards Christian groups like this article from the facts and maybe we can have an honest debate on this issue rather than just assuming the other side has nothing to say. Maybe, but if articles like this serve and survive as the only source of information for one side or the other, I doubt it.
posted by Rob Beck | 6:48 AM
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