The Sanctity of Life

Every now and again a universal truth hits me, usually while I’m doing something mundane like playing Rock Band or riding my scoot.

Sanctity of life is a principle of implied protection regarding aspects of sentient life which are said to be holy, sanctified, or otherwise of such value that they are not to be violated. In western religions, the concept is based on the belief that all human beings have souls or are created in God’s image.

Now if you believe in the sanctity of life…lets see a virtual show of hands…..ok leave em up.

Now lets test your convictions

Do you believe in the death penalty? Put your hands down if so.

How about a womans right to choose to have an abortion….hands down.

do you support the war in Iraq? hands down.

afghanistan? hands down.

doctor assisted suicide? hands down.

the right to use deadly force? Hands down.

I’m guessing by now we dont have many hands left up and if you do I’d bet ten to one your ideological foundation is Buddhism.

The point here is that we all like to say that a human life is sacred but truth is for most of us (I am including myself here) there is nothing sacred about it. Yes we hold it in pretty high regard, generally speaking, but we all can think of situations where, well it just ain’t so sacred anymore.

Personally I believe a woman has the right to choose abortion, it should be between her and her God.

I believe in the use of deadly force if you threaten someone’s life, liberty, property or family.

I do NOT believe in the state executing the death penalty, that strikes me as just revenge.

I don’t support the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan although I do think sometimes war is a necessary evil and I have the utmost respect for our servicemen and women no matter where they are.

I believe you have the absolute right to self determination when it comes to suicide, it is after all, your life.

So the next time you hear some sanctimonious asshat talking about the sanctity of life you can feel comfort in the knowledge that they are just spouting rhetoric. You live, you die, in between try to have fun and not do evil shit…..