About Basil Blue

Politics & Religion

Warning: this area contains attitude

I am hesitant to write down any of my views and beliefs; I am a dynamic, sentient person, open to learning and growing, and I can admit when I believe I'm wrong. My views have changed as life and experience have taught me lessons. With that said, I will carve the following in cyber-stone.

Religion

My religious background is eclectic, but predominantly Christian; some of my family members are Christian, some are Catholic, and some are Latter-day Saints (a.k.a. LDS, or Mormon); a couple members of my family even practise Saivite Hinduism (somewhat unusual for non-Indians in the USA). In addition to being exposed to these belief systems, I've also taken part in some Buddhist ceremonies and activities, including a wonderful Buddhist retreat led by Tibetan monk and author Thich Nhat Hanh.

I have found beauty and truth in all these, but I have more of an affinity with the LDS church, and with Buddhism, than with other religions.
The LDS church and I differ on several fundamental beliefs:

• I do not believe homosexuality or bisexuality is a sin.
  I believe true love can be found in same-sex and different-sex relationships. My definition of true love is summed up succintly by 1 Corinthians, chapter 13. When both partners are fulfilling this definition of love, then they have true love for each other.
• I do not believe men are the inherent leaders of the family.
  I believe individuals have different strengths and weaknesses. The person most suited to the job should do the job!
• I do not believe the Church President always represents God.
  I believe the Church President, like all other human beings, cannot help but have his personal assumptions and prejudices color his beliefs. Because he is human, his perspective will color the messages he receives from God.

I do not presently participate in any of these religions. I'm still figuring out my beliefs.

Politics

Democrat? Republican? Green Party? Libertarian? So many ideologies, so little time. Oi vey! What's a girl to do?

I am currently:

Pro

• environment
  Hey, politics are pretty insignificant when no one can
  breathe the air, eat from the earth, or drink the water,
  so let's keep it clean.
  

• death penalty
  If someone kidnaps your mother or your sister, your son or your daughter,
  and rapes, mutilates, and kills this person you love,
  do you want to treat that murderer to breakfast, lunch, and dinner - not once, not twice, but forever?
  I don't.

• guns
  I believe licensing should be more stringent,
  owners with children should have an initial home safety visit,
  and owners should be tested every four years or so for "gun proficiency."

• same-sex marriage
  In this country it is easy to marry - if you're heterosexual.
  People can marry each other out of love, out of lust, out of greed for money, out of loneliness.
  They can marry if they've known each other a few decades or a few weeks!
  They can marry if they are different "races", different ethnicities, different religions - and belief systems can greatly influence people's lives.
  They can marry if they come from different cities, states, countries.

  But they can't marry if they are the same sex.

  Freedom of religious beliefs is part of America's foundation.
  The only valid arguments against homosexuality are religious, and church is -
  according to the United States Constitution - to be kept separate from state.

  If someone is going to judge others by the belief that people should have sex only within marriage,
  
  then gays and lesbians should have a chance to marry!

Anti

• pornography
  I believe the destruction of pornography should be fought on a personal level. I am against government censorship.
  I AM NOT AGAINST arousing pictures of people.
  I AM AGAINST arousing pictures of flesh, especially when it is a woman being reduced to flesh.
  I have pictures of nude people in my home - yes, you guessed it, it's called art. Art captures soul.
  For those of you who don't know - even for yourselves - the difference between art and exploitation,
  here's a homework assignment for you:
  all this week, work on truly respecting yourself and the women and girls around you who deserve this same respect.
  Think about the millions of girls and women who suffer and die from eating disorders.
  Think about the images of impossible women clogging the media.
  Think about the last time you saw a woman over forty, or a woman with an imperfect body, portrayed as a desireable, sexual being.
  Think about the disproportionately high number of women and girls sexually molested and raped.

  Now, when you see an erotic photograph of a woman, nude or clothed, ask yourself this question:
  Am I looking at a body, or at a person?

  Then get back to me.

Torn

• abortion
  I could write a book about this. As you read this, please realize I haven't said it all... In this country, unfortunately freedom of abortion is tied to freedom of equality. I think many who are against abortion are also against true equality for women; I believe in equality.

  I will admit right now that this is an emotion-laden issue for me. It's only fair to give some of my background. I used to be unequivocally pro-choice politically. Personally, I did not want to have an abortion, but I respected and protected women's choice.
  Then I learned that abortion centers are not always concerned with a woman's choice. Even when it's clear the woman doesn't want an abortion, and is being pressured, some clinics will still perform and encourage the abortion. When I say, I learned this, I am not talking about some anti-abortion propaganda I read. This is real.
  I would like to see stringent penalties in place for abortion clinics that perform abortions upon women who are pressured into them. I would like mandatory training in clinics to recognize and assist these women.
  Learning this, and seeing the pain the abortion caused this woman, rocked the basis of my beliefs.

  I take abortion seriously. I would like to see abortions virtually ceased by use of birth control. My gut reaction is that abortion is killing; sometimes we kill, however, in self-defense.

  In general, I don't think women should have abortions beyond the first trimester. The later the abortion, the worse it is.

  I may never vote anti-abortion, and certainly I WILL NOT VOTE ANTI-ABORTION...
  ...until women and children receive the services they need to survive,
  including health care, longer paid maternity leave, and subsidized child care.
  I do not think women should have abortions unless pregnancy endangers their lives. That definition goes beyond the physical, it also includes women's mental, emotional, social, and economic lives.
  I do not know for a fact that a "human being" is created at the moment of conception.
  Different people have different guesses about when human life begins: conception? "Quickening" at four months? At seven months, when many babies are viable? At nine months? Only after birth?

  Aborted babies have been known to survive outside the womb, and as technology and medicine improve, younger and younger babies - even as young as five months - have been saved.

  So when does human life begin? Scientifically, objectively, no one knows.

  The possibility that abortion kills another human being is too serious for guessing games.

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