Monday, September 1, 2008

Bristol Palin's Choice

This post is not about Bristol Palin or her pregnancy.

Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin describes herself as "pro-life as any candidate can be." John McCain's campaign web sites links to articles about how evangelical Christians are excited about this new opportunity to force their religious beliefs onto others.

Meanwhile, Palin's 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, and has chosen to keep the baby. To quote Palin again, "we're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents." In other words, Palin is OK with her 17-year-old daughter making her own choice about her pregnancy (and, presumably, she was also OK with her daughter's choice to ignore her abstinence-only sex education, and without proper birth control). Notice Palin's careful choice of words -- her daughter made a decision, not a choice.

But, any way you look at it, it means that Palin is pro-choice for her daughter, but anti-choice for the rest of the world. It's the sort of double-standard that we've come to expect from the Republican leadership, so she's in good company.

Personally, I respect Bristol Palin's choice and sincerely hope it's her choice and not her mother's. I sincerely wish her the best of luck on a rough road ahead.

Update: As it says at the top, this post is not about Bristol Palin. See this clarification.

3 comments:

Ted said...

This is a plus. As Mark Steyn points out in his recent best seller, America Alone, if our western civilization is demographically to survive in the increasingly “hostile to the west” islamic world — and not end up like the sinking European populations — these are the precise people (the Bristol Palins’) we should thank for increasing their progeny.

Roy Leban said...

@Ted: I don't know if you're serious or sarcastic.

I think the Islamofascists you fear are shockingly similar to the evangelical Christians like Sarah Palin who want the world to conform to their beliefs. Remember Oklahoma City? Or family planning clinic bombings? Or the Rev. Fred Phelps protesting funerals?

In the end, tolerance and respect will win because it is the right thing. Extremism cannot be beaten by simply adding more extremists of a different type.

Martha said...

I appreciate the distinction between "decision" and "choice," because "choice" is so laden with political connotations, but the use of the word decision implies a choice.