Note: I wrote this the week after the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade. I postponed publishing it because I wasn't sure it said what I wanted to say. It does.
“You can buy a gun but you can’t get an abortion.” – Murphy Jones
“I don’t want to do either.” – Emma Moriarity
That exchange from 1985’s Murphy’s Romance came to me when the news broke last week. Murphy’s response came in answer to Emma’s question about what sort of town she had just moved to. His reply perfectly sums up what kind of town we all suddenly have moved to; for most of us, unwillingly.
How are we to understand this town in which we now live? Do we even want to understand it? What are we to do? How do we cope with the anxiety? We don’t know what lies ahead and we control very little of the outside world. But I’ve always believed that I can control my actions. At least, I thought I could. But now I don’t know if I do.
It seems others want to control what I do; others who think they know what is best for me. They are attempting to force me to obey them. But I did not willingly give them the power to decide for me. Therein lies my dilemma. I didn’t give them the power. They are not elected by me. They lied to get into power and now they are imposing their world view and values on to me.
It is not for them to decide how I live my life. I have the freedom to worship how I see fit and to believe what I want to believe. Whatever I believe, whatever my code of conduct and value system, I decide not someone else.
Media has made us more aware of the injustices of the world and I think that is a good thing. It also makes people uncomfortable and makes them think. And a lot of people don’t want to think. They are comfortable when others tell them what to do or what to think. But I’m not.
I don’t want to live in a town where most people are packing.
And I don’t want to live in a town that intrudes into my private life.
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