Greetings from the mountain top…
Part of the job of a guru is attempting to make sense of difficult subjects, questions, and debates. Part of that process is having the patience to walk completely around a topic (sometimes for years), to poke and prod, to not form rapid, emotional conclusions and then to set the topic aside for a while before ultimately issuing an answer.
All of that is a polite way of saying that this lesson isn’t one entered in to lightly.
Let me save some time for those of you, on either side of the abortion issue, who may be lighting torches and heading to the mountain top–there is no opinion or ultimate answer in the words to follow. Just a dissection of what has passed for intelligent discourse these past decades.
In the movie The Wizard of Oz Dorothy and her band of misfits, after asking a simple request from an ‘all powerful’ being, were sent on a seemingly impossible task–bring back the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West. The wizard knew the task a waste of time which was exactly the point–get those pesky thinkers out of his midst before they ruined a good gig.
So it is with politicians and the election-time rehashing of the debate on abortion.
The Guru finds it most interesting that–as with homosexual marriage–the abortion debate tends to most often rear it’s head around election time. It could be said elections are the ideal opportunity to discuss what is really important, but The Guru is more cynical (you try living multiple lifetimes and not becoming a tad jaded about politicians) and believes those who orchestrate such debates do so to distract us all from the real question; namely, how the fuck are you doing–Mr. Politician–at the job (representing our needs) you were elected for and handsomely paid to do?
The truth is the ‘powers-that-be’ would much rather we argue amongst ourselves while they diddle us in the nether regions.
The typical questions of whether or not abortion is a woman’s choice, an abomination before God , an affront to nature, or none of our damn business is always framed within such narrow terms that I laugh out loud at the absurdity of ever finding a common answer.
For example, the argument that a woman can do with her body whatever she chooses –absurd. Can she sell her pussy for money? Nope–ask The Mayflower Madam or Heidi Fleiss or any crack whore on a big city street. Can a woman, or any man for that matter, take their own life? Well, yes you technically can…but it’s illegal. What about selling an organ for profit–a kidney, for example? Again, you cannot and will be swiftly arrested and prosecuted should you try.
Whether or not those actions should be legal is an entirely different debate, but please don’t toss out the ‘woman’s right’ argument. It holds no water regardless of court decisions.
So abortion is an abomination against God’s will? The Bible (if that’s what you choose to follow) does have a commandment against taking a life and those who believe that text should adhere to it, but what about non-Christians? Should they have to follow the rules of a religion that isn’t theirs? Isn’t forcing ones religious beliefs into the courtroom the same thing feared by Christians about Islamic fundamentalists and Sharia law? If it is right for Christians to force their belief on others in one topic (abortion) then why is it not right for all of their beliefs to be forced on all others as well?
I hear you saying that this is a Christian nation and we should live by God’s law. Actually, bucko, no. It isn’t. The United States of America is a nation of freedom to choose your own religion and that freedom has led to a majority of citizens choosing Christianity. That’s not the same as a nation based on one particular ideology. In fact, that’s the antithesis of the desires of our founding fathers.
Then abortion must be against nature because nature always protects life, especially the life of the young, correct? Again, the argument doesn’t hold. Infantcide in the animal kingdom is very common (in particular among primates, cats, dogs, rodents, insects, and fish) and occurs for numerous reasons including: to gain food, to gain increased access to nesting sites or space, to avoid caring for unrelated offspring, and to bias the sex ratio of the litter along with a multitude of other reasons.
Children, none of the traditional arguments about abortion (pro or con) hold water when thoroughly examined, and The Guru has examined them since well before Roe v Wade. What tends to happen instead of true examination of this issue, unfortunately, is that rhetoric is increased, embers are flamed during election season, and rational discourse disappears like a fart in the wind.
There is no answer because abortion is a koan (look it up, The Guru ain’t a vocabulary teacher) and it is a tool used to distract us from the issues destined to overwhelm our society. The next time a politician raises the issue of abortion or homosexual marriage calm your emotions and think–it’s not a four-letter word–about what this individual could possibly not want you to think about.
What are they truly hiding behind the curtain?
Yes, children, sometimes a guru never reaches an answer because the question asked is intentionally unsolvable. A koan. Some tasks, or questions, are meant to be a fool’s errand whether it be claiming a broom or debating that which has no answer.
“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain,” Dorothy and her crew were told by the Wizard. Perhaps it’s time you did paid attention.
Peace out ya yellow brick freaks
<a href=”http://www.hypersmash.com”>www.hypersmash.com</a>
THE Mountain Top Guru 