Now that a doctor has confirmed that Michael’s contention concerning Terri being in a vegetative state was in fact correct, and that her condition was irreversible, what’s next for the Schindlers and their palls over at Fox News? The smear campaign against this man will continue, with the Hannitys and the preachers telling stories about that game of checkers they’d played with Terri just days before her death, but since all their allegations have been now proven false, what’s the next step? Perhaps they can send the video of Terri’s skull being opened to Bill Frist, and he can claim on the Senate floor that, ‘it doesn’t appear to be half the size of a normal human brain’. Maybe Sean Hannity can interview a janitor who worked in the building where the autopsy took place and have him claim that he smelled booze on the doctor’s breath.
There were no signs of trauma that put her in that state to begin with, just like the civil trial from 1992, the Schindlers’ independent investigations and the state attorney’s office had already confirmed. So now all they have to fall back on are lies, allegations and whatever the wire taps from Michael’s current residence have turned up. The balloon Terri’s parents were convinced had prompted a response a few years back, the one that’s most likely on a prayer tour through the evangelical American underground, can now be put up in the attic as the autopsy has also proved that she had in fact gone blind. Though, thinking back to my born again Christian days, if I were faced with this problem, it would be quite easy to convince the believers that God had granted her sight that day with the balloon as a chance for all of us to do the right thing.
Yes, the lesson for religious people everywhere today is clearly that the person being kept alive by man-made scientific ingenuity, with a brain half the size it should be, must be saved. Meanwhile, the people who are finding ways to have children with another form of man-made scientific ingenuity must be targeted for political exploitation, the embryos drafted for a tour of forced martyrdom. The logic being, feeding tubes and doctor’s reports of no brain activity are evil, along with the blessing that is invetro fertilization. Prevent parents who would have had no chance of bearing a child otherwise because the science is evil, and keep the children who were born, grew up and died, yet who’s heart was kept alive by machines, because science is good. Pick and chose where and when to call our scientific capabilities ‘God’s work’ or ‘Satan’s work’ based on the political necessities of the religious-right at any given moment.
This is the game, and all of us are the pawns. Terri Shiavo was appointed martyr against her will, and so will millions of other Americans who have no interest in anything but a good life. The terms of their definition of what a ‘good life’ happens to be have more to do with a family of children than a shrinking brain being kept alive by a machine. Our American values embody the stuff of Norman Rockwell paintings, not the book of Revelation. We consider life to be a struggle between suffering and happiness, not good versus evil. The smiling face of a child, not the distorted face of a woman who’d already been dead for years.
Excellent article, Chris.
sorry about the trolls on the Poly forum.
Finding out today that Schiavo was blind appalled the hell out of me. How long did she lay in that Florida hospital bed in complete darkness?
I also have never been able to correlate the dichotomy between death penalty/ life support good, abortion/stem cells/IVF bad. How can allowing children to be born be bad? But now there are alot of sanctimonious physicians and pharmacists that refuse to administer or prescribe contraception or the day after pill. You can’t have a baby through the “bad” science in 2005, but we want to manuever you through the halls of fertility to an unwanted pregnancy. Like a sperm travelling down the cervix to meet up with the glorious egg.
It makes no sense at all. I get upset about how the media never makes this connection…in fact, they stay away from it at all costs. It’s like an old man with altzeimers confusing their hat with their left shoe while getting dressed…nothing to laugh at, but shouldn’t you help the guy out?
These instances where the politics and the religion seemed to entwine quite…er, irrationally…really helped to lead me away from evangelical Christianity.
Evangelical Chrisitianity is, basically, a pain in the ass to all of those involved. It means incessant, unwanted preaching to convert, judgemental attitudes, sanctimony, lack of empathy, and no sex.
HA! Evolution is taking hold though. Young born again Christian girls are making with the oral, and also letting their boyfriends give it to them up the pooper…you know, to ‘save themself’ for marriage. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
It’s all about Satan. Everyone praying Revelation comes true while they’re alive so they can say ‘AH-HA! Told you so!’ Generations of schmucks have handed over their cerebral cortexes with this in mind.
Conservatives are full of unintended consequences, like the oral sex example above. plus things like high oil prices may lead to more efficient cars and lower emissions. Conservatives by shear incompetence might do more to advance the liberal agenda than president Hilary could.
To paraphrase Bill Maher, where was all of this porn star sex when I was in high school?
Throughout history, and not just in today’s “depraved” society, adult hormones, adult bodies, and embryonic goo for brains has caused teenagers to get wacky.
Somewhere there are still the 33 specialists who said she could have some recovery with the therapy she never received. The pathologist even said theres very little you can tell from a dead brain and I doubt she was blind.
It still comes down to the fact that the ex-husband sued a doctor for money to provide Terri with therapy and then, with check in hand, killed her as soon as he could. He had a new girlfriend and kids and had no more use for Terri, she was a liability at that point.
And why divorce her just to give her parents half of the money, no it was easier to kill her and keep every dime. No one on this planet can say for sure whether Terri would have regained consciousness but we all do know she will never have the chance and Michael was interested only in himself and not for Terri’s wellbeing.
Out of curiosity Chris, what would we “label” me, with the whole christianity thing? You know I’m “crazy liberal”, but at the same time I have have what I think are really orthodox christian views…I dunno, are we saying “born again” christianity is that creepy phenom with the televangelists and the “God hates you because you sin” thing? randomness…I know.
Welcome Amber! Glad to see you here.
There are millions of progressive/liberal Christians out there. The loudest Christians are the evangelical right-wingers, so it’s easy for people to get the perception that everyone is like that.
The ‘born again’ sect believes that in order to get to heaven you have to go through a ceremony known as being ‘saved’. They’re very political and self-righteous, and secular society represents Satan. The way they sell it is designed to scare people from deciding to not believe at some point. Unless you can get away from it…from a geographical standpoint as I did, it’s very difficult to escape.
You can be a liberal and still be a Christian regardless of what the wackos tell you.
You can be a liberal and still be a Christian regardless of what the wackos tell you.
Wouldn’t you say that liberalism is in direct conflict with Christianity, or any religion for that matter?
Any limits that religion places on human bahavior is a lightling rod for the left. I get the feeling that, the large scope of liberalism, that churuch stays at church meaning that it’s great to go to church, especially during an election, but when church is over you leave it all behind until next week. Just an observation.
Right:
Sorry, I must have hit the submit button.
Right:
it seems that a lot of coservatives are not really big on having their freedoms curtailed either, over at right-thinker they have a cow when anyone suggests limits on porn. Religion should be voluntary, for example if you don’t want to drink then don’t, if you don’t want to use birthcontroll then don’t. But let the rest of us decide for ourselves.
If anything I think the freedom to choose for yourself resignates more with conservetives than liberal and that is why a chism is starting to devolope between social conservatives and fiscal conservatives.
One thing that I like about the religous conservatives is that they seem to be taking the idea of stewardship of the planet seriously and animal rights issues are starting to show up in some pulpits. Plus the idea of a social safety net seems like something that works well with religous beliefs. I think liberals might have more in common with Christians than you know.
My feeling on Christianity in terms of politics is that when Christ’s teachings are used to support a specific political position, it’s always a stretch. His words and actions were more about what we do as individuals in our own lives than politics.
Using any religious book as a lever to exert pressure in the political arena is ill advised. Those who do so are selling themselves short – at the same time selling the country short. Ideas don’t have to be attached to a thousand year old document to be relevant.
Chris:
Thats a good point, Christianity does seem to help people live a better life, but probably the key is that they want to lead a better life. Basing politics on it is trying to force other people to live what you consider a better life. Maybe the key is that Christianity helps people to pick the path that is right for them.
karl: Thats a good point, Christianity does seem to help people live a better life, but probably the key is that they want to lead a better life. Basing politics on it is trying to force other people to live what you consider a better life. Maybe the key is that Christianity helps people to pick the path that is right for them.
Jimmy Carter tapped into the evangelical vote back in the seventies, but he did it in a totally different way than Republicans do today. Since then the church has coordinated around a few issues that direct them away from the Democratic party. It’s this politicization that turned me away.
Remove the aspects of the religion that are in place solely for the purpose of politics and everything I believe in remains. Today inspiration comes from fighting a cause against the Satanic secularistic society that will engulf everything if it is not combated – – – the mega churches I mentioned in an earlier article…that’s what they’re all about. They’re an extention of the Republican party, and identify themselves as God’s chosen people, while folks like you and I are just hanging around before it’s time to check into hell.
Remove the politics and you have what was intended.
It does seem like it is a few issues that drive these people to tho polls, specificaly abortion and gays.
In a way you have to hand it to the GOP, they can do everything wrong, but as long as they try outlaw abortion and bash homosexuals most their followers are happy. Repubs are not much in the way of leaders but they are political genuises.
Yin and Yang – Dems and the GOP.
Or just what happens when oyu spend to much time thinking about politics. I wonder how much stuff like this has always gone on but thanx to 24 hour news and political commentary more people are aware of it.