5 ms·

Absolutely. If the republicans could could get on board with pro choice, or the democrats could get on board with guns, each party would be unstoppable unless t

by Grakel 6y ago

Absolutely. If the republicans could could get on board with pro choice, or the democrats could get on board with guns, each party would be unstoppable unless the other followed suit. The American people are very passionate about less regulation in both of those areas.

zepto 6y ago
Yes - good example. My sense is that it should be easier for Democrats to get on board with guns than for Republicans to get on board with pro-choice. The reasoning is that gun deaths can be prevented by a lot of mechanisms that are not gun control but are consistent with democratic values, whereas pro-life tends to be more a product of religious or spiritual belief rather than pragmatism. I know plenty of otherwise highly progressive people who changed their view of guns once they learned more about them. I wouldn’t even begin to know how to change the opinion of someone who is Pro-life. I literally can’t make the case.
- Grakel 6y ago
  Yep, totally agree.
- CincinnatiMan 6y ago
  Pro-life doesn't need religious or spiritual origins, it can simply be that someone views abortion as the killing of another human and feels very strong about it. It's a very complicated issue and is one that I don't have strong feelings about (for or against in totality) because I think that sometimes, it's worth it to end the life of the little human and sometimes it's not. Also frankly because I'm a man and am less affected by it. I don't think we'll ever have everyone on the same page with this topic.
  - zepto 6y ago
    I agree, however when I have discussed this with people the question ends up boiling down to some version of ‘at what point does a fertilized egg become a person’. I.e. the fundamental issue is a question about what constitutes a person. Resolving this always seems to have spiritual connotations and some kind of faith is involved. If you have strong feelings about killing people and those apply to fetuses, it implies you have a strong belief that a fetus is a person.

by Grakel 6y ago

zepto 6y ago

Yes - good example. My sense is that it should be easier for Democrats to get on board with guns than for Republicans to get on board with pro-choice. The reasoning is that gun deaths can be prevented by a lot of mechanisms that are not gun control but are consistent with democratic values, whereas pro-life tends to be more a product of religious or spiritual belief rather than pragmatism. I know plenty of otherwise highly progressive people who changed their view of guns once they learned more about them. I wouldn’t even begin to know how to change the opinion of someone who is Pro-life. I literally can’t make the case.

Grakel 6y ago
Yep, totally agree.
CincinnatiMan 6y ago
Pro-life doesn't need religious or spiritual origins, it can simply be that someone views abortion as the killing of another human and feels very strong about it. It's a very complicated issue and is one that I don't have strong feelings about (for or against in totality) because I think that sometimes, it's worth it to end the life of the little human and sometimes it's not. Also frankly because I'm a man and am less affected by it. I don't think we'll ever have everyone on the same page with this topic.
- zepto 6y ago
  I agree, however when I have discussed this with people the question ends up boiling down to some version of ‘at what point does a fertilized egg become a person’. I.e. the fundamental issue is a question about what constitutes a person. Resolving this always seems to have spiritual connotations and some kind of faith is involved. If you have strong feelings about killing people and those apply to fetuses, it implies you have a strong belief that a fetus is a person.