How do we use social media like Facebook? It's become central to politics and other fields recently. Personally, I use Linked-In for my more "distant" professional associations. I focus Facebook for "closer" friends from several communities--family, golf, taekwondo, and academe. No offense, people I don't know, don't get in that circle. How about you? Do you admit anyone to your inner circle who asks?
Some views posted on Facebook test those closer friendships. Many of us comment on the edge of anger and disbelief at the comments of other friends--or simply choose not to comment/reply in order to maintain those friendships..
The concept (among many others) of living inside-out versus outside-in was key in my worldwide seminars. Humans live outside-in because of the FEAR OF REJECTION. We conform to avoid being ostracized, even banned. And that's a basis for civilization, so not all bad. Too much conformity though, and we all become unidentifiable sheep in someone else's flock.
Sometimes we avoid the deeper conversations for fear of alienating our friends, for fear of being rejected by them. Remember the old advice about what topics to avoid at dinner? I think we should be able to know who others are and what they believe AND still be able to be friends by respecting if not agreeing with the views of others. In today's world that seems more difficult--tribalism has come to the fore and people seem ready and willing to judge, criticize and even harm those who don't believe or think similarly.
On that edge, I have concluded that any organization, of any kind, that forces a woman to have a child she neither wants nor can care for should be required to assume the physical, financial, and emotional responsibility for raising that child.
There are no licenses for parenting. And like it or not, women will make their own choices, just like during Prohibition, drinkers drank, this is a human condition that will continue like it or not, and should be recognized and made safe rather than something that is deductively, a priori, condemned and criticized.
Where do we/you draw the line for murder? At conception? At external viability? I have a right-wing friend who says the adult mentally ill should be put out on the hillside with the predators--his underlying VABE seems to be if you can't support yourself, tough. I'm aware of another case in which a child stopped developing at birth--and now at 15 and 100 pounds remains an unaware one day old baby--a fact that affects every moment of that family's life.
Peter Singer in Rethinking Death and Dying raises the question of who should decide the boundaries of life and death for family members. In today's world, it's the government. The government decides who lives and dies even if an elderly family member wishes to be "let go." Millions in the world declare that their "god" says any kind of human life must be protected to the bitter end. I think families should be able to make those decisions--having just sat with my 95 year old mother for her last ten hours of life--after our family made a decision about life support devices.
That familial freedom should not extend to abuse. So, for me, once a baby is born and is viable, community law should bear sway. Prior to that, the family, especially the mother, should be able to decide and receive support and medical care without fear of retribution. Why should someone else's religion be the law in another's family? Separation of church and state--worldwide. Live your religion as you like so long as it doesn't force others to do so. And most importantly, may we all learn to listen to, respect and not judge a priori the positions of others.
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