I sent out a e-post card to a select few individuals (three close relatives, three close friends), in regards to the Planned Parenthood Roe v. Wade Rally. I received a note back from one of the people saying, in very plain terms, that they did not appreciate having been sent the invite. I was fine with that. My only problem was with her closing statment, "By the way, I hope your cause fails." I've never received a hope for failure from somebody that I admire so much. It really rather hurt. And I don't think that I'm a thin-skinned person at all. It's just a shock when someone tell's you that they hope you fail... and they are completely serious. As I read it, I could actually hear her saying these words... and it was rather upsetting. A simple, "No thanks, I'm Pro-Life." would have sufficed. The biggest problem, I believe, with the issue is the two sides that are arguing the issue. One side is Pro-Life, the other is Pro-Choice. Now, what's wrong with this nomenclature. With a side proclaiming Pro-Life, one would expect the other group to be "Pro-Death"... but they're not. And with a group called "Pro-Choice," you would conversely expect "Pro-Not-Choice," but you'd be wrong again (although closer to the heart of the argument). These two groups are not arguing about the same thing here. I'm more inclined to call the groups "Pro-Choice" and "Anti-Choice." They of course will never adopt this title, because it's negative. They have to have a positive-sounding, supportive name, and anything starting with "Anti-" is just too detrimental to the cause. It's pessimistic. Pro-Choice aren't in favor of death, they're in favor of a woman's right to choose what happens to her, however, as far as the Pro-Lifers are concerned, they might as well be called Pro-Death. A great play to read which presents both sides of this debate very well I think (even though one side or the other can come off as maniacally propagandistic if it's directed poorly) is Keely and Du. The reason I'm Pro-Choice is because I'm all about choices. I love getting to make choices that affect me, and ergo I want everyone else to enjoy the same luxury. (Isn't choosing life also a choice?) Being Pro-Choice does not mean that you have to be pro-abortion, it just means that you are pro-individual. Pro-Choice to me is about the rights of the individual. Am I not allowed to choose what happens to me? Why can't we put this out for everyone to vote on, instead of waiting inevitably for W. to get his Supreme Court pick, and thus tip the scales in the direction of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. (Can an overturned court decision be re-overturned?) We live in an age where the entire world is connected together... and yet, the concept of "pure democracy" is still considered unfeasible. Well, fuck, I shore is glad that the politishuns decided that I'm unfit to rule myself. Am I the only one that sees America forcing the world into a new "Dark Age." A world where the United States controls and portions the information that everyone receives, in much the same way that the Catholic church controlled the information in the "Dark Ages." Unfortunately I won't live to see the following Renaissance that re-focuses importance on the individual and their choices. I'm jealous of Petrarch.