Bill O'Reilly
Death, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com |
You know the Apocalypse is near when Jesse Jackson and Sean
Hannity join forces. But that's what happened in the Terri Schiavo case.
Both men believe the American system should have saved Terri's life
regardless of her condition.
Jackson's take on the situation is especially interesting. He
contends that the judges and politicians should have shown mercy in this
matter. The reverend is a liberal diehard but believes the greater good
would have been served by allowing the Schiavo family to care for their
daughter. It's hard to argue with that position.
But some do argue with it, including our pals at the ACLU, who
have labeled this a "privacy" issue. According to the ACLU zealots, Terri
Schiavo wanted to die, and anybody who doesn't believe that is violating her
privacy rights. There is no room for doubt in ACLU land — they know what
Terri wanted because her husband said so, and since his position agrees with
the ACLU position, the truth has been anointed. I guess it really doesn't
matter that two court-appointed guardians for Terri testified it was
impossible to ascertain her wishes because of Michael Schiavo's conflicts of
interest.
The ACLU may be big on privacy, but it is not big on life in
general, unless it is the life of a convicted murderer. The ACLU believes in
any kind of abortion on demand. It believes a 12-year-old girl should be
allowed to abort her fetus without telling her parents. It believes in
doctor-assisted suicide but not doctor-assisted capital punishment. How
strange.
But if you think about it, the philosophy of the ACLU is fairly
consistent: The gratification of the individual is paramount. If a person
wants to die, fine. If a woman wants to abort a fetus even after viability,
no problem. It really doesn't matter why — WHAT a person wants is all that
matters.
On the gratification front, did you know that the ACLU wants no
limits placed on child pornography on the Internet? Did you know that the
organization is representing the North American Man Boy Love Association
(NAMBLA) pro bono in a Massachusetts civil case? The ACLU puts forth that
NAMBLA has a free expression right to instruct adults on how to rape
children and get away with it. It doesn't get any more misguided than that.
Many Americans have no idea what is really going on underneath
the surface of the Schaivo case and other culture battles. The United States
has become the most powerful and wealthiest country on earth because it
combined freedom, discipline and a clear sense of right and wrong based on
Judeo-Christian philosophy. That formula has allowed millions of us to
pursue happiness in a way that benefits society not just ourselves.
But that formula is now under siege by the forces of
progressive-secularism. While Jesse Jackson asks for mercy, the ACLU demands
death. While traditionalists wonder why saying "Merry Christmas" has become
an issue, secular forces have ensured that young girls can get abortions
without parental permission. While most parents cannot let their small
children out of their sight, the ACLU champions the rights of NAMBLA.
Janis Joplin once sang: "Freedom's just another word for nothing
left to lose." But Janis was wrong. Terri Schiavo has lost her life,
American parents are losing their authority, and America, itself, is losing
her way. Does that sound like freedom to you?
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JWR contributor Bill O'Reilly is host of the
Fox News show, "The O'Reilly Factor," and author
of, most recently, "Who's Looking Out for You?" Comments by clicking here.
