Kerry Catholics Scripture-Countdown to E-Day

20 If anyone says, "I love God," but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God 5 whom he has not seen.
21 This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 John 4:20-21

[Comment]
Often pro-lifers "claim" to be angry that pro-choicers or pro-life supporters of pro-choice candidates live with the fact that millions of babies die from abortions and thus we get called those wonderful compassionate conservative names like "baby killers," etc.

What the "anti-abortion" crowd misses, and now pro-choicers are comfortable admitting, is that the abortion decision is a gut wrenching decision and you would be hard pressed to find people who are pro-abortion. Liberals agonize over death of both the unborn and the born, the difference between us and the anti-abortion crowd is that we agonize over the death of all because we care about life.

Now, the pro-lifers argue that is not the case. They view proof of love of life in a strict pro-chronological manner, i.e., from the the fetus up, i.e., how you treat the unborn is determinate of how much you respect life. On the other hand, liberals operate in a counter-chronological manner, i.e, how you respect and love life as mannifest in our concrete examples of life, that is, our fellow visible and tangible human beings, is the true indication of one's love and respect for life.

I think this scripture shows the merits of the liberal view. John is saying that claims to love based on principle have no basis in fact, unless they are validated by actual love to that which is visible. John's example is that someone may say how much they love God and may actually appear to be very pious and devoted and obedient to the Church's every maxim and whim. However, John's test of true love is how one loves his fellow man. He plainly says that if you do not love the one whom you see, i.e., is visible and tangible to you, then your claim to love God, who is not present visibly to you, is false.

In the same way, for us liberals, it is hard to see how conservative claims to loving life are based in reality. The test is our position not vis-a-vis the fetus, but our fellow visible man. How can you claim to respect the life of the unborn whom you cannot see and yet not respect and love the lives of the born that you can see? I often make the point that it is some sort of principle, not love of life, that drives the conservative anti-abortion movement. Otherwise, what would explain the inexplicable drop off in concern and action for baby that is 10 minutes out of the womb?

Conservative anti-abortion advocates are like people who do very hard work to mine gold only to abandone the ore when it is brought to the surface. Such an action simply shows that the gold was not the motivating factor in the first place, something else was. For anyone to claim to fight for the first 9 months of life, only to abandon it for the remaining 4 score and 10, cannot really be about life. It simply does not make sense.

This is not to question the sincerity or motives of the conservatives, because I think many (not all) really care for what they are doing.

I think true respect for life is shown in the respect given to visible tangible life that we experience everyday. If we are not moved to act on behalf of the poor and the oppressed and the needy that we see, then claims to act, out of love, on behalf of the unborn ring hollow. On the other hand, if we cultivate love of visible post-born life, that will translate, with hard work, to love of life in the case of the unborn.