Ever notice how every push leftward that brushes against the standard set of sensibilities, the Democrats always have an example that induces guilt in the average person for thinking the common sense consensus made sense?
A few examples for your consideration
The Case to Vote Against Parental Permission for Abortion. California Proposition 4
Parental consent to any surgery and even school trips is a generally accepted societal norm, except when the left wants to advance their case for abortion. They bring out the specter of young girl who has been raped and abused by her evil family and would presumably not get permission for an abortion. Most people would think “Gosh, normally I’d say the parents should be involved and grant permission – but in this case I’d be supporting pedophilia.” Common sense and what makes sense for families is wrong, because “experts say:”
Experts say, however, that mandating notification could potentially endanger teens who cannot safely involve a parent. Instead of linking these youth to the medical and counseling services they need, they say Proposition 4 could lead teens to take desperate measures, like crossing state lines, obtaining self-induced or illegal abortions, delaying medical care, or contemplating suicide.
A wealth of research corroborates these experts’ concerns. For example, in one survey, more than 30 percent of adolescents who chose not to involve their parents in their abortion attributed this decision, at least in part, to fears of physical harm, being thrown out of the house, or other abuse. Many others pointed to difficult family situations, such as drug dependency, job loss, health problems, and marital issues.
So you need permission to go on a school field trip or receive medical care, but not for something as serious as an abortion. Makes total sense. Why do you want to be a parent anyway?
Remember Al Gore’s grandma? In making the case for universal prescription coverage;
Al Gore Then-Vice President Al Gore insisted that seniors were being forced to choose between food and medicine and he proposed a sweeping government subsidy for their drug coverage.
The catalyst to expand Medicare to pay for drug costs was a 79-year-old retired widow from Des Moines, Iowa, named Winifred Skinner. Mrs. Skinner confronted Gore during a campaign stop and proclaimed that she spent most of her days collecting cans to cover both her living expenses and her prescription costs of $230 a month.
Gore was apparently so moved by her tale of woe that he invited her to attend the first presidential debate in Boston, where he told her story and declared that he would fight for universal prescription drug coverage. But when reporters began asking questions about Mrs. Skinner, the widow’s tale grew mighty tall.
Luckily Gore didn’t prevail in that election, but President Bush went on to pass Medicare Part D through Congress. Unluckily, the idea of Universal healthcare stuck and here we are today trying to throw off the chains of Obamacare. I’m paraphrasing Joe Biden there, so that’s not a racist analogy.
Most recently, we were told that there are at least 2.5 million people imprisoned in job lock because of their need for health insurance. This same group of people, trapped in such awful jobs, will all immediately start a small business once they can get “free” healthcare, according to Democrats. Did the phrase “job lock” even exist until a few weeks ago? Where did this idea come from that all jobs by their nature must be 100 % inspiring and fulfilling, or they are a prison from whence you must be freed?
The point being that the tyranny of the ridiculous, often false, and empathetic outlier is being used to bludgeon Americans into guilty compliance with left-wing dogma.
The leftward shift in the Democratic Party has reduced them to a parasite that uses its host’s compassion against it to further its own agenda. It reminds me of how the AIDS virus capitalizes on its host’s immune system to further its replication, thus making it one of the more challenging diseases to treat. The virulent anecdotes and outliers that the left cites as reasons to “Act Now!!” are insidious and eating away at the ability to even hold a common sense point of view without being seen as a bag of pustulating hate.
God forbid you push back on Bill De Blasio’s assertion that school must stay open during a massive snowstorm (Because the children need to eat! And daycare!) with the rejoinder that you thought school was primarily for education — not a kiddie restaurant. It’s as if the idea that parents should be primarily responsible for feeding their child breakfast is an inherently evil thought crime.
Or worse, question why people must now purchase more expensive health insurance that mandates coverage of birth control whether they need it. All businesses should simultaneously not be involved in your intimate acts but are responsible for picking up the tab because common sense. Say good bye to Coolidge’s notion that:
“After all, the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with producing, buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world. I am strongly of the opinion that the great majority of people will always find these the moving impulses of our life.”
because the business of the American people is birth control.
Your boss shouldn’t be involved in your health care decisions – that’s common sense. Sign if you agree: http://t.co/DYYwcU0PIg #HobbyLobby
— Sandra Fluke (@SandraFluke) March 24, 2014
We all need an inoculation to make us immune to the guilt police who daily prey on our better natures with false anecdotes that harm our society.
I’d welcome a return to making law and policy fit the majority of people, not the tyranny of the anecdotal minority.