Lazy Sunday

     If there was one thing I did well today, it was to refrain from doing any work on the Sabbath. I invited a friend over to my house and watched NFL football on my computer. My beloved Buffalo Bills looked predictably dreadful and unprepared, which I suppose is understandable because they only had an entire offseason to game-plan. Heck, they probably would've won if it weren't for those replacement officials!

      At some point in the afternoon, my friend told me about an online quiz where you can answer a few policy questions and then see how your views align with those of this year's presidential candidates in the United States presidential election. I've always thought of myself as more of a moderate than anything, and my results confirmed it. Whereas my friend had 2 candidates who shared his views on more than 90% of issues, the top candidate for me was 83%. Conversely, I found agreement with the majority of the candidates, including President Obama and Governor Romney, on more than half the issues.

     In today's divided political culture, being a moderate can be a lonely place. Moreover, it can be confusing and difficult to decide which candidate to support. Ultimately, the most important issue for me is the right to and respect for human life in all its forms. I do not think a society which is unwilling to defend life, especially for those who cannot defend themselves, will ultimately be able to do a good job upholding other human rights. The right to life is the foundational right from which all other rights are built.

     Unfortunately neither of the two major party candidates are completely pro-life. While Gov. Romney is against abortion in most (although not all) cases, he is a proponent of the death penalty. Pres. Obama has made it clear that he is for expanding people's options when it comes ending human life. In the end, nobody but (hopefully) the candidate himself is going to agree 100% on the issues with a particular candidate. All we can do is make a determination on what we each feel is the most important issue(s). If we can do that with a clear conscience, then I think we have done our civic duty with honor.