Attention all readers: as we speak, all of your money is being stolen by the government to pay for college girls to have sex. This appalling turn of events is all Obama’s fault, and the only way to stop it is for Newt Gingrich to build a permanent base on the moon. Just kidding.
The latest controversy in the political spectrum has been huge. There has been a movement from the Democrats to get contraception provided to women through their health care programs. Though these birth control medications have other uses, Republicans have been whining about the plan, claiming a violation of freedom of religion and ‘traditional values.’ In the past few months, I have learned to hate that phrase. Abiding by traditional values essentially means not to learn from mistakes and keep being ignorant morons with the same ‘morals’ as 18th century colonies.
Contraception has been proven to help women not only with preventing pregnancy, but also with controlling acne among other things. The Catholic Church has been very openly against this, and yet 98% of Catholic women have used birth control at some point in their lives. So are the women complaining? A few, but it’s mostly the old dudes who run it.
A couple years ago, I had the opportunity to read The Lottery. In this story, people stone someone to death each year to keep corn growing in their field. You’re probably thinking, “That’s stupid! Why would they do that?” Good question. Because, and I quote from the story, “this is the way it’s always been.” Yes, it’s an extreme example. But, I guarantee that if this had actually been going on in our country, these people would want it to continue. After all, it’s “traditional value.”
Never mind that there’s no logical basis in any of their arguments. Now, of course I believe in religious equality. I do think that everyone should be free to believe what they want, and free to express their opinions. However, this is starting to get ridiculous. Wouldn’t it actually be better for the global economy, where the population is growing out of control, if we could control how many children we have? When faced with a decently logical argument, the extremists once again reply, “well, this is the way it’s always been.” Hate to break it to you, buddy, but times change.
The bottom line is that contraception only helps women, and will only continue to do so. There are so many other benefits besides preventing pregnancy, and even if that were the only thing it could be used for, why stop it? Women should be able to be intimate with their significant other even if they aren’t ready for a child. Though Republicans have their rights too, that doesn’t allow them to deny 98% of women contraception because they don’t like it. Freedom of religion does not allow you to trample on another’s rights.
