Last month President Bush told anti-abortion protesters, including several Ball State students, that he is committed to building a "culture of life." In fact, he is only opposed to a woman's right to choose.
A true pro-life stance is a fundamental belief in the right of every individual to live a full life and achieve his or her potential.
How, then, does fighting a war in Afghanistan contribute to building this culture of life? We failed to capture Bin Laden, disable al-Qaida, or make the United States safer. On "Meet the Press" last week, Dick Cheney said the threat of another attack is just as real now as it was on Sept. 12, 2001.
However, our invasion did succeed in killing many Afghan civilians.
Bush said, "Respect for the right to life calls us all to ... defend the weak and vulnerable." Yet, it seems he only means to protect American fetuses; Afghan casualties are merely considered "collateral damage."
Last July, Bush made the situation even worse for Afghanistan by blocking $34 million in Congress-approved funding for the United Nations Population Fund. The UNPF does not offer abortions, but it does provide healthcare for women who cannot access hospitals. It gives emergency birthing kits to Afghan women, trying to lower one of the highest childbirth mortality rates in the world.
How can Bush create a culture of life while supporting the death penalty? Texas is responsible for about 1/3 of all executions in the United States, and Bush personally allowed the state to kill 152 people while he was governor there.
Capital punishment takes innocent lives. According to Amnesty International, one in seven death row inmates is later proven not guilty.
Contrary to the president's goal, executions create an environment of brutality and death by showing how little we value life. Capital punishment sends a message to society: murder and revenge are ok, if the killer has a good reason.
Perhaps that is why states conducting executions have murder rates nearly double those in states that do not, according to the FBI.
One would expect a pro-life president to spend money to save American lives. Instead, Bush failed to increase funding for police and firemen after Sept. 11, despite Congress's prompting.
Meanwhile, his energy plan enriches his friends in the oil industry while failing to reduce pollution and save lives. He called for increased fossil fuel production while cutting funding for alternative energy research.
Bush has made it harder for Americans to maintain a decent quality of life. Americans have lost over 1.5 million jobs on his watch. His response is a tax cut package that returns vastly more money to the rich than to those who are struggling to survive unemployment and wage cuts.
A pro-life president would make it easier for all Americans to achieve their full potential. Bush, however, has done nothing to get women equal pay for equal work. He has done nothing to address the No. 1 cause of death for black men under 35: homicide.
Instead, a white man who managed to attend Yale (despite average grades and SAT scores) has attacked affirmative action.
Bush's words paint a picture of a utopian nation where human life is universally respected and nurtured, but his actions do not match his rhetoric.
Write to Stephen at stevehj@mac.com
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