The Order Of Canada is the highest civilian honour within the Canadian systems of honours and it has been awarded to over 5,000 individuals. There are 3 tiers to the Order; Companion, Officer and Member. Companions of the Order are limited to 165 living members, excluding honorary members, non-Canadians. This year Henry Morgenthaler has been chosen as a Member of the Order of Canada. The 85 year old Morgenthaler is a polarizing figure, having survived a Holocaust concentration camp and coming to Canada to perform illegal abortions from 1968-1988. Though he was vindicated in 1988 when the Supreme Court Of Canada ruled Canada's Abortion laws broke Canada's human rights laws. From 1988 to present Canada has no criminal laws governing abortion. I don't agree with this, I think there should be certain guidelines as to at what stage a women can have an abortion. But I also feel it should be a women's right to have an abortion, should she require one, I would like this to occur as early as possible. This is why I, unlike some in Canada, have no problem with Morgenthaler receiving the Order of Canada. He fought for many years, served time in jail, so women would have this freedom. A life conceived, isn't a life, at least to me. Though I think once a fetus reaching 3 or 4 months, it is a life or the prospect of a life. Of course religious leaders have a different opinion, as they tend to. It is after all their right. Below is an article about a B.C. priest with his own controversial background who is renouncing his Order of Canada because Morgenthaler received the same honour. The Order of Canada recipients are chosen by an advisory council to the Governor General and has nothing to do with the current Canadian government. This has been quickly pointed out by the very Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, he is definitely not fond of this decision. Many feel that the Order of Canada should be used to promote unity and goodwill in Canada, which Morgenthaler's appointment doesn't. I feel it should be used to identify what is great about this country and the type of people it takes to make these great things possible. Many women would feel that having the option of an abortion should they conceive a child and not want it. Obviously many others would feel, it isn't and it is killing a child. This is obviously their right. Canada is a country that protects minorities, even to a fault. So it shouldn't be a surprise that if a minority of Canadians support abortions, that this should be their right and should be acknowledged. There are women who are comforted by the fact that they can chose to have an an abortion, should the necessity arise. What makes this even more comforting is that no one, not a priest, the Prime Minister or other politicians can do anything about it. This is her right. Kudos to Liberal leader Stephane Dion for praising Morgenthaler's crusade for a women's right to have an abortion.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080703/national/order_of_cda_priest
It is never easy for anyone involved, but choices have to be made and having more of them available to make is better than less.
"His girl took a week's worth of Valium and slept..."
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vLBwCwukQHc
Above is a clip of The Freshman by The Verve Pipe, it is a song about a girl who commits suicide from the regret following an abortion. As I said before, there are no easy answers and no easy decisions regarding abortion. Raising an unwanted child can be just as difficult, as can be giving it away to strangers.
The following is from Snow by Orhan Pamuk.
"There are two kinds of men," said Ka, in a didactic voice. "The first kind does not fall in love until he's seen how the girl eats a sandwich, how she combs her hair, what sort of nonsense she cares about, why she's angry at her father, and what sorts of stories people tell about her. The second type of man--and I am in this category--can fall in love with a woman only if he knows next to nothing about her."
I also am in that second category.
"Don't you love the life you killed, the priest is on the phone, your father hit the wall, your ma disowned you..."
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lkhXa1iN3nM
Above is a clip of the song Slide by Goo Goo Dolls, a song about a couple who are trying to choose between an abortion or getting married.
As I mentioned above I am reading Snow but on Monday I picked up The Road by Cormac McCarthy (winner of the Pulitzer prize) and it is occupying more of my reading time. It is a depressing story about a father and a son out on the road following what appears to be the end of civilization as we know it. The sun cannot be seen through a sky of gray ash and much has died or is dying. Another book about survivor like Life Of Pi was, there are interesting similarities between the two in the narrative. The following is from it.
"He walked out in the gray light and stood and he saw for a brief moment the absolute truth of the world. The cold relentless circling of the intestate earth. Darkness implacable. The blind dogs of the sun in their running. The crushing black vacuum of the universe. And somewhere two hunted animals trembling like groundfoxes in their cover. Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it."
"All I ever wanted was to know that you were dreaming, (there's a heartbeat and it never really died)....."
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3BTomqsanSM
Above is a clip of the song Sara written by Stevie Nicks and recorded as part of Fleetwood Mac. According to Don Henley of the Eagles, it is a song about an abortion Nicks had after becoming pregnant by him.
Today's poem is called Gaining Acceptance To Secret Societies. It was an overcast day today, then a butterfly appeared and I contrasted the two, along with sometime I had spent earlier around my young niece Becca.
Gaining Admittance To Secret Societies
An overcast afternoon
Was all I could see
Before a butterfly appeared
With its wings spread
Offering colours for my eyes
Their corners full of sleep
Night does not mean a thing
When you are not at peace
All it becomes is darkness
A reason for burning candles
Their wax dripping for hours
Until it is shortly after four
When a bird finally speaks
Announcing dawn is coming
Rising up from the ground
A chorus of song being sung
The conductor is always invisible
Much like regrets and secrets
Reasons for not sleeping or living
Children are lucky for a while
They are protected by everybody
Until their innocence is shattered
Whether by time or circumstance
An unfortunate rite of passage
The pathway between knowing and not
Knowledge is everything we need
Though it is not always best for us
There are things better left unknown
Faces behind masks in Masquerade balls
For a night they are somebody else
The Phantom, The King, The Beauty or The Queen
All they need is their invitation
Before their transformation is completed
Gaining admittance to secret societies
Has long been a challenge to conquer
Humanity is too segregated to ever be whole
Our tragedies are collective but individual
We write them through our eyes only
The butterfly does not get a say
Its colour might merit a mention
Should your scene be devoid of light.
07/03/08
The title lyrics of today's blog come from the song Brick by Ben Folds Five. The story is about a girlfriend of Ben's having an abortion during highschool.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tP8-1DIAY2o
Choices are never easy, which is why they are choices. We make them all the time or fail to make them, which is the same as making them.
john.
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