A matter of priorities

We all make choices everyday, probably thousands of them such as when to get up, when to get dressed, what to wear, what to watch on television, listen to on the car radio, what to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner and on and on. You get the point.

Many of the choices we make are based on the priorities we’ve established for ourselves. For instance your religion may determine your priorities and therefore the choices you make. Your age, health, where you live, and your relationships may influence your priorities. Our priorities dictate everything we do, say, and think.

Let’s say protecting the Second Amendment, as you interpret it, is the top priority for you. That determines the choices you make. For you, the right of anyone to buy any number of weapons they may choose, no matter how deadly, without a background check or any delay whatsoever is more important than the lives of children in our schools or playgrounds, parishioners in a church or people anywhere.

You believe everything the National Rifle Association tells you. You subscribe to their magazine. You would never vote for anyone who doesn’t support what the NRA is telling you. These are all choices you’ve made which are determined by your priority. People whose priority is saving lives think you have your priorities screwed-up. They’re right.

Your priorities dictate your politics. Some say it’s politics that determines your priorities. The results are the same. A person who is fanatic about protecting the Second Amendment probably wouldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton. It seems to me that it is perfectly sensible to have reasonable gun laws and still protect the fundamental principle of the Second Amendment. That’s Hillary’s position. She would never support confiscating everyone’s guns. That’s ridiculous.

Supporting legislation to curb mass homicides is a choice I’ve made, based on my priorities. I wouldn’t vote for anyone who follows the doctrine of the NRA and doesn’t support reasonable gun laws. Bernie Sander’s lack of support for the Brady bill troubles me. What the people of Vermont may want is not necessarily what is best for this country. Sanders should have made his country his top priority. That’s too bad, because otherwise, he’s an outstanding candidate.

Here‘s my point; Your priorities may lead you to make bad choices. Perhaps no better example can be made other than a person whose religion is their priority. They claim to be pro- life. They oppose all abortions. It’s not that simple — at least not for me. It’s not yes or no. I can’t support a women having an abortion late in her pregnancy, as a matter of choice, when the baby would live if given birth. That’s wrong. The exception is, as it is in any abortion, when it is necessary to save the mothers life. Still it’s her choice, not mine, nor any other person.

An abortion early in a pregnancy is acceptable to me, especially in the case of rape or incest. I am sympathetic with those who are pro- choice, but it’s not always a case of yes or no. It can be complicated. They are some clearly misguided anti-abortion folks who would let the mother die even in the case where the baby would also die in childbirth.

That’s hard to understand — at least save the mother.

It baffles me that many pro-lifers support the death penalty. They’ll tell you it’s because executions save lives, since they deter people from committing murder. There is no credible evidence to support that hypothesis. I also think, to be consistent with biblical teachings, they should also oppose war. Most don’t.

As a matter of fact most are supportive of war as a solution to our problems. It seems contradictory to me.

There is another choice we make which finds some of the most religious people on the wrong side of compassion. Neglecting the poor is not a priority taught by Christ.

I was watching soccer on television the other day. The teams were playing in a stadium in Latin America costing hundreds of millions of dollars, while many, many of the people living in that large city are living in cardboard houses and have very little to eat. Talk about misguided priorities!

Some will pack up and bring their families to America. They may come alone and send money home. Yes, they’re here illegally. Yes, Jeb Bush was right, they come here out of a love for their families. Surely the least we can do is treat them with love and understanding. We will, if our priorities are right.

Glen McAdoo, a Fallon resident, can be contacted at glynn@phonewave.net.