What's Wrong?

Just a PS to yesterday's entry. If you're in my age group and remember all those wonderful balladeer quartets of the 50s, you'll love this bit by The Four Preps, who imitate most of their competition brilliantly. Thanks to Ronni Bennett from Time Goes By for the link!

I don't remember where I got this, but it was four years ago, so it probably doesnt matter!

1) Is Abortion Wrong? I had to grapple with this question when I went to work for Womens Health, where abortions were performed one day a week. I finally came to the decisions that though I believe that abortion is wrong for me, the ultimate decision has to be between a woman and her doctor, based on her own moral beliefs. I have no right to push my beliefs on another woman. (Now if it were Jeri, I might try to talk her out of it...)

2) Is Birth Control Wrong? I used to think so because the Catholic church told me it was. But I came to realize unless the Pope came to my house and dealt with 5 kids, changed diapers, and cooked meals I was not going to listen to his views on birth control and was going to follow my own beliefs about whether I could handle more than five children.

3) Do Animals Have Rights? Yes, they have the right to be treated decently. And apparently they have the right to live in my lap and eat half of my meals.

4) Is Drinking Alcohol Wrong? In general, no. It's not even wrong if you are allergic to it, but its definitely a stupid decision to make, if you're an alcoholic. (FWIW, I have never smoked marijuana, but I don't think that is wrong either)

5) Is Having a Tattoo Wrong? Of course not, Again, nothing I'd want to do. I am imaging these cute young things with perky breasts and wondering what that classy tattoo is going to look like when they are wearing 36-D Long size bras or when the muscle tone on their upper arms turns to floppy wings.

6) Is Having a Body Piercing Wrong? It's your body, if you want to get it pierced, go ahead. Just know that I will probably stare at you if there are more piercings in your face than there are natural openings.

7) Is Celebrating Somebody’s Birthday Wrong? Why in the world would celebrating a birthday be wrong? Pass the cake, please.

8) Is Homosexuality/Bisexuality Wrong? Definitely not. Nobody understands what it feels like to be gay or bisexual unless they are gay or bisexual. Just like nobody gay can understand what it feels like to be straight. There are incidents of homosexuality in lots of animal species.

9) Is the Death Penalty Wrong? Yes. And I don't understand how "right to life" people can support it, but I know adamant right-to-lifers who do. Personally, I would rather be put to death than locked up for life. It's also cheaper to keep someone in prison forever without the possibility of parole.

10) Is it Ever Okay to Tell a Lie? Only when to tell the truth would hurt someone else.

11) Is Corporal Punishment for Criminals Wrong? If you're talking about things like water boarding or Jack Bauer-ing, yes. (Though if it's for dramatic effect on 24, no!) I think that torturing fellow human beings diminishes us as humans.

12) Is Spanking Children Wrong? It depends entirely on the situation. I can see times when a quick swat to the butt is the most effective punishment--if a child is running out into the street, for example. As a regular disciplinary regime, however, no. And as a "beating," definitely not.

13) Should Corporal Punishment be Allowed in Schools? Definitely not! (I say this as someone who had her hands slapped with a ruler by a stern nun.)

14) Is it Wrong to Skip Church occasionally if you don’t feel like going? Going to church is not a requirement. If you no longer believe in the hierarchy of the church, going to church is actually lying, which kind of makes it wrong to begin with.

15) Should Christians Teach Their Children About Santa Claus? Again, there are no "shoulds" here, but fantasy is fun and I think there is a place for fantasy in our lives.

16) Should People Read/Study The Bible Regularly? If you want to, sure, but not as a requirement. Not for me...unless I'm stuck on a desert island with nothing else to do.

17) Is Female Church Leadership Always Wrong? Heck no. In fact I think some churches would be much better with more female leadership and less celibate old man leadership.

18) Should Non-Traditional Music Be Allowed in Church? In my church going days, some of the most meaningful liturgies came with non-traditional music.

19) Is The Theory of Evolution Wrong? Good grief, no!

20) Should The Theory of Evolution be Taught in Schools? Absolutely.

21) Is Sex Before Marriage Wrong? Are you old enough to handle the emotions that come with it? Do you understand all the problems it can be opening up? Do you know about birth control and avoiding sexually transmitted diseases? Are you of legal age?

22) Is Un-chaperoned Dating Wrong? I don't know of anybody who engages in chaperoned dating!

23) Is Divorce For Reasons Other Than Adultery Wrong? I have no direct experience with divorce, but based on my parents' marriage, think when it reaches the point when you can no longer live together, for whatever reason, it's wrong to continue the marriage just because you don't want to get a divorce. (My mother stayed with my father because she was the only one of her sibllings who had NOT divorced and she was too proud to admit that her marriage was terrible. Fortunately she fell in love with a man who treated her the way she should have been treated all along.)

24) Should Divorced People be Allowed to Remarry? Of course. Why not?

25) Should Women Always Wear Traditionally Feminine Clothes? I hope not!

26) Should Women be Submissive in Marriage? I think it should be an equal partnership. I hate it when society expects the husband to be the decider. It makes me angry that I can't get the information for our Verizon account, for example, just because the account is in Walt's name. How archaic is that?

27) Is it Wrong For Mothers to Work Outside of Home? In this day and age, it's almost necessary financially. I feel fortunate to have been able to stay home with our kids as long as I did. That said, I think women can be excellent mothers while continuing to work (Laurel is a very good example of that.)

28) Should Women Primarily be Homemakers? If that were the case, we'd be in much worse shape than we are in this house!

29) Can Watching Television be damaging to children? Any activity done unsupervised is potentially damaging. Doing it as a family activity can be fun and educational (though I'm not sure what I learned from Speed Racer)

30) Is Euthanasia Wrong? Not at all. I sometimes think we treat our animals much more humanely than we do our fellow human beings in pain.

31) Is Suicide Wrong? Sometimes it is the only solution, but the hurt never goes away for those who live.

32) Is Gambling Always Wrong? Only for me. I never win. If you like it and can afford it, why not?

33) Is Halloween Wrong? It was always my least favorite holiday, as a parent. I was never able to make good costumes for the kids and I hated the argument about how much candy they could eat each day afterwards. Nowadays few kids trick or treat in our neighborhood any more.

34) Is Gossiping Always Wrong? Yeah...but it can be fun. (bad me)

35) Is Nakedness Always Wrong? I can't imagine how anybody is going to take a shower without it.

36) Is Pornography Always Wrong? Child porn is always wrong. Exploitative porn is wrong. But if everybody is OK with it, why not? If you don't like it, don't look for it.

37) Is Society Getting More Immoral? A society defines its own standard of morality. "In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking..." What may seem immoral to me may be just fine to you, and vice versa. Society's morals are fluid, shifting back and forth. Someone will always find something to be shocked about.