Taking a stand

In his continuing effort to be all things to all voters, Sen. John Kerry recently tried to take both sides of the issue of abortion. In a July 4 interview in the Dubuque, Iowa, Telegraph Herald, Kerry, the presumed Democratic nominee for president, communicated his personal view that life begins at conception, but then said he does not want to force his religious beliefs onto others, so he supports a woman's right to choose. While this view may look OK on the surface, after further review, it is extremely flawed.\nWhile Sen. Kerry tries to pass his view as a separation of church and state issue, the question of whether life begins at conception or otherwise is essentially a scientific concern. Ideologues on both sides of this topic would be able to find scientists who would corroborate with either position. \nKerry has undoubtedly not found any worthy evidence to the contrary of his belief that life begins at conception. This can be assumed because, being a politician, he has no doubt heard both sides of the argument and made his choice on the issue. \nTo finish this point, the belief that life begins at conception by default requires the belief that anything done to prevent new life from continuing would be, by definition, murder. So by advocating a woman's right to choose to have an abortion, Sen. Kerry would in essence be advocating what he believes in his mind to be murder. \nRegardless of which side of the abortion argument you are on, this is the message Kerry conveys with his statements. Because I doubt Kerry actually comes anywhere close to supporting murder, it seems to me that Kerry is once again trying to take both sides of an argument. \nKerry's flip-flops on critical issues are well-documented on the Bush-Cheney 2004 Web site, so I won't go into depth on them. But I do want to emphasize the need for leaders with strong, concrete values who are not afraid to stand on one side of an issue.\nIn this increasingly dangerous world, people who want to hurt or destroy the United States are continually looking for any weakness to exploit. While abortion is not an issue critical to national security, Kerry's waffling on the war in Iraq is.\nIf leaders of our great country are seen as not being able to stand up for what they believe in and are perceived as being afraid to offend someone with different beliefs, our enemies will project this image onto every citizen. This undoubtedly will empower their cause and encourage them to initiate more attacks on America and our interests abroad. If our leaders are seen as soft and indecisive, our adversaries will see this as evidence that there are no ramifications for their actions. This could prove critical for the future of our country.\nIt is common knowledge for most people that whatever you do, whatever your beliefs, you will not be able to please everyone. It doesn't matter what issue, someone will always be on the other side criticizing you, or will be offended by what you have to say. But that is the consequence of having resolute morals and values that help guide us as individuals and, likewise, our country.\nI'm sure you have heard the old adage, "You have to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything." For the United States, the consequences of having irresolute people in our top leadership positions could prove to be that potentially fatal fall.