Politicizing the Family

With news about Sarah Palin's teenage daughter's pregnancy breaking over the Labor Day weekend, the McCain campaign and the Obama campaign have angrily protested against any politicization of the issue. This has been demarcated as a private family matter that should not be politicized. That all sounds great and noble except that many on the right are using this incident to portray how much of a pro-lifer Sarah Palin is because her daughter is keeping the baby. With all due respect, that is using the daughter's situation to make a political point. (To be clear, I think keeping the baby is exactly the right decision).

My second point is that public policy, such as sex-education policies, are important precisely because they affect private lives.

Lastly, McCain operative and Karl Rove protege Steve Schmidt warned the media about Bristol Palin's pregnancy, "It's a private family matter. Life happens in families." Well if "life happens," shouldn't public policy accommodate "life happening" rather than trying to force life into ideological straight-jackets and make no allowance for those to whom life happens? To that point, I cite Senator Obama from his "Call to Renewal" speech.

Politics depends on our ability to persuade each other of common aims based on a common reality. It involves the compromise, the art of what's possible. At some fundamental level, religion does not allow for compromise. It's the art of the impossible. If God has spoken, then followers are expected to live up to God's edicts, regardless of the consequences. To base one's life on such uncompromising commitments may be sublime, but to base our policy making on such commitments would be a dangerous thing.