A Call for Integrity

Yesterday, our good friend Rev. Krista Taves headed out to a town hall meeting to talk to Representative Todd Akin about his recent votes to cut funding for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Rep. Akin has been incredibly elusive as of late, refusing on numerous occasions to speak with his constituents about his recent voting record. Rev. Taves was looking forward to finally get the opportunity to meet with the representative in person to voice some of her concerns about the effect of Akin's voting on the community at large.

Upon arrival, however, Krista and the other 100 concerned citizens with her were appalled to be greeted, not by Akin or his staff, but by the police.

Akin claims his reason for calling the cops was that he saw the town hall meeting as a "protest." However, there is a clear difference between a protest and a meeting. The constituents delivered him a peaceful invitation in person, giving him full details about the purpose of the meeting; they simply had concerns they wanted to formally present to their representative.

But since his polarizing statement, "behind liberalism is the hatred of God" back in June, Todd Akin continues to needlessly turn politics into a battleground that seeks to divide people rather than to unite them for the common good. "Rather than respond with dignity and respect to those he represents," says Taves," he chose to treat us as an enemy and to turn us away... This is not the kind of person we should entrust with the privilege and responsibility of serving us."

Simply put, Todd Akin is not doing his job. By refusing to speak with his constituents, he is not fulfilling his duty to represent his district with integrity. The beauty of democracy is that it is meant to give all citizens the opportunity to participate in government through fair representation-- and he is blatantly denying this right. We would like to remind Akin that it is a representative's duty to serve and respect all of his (or her) constituents, even if they hold different values. We certainly don't all have to agree, but like it or not, we do have to work together.

No-cost contraception

The FDA, in accordance with HHS and other medical entities, has announced that as of August 2012, insurance companies will have to provide all forms of medical contraception to the consumer without a co-pay. This is a part of the Health Care Reform plan that is gradually taking effect.

In this move, the FDA has made it clear that contraception is classified as preventive medicine.

This is an important development for all women. 99% of American women use medical contraceptives at some point in their reproductive years. This includes women of every religious persuasion.

Too often, when we hear the word "contraception" we automatically think, "the Pill". But there are many other contraceptive methods approved by the FDA, and for many women the cost of these was prohibitive. Not every woman wants to have to remember to take a pill everyday at the same time, and some women should not use hormones.

Women do not all need the same form of contraception. A woman who does not ever want children may prefer a permanent method of birth control. A woman who is interested in postponing childbirth for a few years may choose a longer-lasting contraception like an IUD. Women who have sex infrequently may prefer a method like the diaphragm.

For the first time, regardless of income, women will truly have "freedom of choice" when it comes to contraception!

That is, unless she happens to work for a Catholic institution! Because already, Catholic groups with health care plans have demanded "religious exemption" from complying with this new mandate. If they only hired Catholics, they might have an argument. But thousands of doctors, nurses, bookkeepers, educators, students, and janitors who are not Catholic will be denied coverage for contraception based upon the archaic, misogynist views of their employers. This is immoral and unjust.

These "religious exemptions" that are being applied to health care around the country need to be abolished by the courts. No institution should be able to force a religious practice upon its employees, clients, or customers. Freedom of religion has always been for the individual, not the corporation. Any individual may abstain from the use of contraception based upon her personal religious beliefs. But to have her rights limited by the religious practices of an employers is wrong.

Trying to Keep Up

Say what you want about the Kardashians, but that family is as ingrained into American culture as the Kennedys or Roosevelts. From Robert Sr.'s representation of O.J. Simpson to Kim's notorious sex tape, the Kardashians have been in the spotlight for nearly two decades. Their show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" airs every Sunday night on E!, and of course, has drawn plenty of criticism. Whatever. The show appeals to me, both on an entertainment level and a social level. I relate to Khloe's weird humor, Kim's business sense, and Kourtney's ability to keep life in perspective, but what I most appreciate is how the family uses the show to address social issues like alcoholism, unplanned pregnancies & infertility, and balancing career decisions with love lives. These aren't "rich people problems," or issues faced by a small population in America. The issues brought up on "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" are real American problems faced by a real American family.

For those of you who aren't frequent viewers, the show follows the three Kardashian sisters, Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe, their mother Kris Jenner, who is married to Olympic champion Bruce Jenner, and their younger half-sisters, Kendall and Kylie. A few Sundays back, Kendall gets put on birth control by her doctor. Papa Jenner absolutely freaks out, naively thinking that his daughter is out having rampant, shameless sex. Bruce's reaction is not uncommon among American fathers; mine freaked out, too, when I got put on "The Pill" less than a year after I started my period at 16. Usually, it takes the mother figure to explain to the horrified father that birth control pills are used to do more for women than just what the name implies, but in the Kardashian case, Bruce still doesn't seem to comprehend, and Khloe, the instigator that she is, suggests that the younger sisters finally get "The Talk." If you're a big Kardashian fan, you will remember that endometriosis runs in the family, and was addressed by Khloe in an episode; hormonal contraception is the most prescribed treatment to control the genetic ailment. While it's not explicitly said in the episode, that's what I assumed the problem was, as "cramps" are the cited problem. I digress - not a rich person's problem. The Kardashians/Jenners simply take the opportunity to use their very public platform to open dialogue about problems that affect everyone in America, rich or poor.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, 62% of women in childbearing years use some sort of contraception method, and 28% of those women use the hormonal contraception, or "The Pill." That's more than 10 million American women using birth control pills, for contraception, treatment for a gynecological disease, acne - whatever. But I uncovered an interesting side fact from Guttmacher: teens who don't use contraception are twice as likely to experience an unplanned pregnancy than teens who do use a method of contraception. Nearly 3 million teenage women actually use contraception, and more than half of them use "The Pill." And with the rate of teen motherhood on the rise, Kendall and Kylie Jenner deserve some credit for taking their fertility into their own hands. I think it's safe to say that the Kardashians are more in touch with American life than most of our politicians in Washington! Keeping up with them may not be as hard for most of us to do.

While, certainly, the Kardashian sisters have been known to slip up or say something really, really stupid, but that's what makes them that much more appealing to me and millions of other Sunday night viewers of E! They're relatable, hilarious, and deal with the same problems that everyone else does. We're just lucky enough to not have a camera around when we deliver an oratory gem to the world.

Mayberry Had It All Wrong.

Domestic abuse. It's the small town gossip that no one seems to want to talk about. As a product of a small town, with a mom and female relatives from various other small towns, I knew many women who had been abused as children, teens, and adults. Some of the aforementioned female relatives even suffered through abuse, violence, and rape (not by men in my family, thank God).

If a small-town woman hasn't been abused, she certainly knows women in her community who have been. Domestic and sexual violence happens much more than you'd like to think in Heartland America, and unfortunately, is talked about even less.

These are the good Christian women, their daughters and their granddaughters, who held down the homestead during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Iraq War. They've survived through economic depressions, inflation, and the Cold War. These women are not vapid, weak, or complacent - these are the strong, resourceful, and empowered country women who raised me - a rookie city slicker - who was inspired by their wisdom, tenacity, and positivity. But it wasn't until I was much older that I understood that they have this outer shell that they put up to hide something much, much deeper.

Maybe it was the community in which I lived, a run-down former coal mining town that fell apart after the southern Indiana coal boom in the 50s and 60s. Most of the townsfolk live below the federally-established poverty line, didn't graduate high school, never considered college - very blue collar yet struggling. Maybe it was the fact that only men held elected positions in the county, which is still pretty much the case. Or perhaps the overpowering, general attitude of machismo that can be blamed. Many abuse cases can be traced back to these elements, but they are certainly not limited to the things that I noticed as an observant kid. So I did my own thing, loved and appreciated my mother, graduated from high school at the top of my class, and prepared to go off to a huge state university to ultimately go to law school.

Before I took off, one of my family members sat me down for a serious talk about what to expect in college. She simply said to me, "don't get raped." That's the pre-college advice I was given, as I prepared to saunter off to become a student? But indeed, it was. I was told not to get raped. College is supposed to be a wonderful time for young men and women to blossom into the compassionate, intelligent Americans that they are meant to be and to explore the big, bright world, but I was simply told not to get raped. That female relative spoke from her own college freshman experience, as a naive country girl going to a small Christian university, who was brutally raped and beaten and left on the side of a back country road to die.

When most country folk like myself move to big cities, they're worried about being mugged, gunned down, held up, and so on.

Not me. I embraced city life, because to me, country life didn't embody the openness, freedom, and hospitality that most people associate with it.

No. To me, small towns and country life meant that women were still oppressed, forced to put on their happy faces, and pretend like nothing terrible was happening in middle-class America. Now I realize that it's those women I worry most about.

Obviously, I understand that this doesn't happen everywhere, but it does happen and needs to be addressed now more than ever. Women are strong, beautiful creatures that put others before themselves, make sacrifices for their families, and put up a tragic façade like nothing is wrong.

The women in my life embody the famous verse below:

"Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)"

But what love doesn't do is yell, hit, or strangle. If there is a woman in your life who is abused, please, step up and help her find her voice. It's hard as a kid to sit back and watch bruises form on friends' moms' arms and face, but now I wish that the 10-year old me would have had the courage to do something then.

For Missouri residents, a great organization to contact is the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence. There is a great map on their page that shows the specific regional hotlines to call if you or a woman you know is being abused.

If you are not a Missouri resident, you can contact the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence, or a simple Google search for "[your state] hotline for domestic violence." For the love of God, please do not remain silent if you or someone you know is suffering!

Picking and Choosing

As a pro-choice organization, we are used to getting criticism from our anti-choice opponents. But our last blog entry received an intriguing comment questioning the “faith” part of Faith Aloud, and we thought it was intellectually stimulating and worth engaging. Here’s the comment:

"Its strange to me how people quote the bible to vilify conservatives. Nice Zacharia quote! But the bible also says to stone homosexuals, burn witches, slaughter cows and sprinkle their blood and a lot of other things. Either accept it or do not, this is America, who cares, that is your right. But do not be so intellectually dishonest as to pick and choose which parts you like and which you do not to establish some sort of moral high ground. It is as though you are shaking your finger at those who disagree with you. If you are not against homosexuality, promiscuity and religious tolerance (which are all condemned throughout the bible) throw the damn bible away, don't pick the solitary pieces that further your agenda and ignore those that do not." By Anonymous on Sluts of St. Louis Unite on 7/19/11

We’d like to thank this blogger for posting his/her unique perspective, but also humbly defend our mission here at Faith Aloud. As a pro-choice organization we do openly disagree with people who try to limit women’s access to reproductive healthcare. And that’s not something we’re willing to be wishy-washy about. But by quoting the Bible, we were trying to communicate the values we as an organization stand for: compassion and love. If standing for compassion somehow “vilifies” our opponents, that probably says more about our opponents than it does about us.

At Faith Aloud our goal is not to convert or evangelize. We have tons of followers who identify as ethical atheist and we love them and what they do for our organization. But we believe that scripture and faith can be a great source of inspiration and strength. The bottom-line is, a majority of women who obtain abortions identify as religious and they especially need a little extra spiritual support that empowers them.

As an interfaith organization, we believe wisdom can be found in many forms and many languages, and we look to a variety of religious traditions to gain inspiration and insight into how to live ethical lives. But it is important to read any text with a critical and thoughtful eye. So let’s clear up any “dishonesty” about our stance on scripture. When it comes to scripture, everyone “picks and chooses.” We acknowledge and absolutely agree that there passages in the Bible we choose not to follow: case in point, we do not believe in using Leviticus 18:22 to try to keep our LGBT friends from obtaining the rights they deserve. We also enjoy eating shrimp from time to time.

The Bible has been interpreted in countless different ways throughout history; any time a religious leader reads a passage of scripture and delivers a sermon, he or she is actively interpreting that scripture. Every different denomination within a major religious tradition sets itself apart from the other sects within that religion by the way in which it chooses to interpret the same major text. Few would argue that the Christianity we see today is different from the kind of organization in place immediately following the death of Jesus. Throughout history, religion has been used for both good and bad. We at Faith Aloud choose to “pick” verses that we think promote a positive, empathic, and just approach to the social issues we are faced with.

Just because we don’t follow every verse of the Bible or any other text literally, does that mean we should throw out the entire text? This all or nothing approach is unrealistic rhetoric. The world is not black and white, and to answer this particular blogger, neither is the Bible. The Bible was written by many men in very different times and cultures, and some passages no longer apply to us. Does that mean there is nothing left in the Bible from which to learn or gain inspiration? Absolutely not. Do we all have to follow a religious tradition in exactly the same way? Sure don’t. Is it okay to doubt, ask questions, and seek all over for answers to life’s hard questions? We think so.

What do you think? If you have a thought or opinion (and we know you do), please leave a comment. We’d love to have some healthy (and respectful) discourse.