Are Democrat’s Pro-Life?

This is a disclaimer: I have wrote within the last couple years blog posts criticizing pastors for being partisan or encouraging Christians to maybe not even vote for fear of their allegiance being tied to a party rather than the Kingdom. I am waiting until after the Midterm elections to post this piece. I am not endorsing a candidate.  I actually voted for Democrats and Republicans in my first time voting since 2020. I voted for the first time in years because I actually believed in the hope certain candidates were preaching. These blogs are meant to be thought provoking and are an attempt for me to step into somewhat of an unknown territory and try to make sense of what I and many others are seeing. Feel free to disagree or agree. Just remember the goal is always to follow Jesus a little more closer.

There’s a shift that has been happening. I do not know for how long this shift has been going on. I do not know for how long it will continue. But what I do know is that it seems to me that conservatives, especially Christians are losing the culture war and it’s not for lack of trying.

Many attempts at pulling at the heartstrings of the culture war have been made. Whether it is through the Daily Wire making movies that obviously paint foreigners as villains trying to murder not just our families but our way of living, or the Secretary of War hosting Logan and Jake Paul to encourage soldiers who look the part that the Secretary believes embodies his ideal vision of warfare. Hail Mary’s have been thrown. Even just recently, Vivek Ramasamy’s campaign pushed out an advertisement using his opponent’s mom to paint a picture of his opponent being a historical liar. This ad was made by way of recruiting the mom of Vivek’s opponent, who abandoned her children at the charge that her husband(the children’s step father) had been sexually abusing her kids. Vivek used an ad to paint his opponent, a literal victim of child sexual abuse, as a liar.

Morals have been thrown out. What once was a culture war built on this divide between what is morally right versus what is morally wrong has shifted and now we see that the side who claimed to be morally right continually lies, covers up, and distorts the truth. Which means, both parties are now on equal playing field at the least. Both parties have been exposed of their sin. Neither can use the moral charge against the other. So things have shifted.

The culture war shows itself in our politics and media all the time. For many of you when you go to vote, you vote for a candidate that is either for or against abortion. You care about whether a politician is either for or against gay marriage. The policies behind these candidates do not matter as much as their surface level positions to the outward public on these hot button issues. (Many of which get distorted through lies and manipulative ads to make you believe a candidate is for sex changes for children when they are not) The reason why is because it’s easier to sell a politician on something people feel passionate about. It’s easier for people to feel passionate about something they can understand. But now policies have to be raised.

The average worker is not going to be able to tell you how to balance the books of our economy. Joe the plumber cannot explain to you how to negotiate deals with countries about who is exporting what, for how much, and in what cases this deal will close.

A resounding position that has been held for quite sometime now though is that conservatives are the only viable political position for someone who is pro-life.

In a world where morals have left our politics and we must now look at policies, Christians are in an odd position. There is no clear morally right party. There is no party that is clearly the obvious choice for the Christian. And the Christian, historically has been the person in our society that stands on the side of life.

In the ancient world, Christians would dig through trash heaps rescuing unwanted infants.

Christians valued life so much that they would come together to honor the recently deceased as a way to show hospitality and comfort to the grieving. Christians would rally funds to give people proper burials because they believed lives mattered.

Christians would welcome the stranger, regardless of where they came from or what their background was because they believed that God was doing a work that was bigger than just one kingdom in this world. God was building a kingdom that intermixed with other kingdoms. They believed Christians could be represented by different tribes, tongues and nations. They believed this because not only had Jesus died for people regardless of their ethnicities but because God had created all ethnicities and declared it good.

But being pro-life has been under attack for quite sometime. And I don’t mean that the world, the leftists, or the no-good democrats are out to destroy the pro-life movement. Rather what I mean is that the pro-life movement has been under attack by itself. Hypocrisy has been exposed. A shallow definition of the term has been revealed and the reason I believe so many senate candidates who are democrats are winning in the polls(and have now won the midterms) right now is because it is clear, one type of candidate cares about life and the other has little to no respect for it.

There are three categories of hot button issues that I believe exposes why many people, including me, have redefined what being pro-life actually means. We have redefined the term not based on partisan politics but based on historic Christian values. And why this redefinition is moving us towards a political party we have been advised to steer clear of in recent memory.

The three categories I want to highlight are: the pursuit of A.I., the quest for the shedding of blood, and a priority of average people being able to live a livable life.

The Pursuit of A.I.

A.I. refers to artificial intelligence. A.I. has been around for quite sometime.(Trump has tried to rename it but I’m gonna ignore that) You have used it without even knowing more than likely. Siri, the little voice behind your iPhone is a form of A.I. But in more recent years and months especially, A.I. is on the verge of something new and exciting.

You may have seen it or experienced it through the means of recreations of your favorite scenes from movies but with someone you know taking the place of your favorite characters. Maybe you’ve seen people’s profile pictures suddenly looking way shiner than a normal candid photo. Or maybe you’ve noticed how every business and church has a similar looking ad being posted to their social media. Artificial Intelligence is everywhere, and everyone has access to some form of it.

But in this quest to continue the development of this new technology comes a dire warning. Jacob Coxon, a former employee for Antrhopic became the leading A.I. whistle blower as he warned us all of the possibility that the pursuit of this technology’s advancement could lead to the extinction of the human race. ¹

The Boston Consulting Group has predicted that 50-55% of jobs will be altered because of A.I.. within just the next few years.² 50 million jobs within the entry level field are especially open to being replaced or significantly downplayed by the progress of A.I.³ And with this comes the growingly obvious concern about the rise of Data Centers and their effects on communities. The big tech giants have aligned themselves since the last presidential election with the current administration and there seems to be no hope that concerns over how this technology or the pursuit of it will effect the average citizen is even being considered by these elites behind it.

The common go-to propaganda messaging that has been pushed as the reason why we must keep pursing this dystopian nightmare is that if we are not first(we as in the United States) then China will beat us to it. Instead of the great space race, we have now entered a race to be the leaders of a technology that by all summation is a net negative for the world. Concerns for this development’s effects are downplayed and ignored by the administration that has in the last few elections been able to rally the “pro-life” movement.

But what life is being prioritized when the people behind this technology are okay with the dangers it brings to not only an average person’s way of life but their life itself? It does not feel as if the administration cares about everyone’s life.

We are already too far downstream with the negative effects our technology has had on our lives. We still have yet to put adequate laws in place to protect children from the damaging effects of social media. Social Media companies prey on their users in ways we cannot even conceive. And yet, these tech companies move forward with developing more technology that carries us further downstream with no good end in sight.

The Unprioritizing of the Lower Class

Speaking of A.I erasing the need for humans to have literal physical tangible jobs that they give their lives too. We have a problem of the Republican Party pushing back against the obvious effects not only the war has on American’s lives(something we will look at more later) but also the devastating effects our pursuit of upgrading our technology has on our communities.

In a Forbes video published on Facebook⁴ the media outlet highlighted a Gallup survey that stated that 71% of Americans are somewhat or strongly opposed to data centers entering into their community.

The reason why is because there is a quality of life at stake. The quality life argument is evidently prevalent in the effects social media has had on our lives. But even in just the pursuit of building out these data centers to help bolster the foundation for the pursuit of developing these technologies, communities are raising alarms as their drinking water is polluted and cracks in the foundations of their houses begin to crack. The data centers itself are creating unlivable environments for communities that they exist in.

This has led to massive pushes by citizens of these communities and potential new ones to hit pause on these pursuits for more. Trump has labeled pushback against these data centers or the development of A.I. as “backwards” saying on a Truth Social Post:

The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor.

This comment itself from the president belittles the fears and effects average citizens have about these data centers. To be fair to the G.O.P., many other republican leaders have voiced criticism about the Data Center, Greg Abbott being a main one to mention. But where Republicans may push back is the G.O.P. in more recent years tend to bend to the will of the President even when it cost them. This is an area where we will just have to see how it plays out but as of right now, the administration is at least pushing forward regardless of how the public feels.

What this all demonstrates is just a lack of care for the quality of life citizens are having. Data Centers can come in and decrease the quality of life people are having and that’s okay because progress is the goal.

We are even seeing these effects in the rise of gas and groceries. With this rise the President and his administration belittle the cries of the people about the state of the economy, gas-lighting the people into believing that its the result of Biden’s previous administration or that its not actually an issue at all. The problem with this is it undermines what everyday citizens actually feel.

Everyday citizens feel the weight of the Presidents pursuits in their pockets. They feel it at the gas pump, they feel it at the grocery store. They feel it in the housing crisis. When people are struggling and the President or Vice President remarks dodge the responsibility of the criticism and tell people to essentially suck it up and just vote red so we(the G.O.P.) can win, we then have a problem. A problem of priority. Your quality of life should be a priority and it’s not. What you feel in your everyday is not a priority.

The Quest for Blood

Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of War, has announced recently the livestream of a public execution of the Fort Hood shooter(Trump has ordered for this event to not be live-streamed as of the latest update) This is a statement being made by a supposed Christian nationalist who has made his intentions clear that he wants to wipe out muslims in order to protect the Western empire. He has framed this execution as way of getting revenge and making a statement towards Islamic nationalists.

Likewise Trump has led us into a war with Iran that only 33% of people approve of according to a Pew Research study.⁵

The current administration that “accidentally” and still has not fully accepted responsibility for double tapping a girls school in Iran with missiles.⁶ Again, our country knows the pro-life movement has traditionally voted republican and especially with Trump’s elections, really showed an allegiance to him. But one must ask: is this pro-life? Is the party that truly cares about life the one that livestreams a crippled terrorist’s execution to make a point, or sends missiles to a little girls school not once but twice?

These actions are exposing a hypocrisy of a party who claims to stand for the life of millions of unborn babies while sending missiles to one’s living.

For a long while now we have been told as Christians that the only party we can truly align ourselves to is the party that is pro-life.

But being pro-life has to mean more than saving babies from being aborted. Being pro-life also must encompass all of life even after that baby is born.

I believe there is more as a Christian to make a choice between the two different parties, now more than ever.

We can no longer say the republican party is a pro-life party.

1.) Because Trump himself barely even aligns with a pro-life position in the traditional sense. Trump did just enough with Roe V. Wade to scratch some itching ears but not to properly treat them.⁷

2.) Because when looking at all of life as a pro-life position, the Republican Party has showed that it’s true allegiance is to a man rather than to a set of ideals. And that man, does not value all of life. That man does not value everyone’s life.⁸

What Are Some Current Examples of the Democrat’s Being Pro-Life?

Well, like we zeroed in on a few key points demonstrating how the current administration has not actually been pro-life. Let’s look at some of the key points along with key Democrat leaders that are offering what I believe do represent a more holistic pro-life position.

Medicare for All

Capitalism is great, except for when it’s not. When you have tiktoks going around letting the average person in on the secret that hospitals are overcharging you for an MRI and there are cheaper ways for you to do your due diligence in taking care of yourself for not just you but your family, then we have a problem. There’s a problem when people have been overpaying for medical care that they could have simply negotiated had they known it was an option.

We have a problem when the medical care of our society is more built on profit than healing. What this demonstrates is that our society does not view healing as something sacred but instead replaces medical care with profits. Profits are sacred. Profits must be protected. Profits must be sheltered from the “evil” people in our society who just want things for free. But the problem may not be that people just want things for free, instead they want to be able to live a livable life without fear that if they get a checkup that they also won’t be able to pay for their groceries next month. The problem is not necessarily with the grocery prices as much as it is with the cost of medical care. We live in a system that profits off of overpricing your care.

This is why Democrats, specifically Abdul El-Sayed, are championing a new ‘Medicare for All’ bill that according to a Yale Study would not only save our country money over the long term but would also saves lives which is the more important feature. ⁹

Our current system does not work. We have millions uninsured(including me) and too many people who are dying because of treatable conditions that they simply do not have the resources by themselves to get ahold of.

I firmly believe this is a pro-life position. What is more pro-life than making sure every one of your neighbors has the access and ability to receive the medical care they need in order to survive another day. Too often the way this conversation has been framed is that it is wrong for people to expect or desire free healthcare for everyone. But what I believe is more problematic than people getting checkups for free, is pharmaceutical companies and hospitals profiting off of people’s misfortune.

I find it hard to mention the whole abortion conversation as we talk healthcare because obviously for many Democrats abortion is included in this medicare for all plan. But what I believe often gets missed is the reality that we have less abortions when pro-choice candidates are in office. This is a point Abdul, Talarico, and many other Democrat candidates have been making.

Why? Because Democrats regardless of what you believe they think about whether a fetus is a conscious being or not, are also focused on give people the proper care they need to go through pregnancies.

Pregnancy itself is difficult and costly. For many moms, abortion can feel like the only way out because they simply cannot afford the costs of delivering a child. Sometimes the best way to fight against something, is to erase conditions that cause it. Part of the problem I believe is happening here is a demonization of our neighbors, something I’ll expound on later.

So maybe the best way to fight abortion is not actually to just ban it, but to create opportunities for people to envision a life where they can have a child without drowning in debt, not being to being able to feed the child, and not being to properly provide good care for the child.¹⁰

Israel’s Wars

Our current administration is balls deep into a war on behalf of another country that we have long believed to be an ally but time and time again has drug our country into their own conflicts where they are arguably the problem.

Israel has broken laws, murdered civilians and treated unfairly Palenstians time and time again. Prime Minister Netanyahu is a war criminal. ¹¹It’s not an opinion, it is a fact.¹²

You have the Palestinian people, who are like the Jewish people, have historical ties to the land in Israel, who are being pushed out, bombed, and killed. For a full breakdown of the conflict you can read this BBC article explaining the deep nuances of this ongoing back and forth.

But what I think is more important to highlight is that we have a problem in this country of being a war hungry nation. Our economy is built on us being in wars. And wars simply include lots of people losing their lives, especially civilians.

If you claim to be pro-life, I believe you have to be someone who is also by default against war. The reason being because no matter what happens, lives will be lost. And the whole concept of being pro-life is to be for people remaining alive. The current administration fails to value that. Democrats, who have not always been perfect in this area and have been guilty of their war crimes, are at the least when it comes to the war in Iran standing up and saying this has to end. You have Democrats making a point to stop taking money from AIPAC. The reason why is because in both the case with Palenstians and with the war in Iran, many people in our country are tired of these endless wars that clearly have more to do with people in office trying to grasp for power than it does with trying to protect human life.

At this current moment, we are seeing Democrat candidates rise up who see the value in protecting human life by ending the war, while you have the current administration wanting to take the war further. Even a president threatening the annihilation of a country. Not an army, a nation.

Livable Economics

New York City has had a change of pace in recent months. With a new mayor who has radical ideas and the momentum to push these ideas forward, the nature of New York City has been changing.

The key factor in the change has been a Mayor who prioritizes not just in rhetoric but also action, creating a way forward for citizens of the city to live affordable lives.

Now to be fair, republicans push back on this idea of affordability recognizing that in reality it is socialism at work. But for someone who may not know. Our country already has elements of socialism playing out within it. Everything from your public roads to your public schools are products of socialism taking shape in our country. If you are wondering how your kid’s education from the public school system counts as socialism, just step back and ask: “how is it being paid for?”

Your public schools, your public roads, your libraries are all owned and operated by the government and funded by your taxes. Your community by way of their taxes fund social programs/services for the community to benefit off of. The argument at large playing out in our country really is not a matter of do you want socialism or not but more so how much?

And with that comes the conversation, if we are to have elements of socialism within our society, then what are the benefits of it?

For Zohran the Mayor of New York City, the benefit is for the average citizen of the city to be able to live their lives at an affordable rate. New York City has long been a city known as being too expensive to live in. This drives out average citizens who have actually played a key role in building out what the city means to the world today. Zohran wants to step in and fight for those people. The working class people who are being pushed out by rising rent costs and other factors that make it difficult to live in the most important city in the world.

Being pro-life I believe requires you to care about the quality life people are able to experience. Someone who is breathing just enough to survive another day is someone who is missing out on the joys of life that God blesses us with. Not to sound too prosperity gospel-ish but God does not want you to just play the game of life in survival mode. That does not mean that life will be easy or that God will only ever bless you, but it does mean that God has good plans for what your life could be. God does care about the quality of life you will have. Not in a material sense, but we all know that when money is tight, our peace can be wrecked. When we cannot pay the bills, it’s hard to find the joy in life.

And in looking out for our neighbors, loving them as we love ourselves, as Christians we can embrace this idea of Zohran’s efforts to make the quality of life in New York City better than it was before.

Some of the ways Zohran has been tackling making a life worth living in his city is by having the rich pay more in taxes in an effort to help pour into the pot for the broader community of the city(Note: your definition of rich may not even crack what Zoran’s definition is, think top 1%). Zohran has also been working on Government ran grocery stores that operate in a way that is for the customer not against them. Zohran has marked a day out on the calendar for couples to have free childcare so that they can go and experience the joys of the city without having to worry about where little Tommy will go for date night.

You can make criticisms all day long about whether you believe the government should be operating in this way or not. That’s a philosophical discussion worth having in another blog. But it is clear to me that someone like Zohran is trying to help relieve the burden on ordinary families. We could get into the why behind skepticism on if Zohran is actually doing this because he has good intentions or not. But I like to believe that because people are made in the image of God, despite what ever depravity takes place in their life, they are still capable of tapping into the inherent goodness built into their bones to do good things.

Sometimes people in the government get power and abuse it. And sometimes people in the government get power and use it to serve people without it.

There are bad forms of socialism just like there are bad forms of capitalism. No system will be perfect. But what Zohran specifically is trying to do is to create a culture in New York City where ordinary people. can enjoy living their lives again. Families can live in the city again.

As C.S. Lewis wrote Aslan to sing the many different universes into existence in the Chronicle’s of Narnia, as Yahweh speaks life into existence, we too as human beings walking on this planet have the ability to create life. Whether that’s a literal conception of human life in the womb or life in the sense of brining a new energy back into a dead beat system. That is the call to have dominion on this earth.

From Genesis to Revelation we watch a world go from a garden to a city. Maybe the call to have dominion in Genesis refers more to being Kings and Queens who cultivate life wherever they are. Whether that’s by making good music that gets you off of your feet, or by painting a mural that captures nostalgia of the past, or buy implementing government policies that put the people you serve on a better footing than where they came from.

I’m not saying you have to or need to vote Democrat. I believe each person should vote, if they want, according to their convictions. But what I hope I could have accomplished in the process of this blog is to show another way of approaching politics that remains true to the pro-life commitment but for a party that has been traditionally demonized as being the opposite of pro-life.

Not all Christians vote the same. Democrats have a long history of orthodox followers of Jesus standing in their ranks. From Tim Keller to Jimmy Carter. Sometimes, I have come to believe, we just have to learn to reimagine how we can operate in this world in order to ever move forward.

Jesus does not call us back to the garden, he calls us to the celestial city.

Progress is not always bad. And it may even be God ordained.

An Elaboration on Demonizing Our Neighbors

As I kept reading back over this edition of the blog and have been taking into account the results of the midterms, I had an epiphany of sorts that I think really captures why many conservatives scoff at some of the policies and worldviews the left has to offer.

Whether you listen to Nick Fuentes or Brett Cooper, it is obvious, the conservatives live in a world that is binary. There is good and there is evil. Democrats, because of their positions on abortion and sexuality, have continually been painted as this party of the evildoers. Democrats are the party that is full of people who hate children and want to abort babies. Democrats are full of people who want to let foreigners in who disrespect and devalue the goods of Western colonialism. They hate our culture and want to destroy it from within. Democrats hate people who are successful and do not play into victim mentality, and so they want to tax the rich and punish people for making it on their own. The list could go on. The only type of muslim is an extremist, the only type of gay person is the one reading to your kids in a library, the only socialist is the one who wants to take away your autonomy.

All of this is a demonizing view of people. It assumes people who are conservative, regardless of their extremes, just want to live a good life. While people who are liberal, just want to ramp up the evil in society.

This discounts the fact that Trump’s family is in ongoing investigations about corruption that cannot be denied. It ignores the cover ups the Epstein files by the MAGA movement that campaigned on releasing them. It takes away from the victims of sexual abuse Trump, along with Pete Hegseth have been accused of. It looks over the fact that the rich that conservatives want to protect from being taxed, are paying less taxes than you are. It ignores the victim mentality a Nick Fuentes builds his brand on. We could go on and on and on, but let’s not.

Evil and good simultaneously exist all around us, and in us. Ancient Christians referred to the campaign of evil that was spreading throughout the world as exciting in the forms of the unholy trinity: the world, the flesh and the devil.

Reformed theology would teach us that all of mankind has been plagued with this disease called sin that corrupts every single part of you. And it is only by the grace of God that you are not acting on every bit of evil that is inside of you.

But where I have found myself theologically at a reckoning with this binary, good versus evil, us versus them way of viewing the world is that the Bible is more complex than that.

David was both a King who was after God’s own heart, yet also a man who would do anything to cover up the lust of his own eyes. He saved the Israelites from conquest and raped Bathsheba.

Jesus tells us through the story of the Good Samaritan to be careful about looking at the people of the other side of aisle as only being out to get you. In the parable, the last person you would expect to do good, is the one who does.

As a fan of the NBC show Park’s and Rec, regardless of how I felt about Leslie Knope’s policies or view of the government in people’s life. Leslie throughout the entirety of the show leads by being the person in the government who actually wants to see the government do good. She wants to see the government serve the people in the community.

An example of the government in the pages of Scripture serving its people despite not having all the right theology, or way of governing, is in the story of Joseph in Egypt.

The Pharaoh brings Joseph into the ranks to serve the people during a famine. It’s the government at work for the good of the masses. Do you really think a conservative, evangelical would agree with everything a Pharaoh believes? Let’s throw this concept into our modern world as Abdul El-Sayeed’s family comes from the same region as the Pharaoh’s we read about in our Bibles. Not only do we have stories of the Egyptians enslaving the Israelites, but we also have stories of the Egyptians taking care of God’s chosen people. We have the history of Jesus’ family at the time of his toddler years, fleeing to Egypt to escape the cruelty of the leaders in the charge at home. This one example leaving a mark on the continent of Africa as legends exist telling the stories of little Jesus leading the way.

What this really all boils down to I believe is a refusal to embrace the full reality of Jesus’ Kingdom breaking down barriers. The world would love for you to believe your neighbor is out to get you. We live in America which prides itself on individualism. Yet the spot where America and Christianity have to split is that Christianity was always communal.

Christianity prioritized caring for the widows and the orphans. (James 1:27)

Christianity heard the cries for those who wanted justice. (Matthew 5:6)

Christianity reached the masses through its leader feeding the hungry.(Mark 8:1-10)

Christianity announced the good news of a Kingdom out of this world by healing the sick and the broken in this world. (John 4:43-54; Mark 1:21-27; Matthew 8:1-4; Etc.)

Jesus says in Matthew 25:35-40(ESV)

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

There is a big disconnect in the mind of specifically white evangelicals with what Jesus taught(theology) and what he practiced. We bought into this notion that you can believe all the right things and it have no effect on the practices in your life and yet you are somehow still a representative of Jesus.

It’s taking baptism and kicking out the Lord’s Supper.

It’s only focusing on what the elements represent at the Lord’s supper and missing the importance of the act itself.

It’s following Jesus in word but not by putting your feet to the ground and going after Him.

Jesus says the world will know who you belong to by your love for one another(John 13:35).

Neither party fully encompasses the values of the church. But I believe the greatest deception evangelicals had pulled onto them is that voting Red was the only way we could express our values in this country.

I’m hopeful for the Democratic Party right now, not because I’m a democrat. But because we just watched candidate after candidate hear people’s cries, build campaigns around those cries, and it’s leading with this “love they neighbor” mentality in politics.

From James Talarico to Adam Hamilton, you have people claiming the name of Jesus and it displaying itself not in Islamaphobia, or law and order, or defending a helpless Jesus.

Criticize the theology all you want, if Jesus says that love is how the world will identify you, then it looks like there’s some good representatives on the left side of our politics.