Well this is my first blog, at least in writing. Heaven knows how many I've posted in the 'spiritual blogoshpere."

Phil Donahue's recent appearance with Bill O'Reilly seemed to jolt me into to sharing my thoughts. I became a fan of Phil Donahue when I was 16, homebound after spinal surgery, I spent my senior year being educated by him and my homebound teacher. I watched amazed at all the 'truth' he uncovered, his questioning seemed to reflect a deep thinker. Some old Donahue shows in my memory bank are of the ALAR scare, all forms of sexual matters, Ralph Nadar, who seemed to be a staple on his show. The show on Jesse Sepulveda, the baby who had been rejected a heart transplant, was quite an episode, while his parents were on Donahue pleading for him the hospital called telling them a heart had been found. I would listen to Phil's questioning, his reasoning, and I must admit that even to his credit, he did shows that perhaps he would not do today. I remember one show on an abortion survivor. An hispanic woman went in for an abortion. The doctor did not succeed in terminating the pregnancy, but did tear off the arm of this little fetus. The mother, and her one armed baby girl were on his show looking very happy. Let's fast forward from my memory of old Donahue shows to 2008.

Phil's appearance on The Factor was to plug a documentary called, Body of War. It was set to air on Veteran's Day. Yes, he wanted to bring the realities of war into the living rooms across America, because as he believes, we Americans don't feel it because we don't see it.

Donahue's appearance last week left me wondering what happened to my generation? I remember my teen years and early twenties being notorious for pointing out hypocrisy. We applied logical reasoning. Finding inconsistencies, and hypocrisy was the proof of our unbiased thinking and reasoning abilities. It validated our independence, a claim to adulthood. Hypocrisy was not to be allowed or I dare say tolerated. We sided with issues when reasoned arguments were given, when questions were satisfied. If one could not be satisfied, it was logical and perfectly tolerable for opposing views to be held. The views we held did not claim 100% ownership of our emotions, and because of that there was no need for name calling, and back lashes.

I don't see that today. No one demands to be persuaded, or given answers to logical arguments. Rather it seems loyalty is given to whomever hosts the best party, 'as long as you promise me a good time, hey I'm there.' Asking a question that might offend someone is unthinkable! Sadly I see many from my generation no longer demanding answers, or reasoned explanations. Overlooking hypocrisy, and refrain from hard questioning has become a charitable act. Putting people on the spot is not allowed.

That being said, I ask you to apply the very words spoken last week between O'Reilly and Donahue to another issue tearing this country apart, ABORTION. Below are some excerpts with my questions and thoughts. A link to watch the video clip is at the end.

Phil Donahue - "This is the most sanitized war of my lifetime, we do not see the sacrifice that is being made."
It seems that he is implying that the reality of war is kept out of sight because we might not like what we see? Well that may be true. Keep going Phil.

O'Reilly points out that 2 million lives were lost in Vietnam after the United States pulled out, and asks Donahue if he ever thinks of those lives. To Donahue's credit he acknowledged thinking about those lives and said, "of course I do, these are live irreplaceable children of God human beings." Is Phil Donahue using pro-life thought? It can't be! Doesn't his reasoning apply to abortion? Our society sanitizes abortion daily. We've heard for years, "it's not a baby, not a life, not a human being", and certainly not an unborn child of God? Sanitation on abortion is in full swing, but it's a private life saving medical procedure. Whew, I was almost going logical, I'm glad I caught myself.

O'Reilly -"I think Americans know the suffering that's gone on."
Phil - "They do know, but I don't think they feel it Billy, because they don't see it. You can't feel it if you don't see it." Aha, Phil gets it. It is the Phil I used to know and love! He knows that a picture paints a thousand words, he just isn't a painter for the unborn. Why does Phil want us to feel something, why does he want us to feel anything? Is there an issue at stake?

Bill - "no war in history can be adjudicated if your gonna put in your face horror every night"
Phil - "Are you saying we shouldn't show the pain?"
Let's recapture Donahue's thoughts, he wants to show the pain of war so that we might feel it. Maybe we will have a greater appreciation for the sacrifice men and women have made, that would be a good thing. Maybe some would reconsider their stand on this war, or war in general. Dare I think that some people will vest their emotions in anti war sentiment upon watching such pain? Really could a documentary, showing visual images of pain, blood, horror, and body parts cause my emotions to override my logic?

Apply this to the pro-choice movement. Abortion is a safe, medical, and even life saving procedure. Why then are we not showing this procedure to the American people? Would they not have a greater appreciation for those performing these life saving actions to the tune of four thousand a day? Where are the many saved women, so that we may congratulate them? Where are their stories of how life saving and changing this procedure was in their lives? Where are the recommendations, and shouts of "I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Oh that's right, it's a privacy issue.

This privacy claim only goes so far, I mean have you seen the commercials out there? Sexual difficulty, contraception, and even sexual pleasure or lack there of, none of it is private. All of a sudden sperm meets egg and we have capital "P" private. Where's the reasoning in that? Who gets pregnant alone? We have sanitized abortion with words that have no visual meaning, and that's what keeps it private! After all, how does one reason little hands with fingers ripped off of arms to be a piece of tissue, how does one reconcile the severed head of an unborn child to a mere product of conception, how does one say, "I saved the life of the mother by suctioning out the cranial contents of the fetus 6 inches before delivery?" How do we justify NOT seeing this? If what the pro-choice movement said about abortion is true, they would welcome such footage to be aired on televisions across the living rooms of America. It would serve as a confirmation.

It seems that many issues are decided by feelings, and some issues require feelings to be buried deep under the surface. The fact that there is so much opposition to showing abortions, requiring ultrasounds, even so much as listening to heart beats, would cause the logical thinker to wonder and ask, just what goes on during an abortion? Exactly how big is this tissue being removed? Just how life saving is this abortion procedure that can deliver all but a remaining 4 to 6 inches?

Bill "people should watch it if they want to."

http://www.massmediamail.com/durarealidad/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoKiUOFh7FE