I am the Devil Incarnate

Oh, not really. But if I look into the mirror the so-called Moral Majority uses to reflect people like me, it's hard not to wonder if I'm not really one of Satan's Spawn.

I believe in a woman's right to choose what happens to her body, which according to the shadowy majority makes me a baby-killer. Yet I am not an advocate of abortion, though I accept that a woman may choose this avenue to prevent giving birth to a child that may not be loved or receive adequate care. Concurrent with this, I support zero population growth. Until we have a better plan for reducing poverty and domestic violence in this or any other country, I don't see much point in adding to the burdens of the world. However, I will defend to my last breath your right to believe otherwise so long as you don't remove my legal rights to make my own choices.

I believe women and men are essentially equal. I do not accept that by virtue of their respective parts, either sex has the right to dominate the other. This makes me a -- big gasp here -- feminist. It does not make me the man-hating commie-pinko-lesbian many detractors of feminism would try to paint me out to be. It simply means I want to get paid the same as a guy if I'm doing the same work. It means I want my opinions to matter as much as the guy next to me. I want the guy next to me to be a guy, and I'll be a girl, and the world will keep going around because we work together. I am not stupid, and neither is he.

I believe in God, though I don't go to church every Sunday. In fact, I don't go to church any Sunday, which to some means I am a godless heathen who courts the devil by the pale moonlight. But I find God in my daily life, and if it's a struggle to achieve faith and try to live it in every moment, I accept the struggle for myself. My faith is one primarily of personal responsibility: God help me to help myself. I try to accept the consequences of my actions and so try to make good choices -- and if I fail to, I do my best to alleviate the damage of my faults. But I don't expect you to choose the same path as I have. I respect you so much, I believe you can think for yourself without needing or wanting you to conform to my beliefs. But I will also defend to the death my right to live as I see fit as long as I bring no harm to others.

I believe we should each understand that though we don't always agree, we should not and don't need to bludgeon other people until they are forced to agree with us. It seems like many people out there believe the only way to feel good about themselves is to make sure everyone toes the same line, regardless of the consequences. That's not democracy; that's despotism. That way lies madness.

And finally, I believe we still have the potential to be among the best civilizations to have shone for a brief time on Earth. Americans want to be generous people. Our basic instincts are good, and helpful, and mostly kind. But if we don't learn to find a common ground, if we allow talking heads and pundits and lobbyists and poll-takers and lawmakers and politicians to hammer in relentlessly the stakes of separatism, it's my belief that we are doomed, not just as a country but as members of the human race.

I want to hope again for my country. For the world. I pray I'm not in the minority on that.