willwash
Member
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2007
- Messages
- 1,616
https://www.facebook.com/#!/permalink.php?story_fbid=10101229435767688&id=2714077
For the TLWNR types, Planned Parenthood sent me a letter asking for money, and I told them no.
Ms. Meacham,
Your letter to my residence requesting a financial contribution from me to your organization is received. Thank you for contacting me—your letter was a welcome, albeit unexpected diversion from my day’s usual bustle. While I will not be offering a donation to Planned Parenthood today, I would like to take this opportunity to explain myself and my reasoning. I assure you that this decision was not made out of an attempt to draw ridicule or scorn upon you or your organization, but rather is a reflection of a genuine desire for us to come to understand each other better.
You mention some very laudable projects in your letter. Some of the services you provide, being as they are free or reduced in charge to those with limited means to pay, are indeed noble and morally pure endeavors. As the child of a cancer survivor, I know all too well the importance of early intervention and detection of all forms of this disease, and I furthermore find it tragic that anyone should have to suffer from any disease, sexually transmitted or otherwise, which it is in the power of others to prevent or to treat—so your tireless efforts in these arenas will find in me nothing other than the highest praise. I also agree with you that the use of contraception, while an intensely private decision, is something that should be available without restriction to any adult desiring it. In short, then, the overwhelming bulk of your letter details a selfless provision of medical services without hesitation to those in need which I hold in the highest esteem and certainly worthy of my support.
Given the genuine esteem I hold for so much of what you do, you may wonder why, then, am I not making a donation; I should be remiss, however, if prior to contributing I did not take into account the wholesomeness of *all* of the services you provide, without hesitation, to your clients. You allude in your letter to the considerable opposition you face amongst certain elements of the public. Surely, such resentment cannot be motivated by opposition to such services as cancer screenings and STD treatments for the indigent; no, and again no. And yet, by my estimation, some 95% of your letter discusses only the aforementioned services—so why the controversy? As you surely know, there is a particular word, referring to a quite different kind of service, that appears only once in your letter, which I believe holds the answer. But before I delve into what is sure to be the most sensitive topic we will broach in our correspondence, please allow me to share some of my personal background, for I do find it relevant.
When I was but 20 years old, I made a series of what some may call rash decisions. I worked part time in a restaurant for $2.13 an hour plus tips, much of which was in the fashion typical of a college student squandered on poker and alcohol. While employed at this restaurant, I met and hit it off with a girl who also made $2.13 plus tips. She was barely 17, and just over a year later we rushed into marriage on something of a whim and promptly became pregnant, our combined age 40, our combined education “some college” and our combined income well beneath the poverty line. It is fair to say that we were essentially “ground zero” of your clientele base: young, poor and pregnant. As you can hopefully imagine, I am thoroughly familiar with the appalling stresses faced by young, unprepared couples suddenly presented with an unplanned pregnancy because I’ve been there. I’ve seen what I thought to be my hopes, my dreams and my bright future dashed by that pink plus sign. I’ve felt the shame of having to tell my parents that their beloved son had gotten himself into quite a bind. I’ve experienced the same shock, the same despair, and the same terrible temptation to just make it go away that motivates so many of your clients.
It was not easy. And while we did have help—indeed, I am indebted to certain family members with an irredeemable balance—this series of events imposed radical changes on our planned paths through life. I rode the bus. We relied on hand me downs for everything we could not find at the local Goodwill. There were even days when I went hungry, our cupboards practically empty. Instead of pursuing law school as I intended, I joined the military, where I eventually made two harsh deployments—missing a total of nine family birthdays, two anniversaries and the birth of a child. My wife took 7 years instead of 4 to earn her degree, struggling as she did to accommodate the needs of a moving military family. We developed a frugality which persists to this day and which some who know us seem to think pathological. In short, Ms. Meacham, with a love and commitment to each other and to the family we had started, we accepted responsibility for our actions and we grew up, as it became our lot in life to do, a little younger than most. Today we are a happy, comfortable family of five, own our own home, have steady jobs, and look forward to a future that gets a little brighter every day.
I am by no means a special snowflake. Neither is my wife. Yes, we had some help—but the fundamental change in attitude and outlook that came about as a result of that unexpected surprise in 2005 was ours to make—we did what we had to do, and more importantly we did it in a way that left our honor intact. And if, for whatever reason, our circumstances had been such that there was no way we could ever have provided a stable home for our child, we would have made sure to find a loving and better-prepared family to accept that responsibility.
You see, I am motivated by a strict comprehension of the self-evident truth that, once created, all people are endowed with the inalienable right to life. That the right to life is inalienable means that it is not subservient to any right to privacy, convenience, or economic expediency. That it is self-evident means that I do not have to justify myself any further in its defense. It just *is*. The only real question becomes, then, when that creation occurs; when a human being becomes a human being, so endowed. Out of caution and respect for the sanctity of human life I choose to draw that line at conception, meaning that any action which ends the life of a human being from the moment of conception on is in fact an act of homicide.
If, confronted with this argument, you persist in drawing this line elsewhere, you will find no judgment from me; I do not believe it my place to judge the beliefs of others. I only hope you realize that you show a tremendous, almost enviable capacity for doubling down against the house of whatever God you believe in—for you are logically committed to gambling absolutely everything that either you are right and I am wrong or that, if the reverse be true, there is no ultimate accountability for our choices in life. I truly hope for your own sake that you are sure about this.
So there it is; as much as I like as many of the things Planned Parenthood does for our community, I cannot bring myself to the point of financial support for an organization which performs and supports the performance of an act I find incompatible with inalienable human rights. I do pledge to you, however, a generous contribution at any such time as you choose to disavow and discontinue forever the practice of abortion in your clinics.
I do hope you do not find that I have explained myself to you in a way that imparts on me the appearance of extremism, disrespect or closed-mindedness. I do not realistically expect that you will change your mind about the practice of abortion, but I felt compelled to answer your letter to me with a thoughtful response. Your further correspondence is invited if you so desire.
Sincerely,
Andrew Washburn
For the TLWNR types, Planned Parenthood sent me a letter asking for money, and I told them no.
Ms. Meacham,
Your letter to my residence requesting a financial contribution from me to your organization is received. Thank you for contacting me—your letter was a welcome, albeit unexpected diversion from my day’s usual bustle. While I will not be offering a donation to Planned Parenthood today, I would like to take this opportunity to explain myself and my reasoning. I assure you that this decision was not made out of an attempt to draw ridicule or scorn upon you or your organization, but rather is a reflection of a genuine desire for us to come to understand each other better.
You mention some very laudable projects in your letter. Some of the services you provide, being as they are free or reduced in charge to those with limited means to pay, are indeed noble and morally pure endeavors. As the child of a cancer survivor, I know all too well the importance of early intervention and detection of all forms of this disease, and I furthermore find it tragic that anyone should have to suffer from any disease, sexually transmitted or otherwise, which it is in the power of others to prevent or to treat—so your tireless efforts in these arenas will find in me nothing other than the highest praise. I also agree with you that the use of contraception, while an intensely private decision, is something that should be available without restriction to any adult desiring it. In short, then, the overwhelming bulk of your letter details a selfless provision of medical services without hesitation to those in need which I hold in the highest esteem and certainly worthy of my support.
Given the genuine esteem I hold for so much of what you do, you may wonder why, then, am I not making a donation; I should be remiss, however, if prior to contributing I did not take into account the wholesomeness of *all* of the services you provide, without hesitation, to your clients. You allude in your letter to the considerable opposition you face amongst certain elements of the public. Surely, such resentment cannot be motivated by opposition to such services as cancer screenings and STD treatments for the indigent; no, and again no. And yet, by my estimation, some 95% of your letter discusses only the aforementioned services—so why the controversy? As you surely know, there is a particular word, referring to a quite different kind of service, that appears only once in your letter, which I believe holds the answer. But before I delve into what is sure to be the most sensitive topic we will broach in our correspondence, please allow me to share some of my personal background, for I do find it relevant.
When I was but 20 years old, I made a series of what some may call rash decisions. I worked part time in a restaurant for $2.13 an hour plus tips, much of which was in the fashion typical of a college student squandered on poker and alcohol. While employed at this restaurant, I met and hit it off with a girl who also made $2.13 plus tips. She was barely 17, and just over a year later we rushed into marriage on something of a whim and promptly became pregnant, our combined age 40, our combined education “some college” and our combined income well beneath the poverty line. It is fair to say that we were essentially “ground zero” of your clientele base: young, poor and pregnant. As you can hopefully imagine, I am thoroughly familiar with the appalling stresses faced by young, unprepared couples suddenly presented with an unplanned pregnancy because I’ve been there. I’ve seen what I thought to be my hopes, my dreams and my bright future dashed by that pink plus sign. I’ve felt the shame of having to tell my parents that their beloved son had gotten himself into quite a bind. I’ve experienced the same shock, the same despair, and the same terrible temptation to just make it go away that motivates so many of your clients.
It was not easy. And while we did have help—indeed, I am indebted to certain family members with an irredeemable balance—this series of events imposed radical changes on our planned paths through life. I rode the bus. We relied on hand me downs for everything we could not find at the local Goodwill. There were even days when I went hungry, our cupboards practically empty. Instead of pursuing law school as I intended, I joined the military, where I eventually made two harsh deployments—missing a total of nine family birthdays, two anniversaries and the birth of a child. My wife took 7 years instead of 4 to earn her degree, struggling as she did to accommodate the needs of a moving military family. We developed a frugality which persists to this day and which some who know us seem to think pathological. In short, Ms. Meacham, with a love and commitment to each other and to the family we had started, we accepted responsibility for our actions and we grew up, as it became our lot in life to do, a little younger than most. Today we are a happy, comfortable family of five, own our own home, have steady jobs, and look forward to a future that gets a little brighter every day.
I am by no means a special snowflake. Neither is my wife. Yes, we had some help—but the fundamental change in attitude and outlook that came about as a result of that unexpected surprise in 2005 was ours to make—we did what we had to do, and more importantly we did it in a way that left our honor intact. And if, for whatever reason, our circumstances had been such that there was no way we could ever have provided a stable home for our child, we would have made sure to find a loving and better-prepared family to accept that responsibility.
You see, I am motivated by a strict comprehension of the self-evident truth that, once created, all people are endowed with the inalienable right to life. That the right to life is inalienable means that it is not subservient to any right to privacy, convenience, or economic expediency. That it is self-evident means that I do not have to justify myself any further in its defense. It just *is*. The only real question becomes, then, when that creation occurs; when a human being becomes a human being, so endowed. Out of caution and respect for the sanctity of human life I choose to draw that line at conception, meaning that any action which ends the life of a human being from the moment of conception on is in fact an act of homicide.
If, confronted with this argument, you persist in drawing this line elsewhere, you will find no judgment from me; I do not believe it my place to judge the beliefs of others. I only hope you realize that you show a tremendous, almost enviable capacity for doubling down against the house of whatever God you believe in—for you are logically committed to gambling absolutely everything that either you are right and I am wrong or that, if the reverse be true, there is no ultimate accountability for our choices in life. I truly hope for your own sake that you are sure about this.
So there it is; as much as I like as many of the things Planned Parenthood does for our community, I cannot bring myself to the point of financial support for an organization which performs and supports the performance of an act I find incompatible with inalienable human rights. I do pledge to you, however, a generous contribution at any such time as you choose to disavow and discontinue forever the practice of abortion in your clinics.
I do hope you do not find that I have explained myself to you in a way that imparts on me the appearance of extremism, disrespect or closed-mindedness. I do not realistically expect that you will change your mind about the practice of abortion, but I felt compelled to answer your letter to me with a thoughtful response. Your further correspondence is invited if you so desire.
Sincerely,
Andrew Washburn
