The Wounded: Doonesbury and Get Fuzzy have storylines this week concerning wounded family members. BD, football star, coach, and reservist, lost a leg. We saw him first going in and out of consciousness and later learnt he lost half of his leg. Rob Wilco's cousin also lost his leg. While Doonesbury focused on the heat of the moment (and later we will see him dealing with his injury), Rob showed the family side of things. He wondered why his cousin was coming home in the middle of the night -- shouldn't it be a time when people are better able to meet him? (a secretive government sort said sshhh ... some photos of coffins coming home, can be accessed here and directly here ... what happens when one leaks one out, here) Later, he greets his cousin in a loving way (see above) and I just saw Friday's clip has them discussing the Red Sox. The power of the strip's storyline is only added by the fact it usually isn't this serious. The cartoonist wants it to speak for itself -- he's not giving interviews. Powerful stuff.
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March For Women's Lives: Molly Ivins explains the importance of the march in Washington DC this coming Sunday in support of the reproductive freedom. The fact abortion is still legal in this country (and, ads notwithstanding, not by a 5-4 vote ... Casey would be 6-3 today) does not mean we can be complacent. Lost of funding, abstinence only education, "partial birth" abortion (truly a 5-4 matter), parental consent laws, bans on Medicaid abortions (ignoring the moral rights of many who think abortion is the most moral choice in various situations), etc. still harm many of the most at risk women.
And, it's not just a woman's issue. Reproductive rights affect us all, since women are our wives, siblings, mothers, friends, and fellow human beings. If women are forced or pressured to make bad choices, many more than themselves will be harmed. Ultimately, we are talking about the autonomy, the very freedom, of the women themselves. This is deemed in various cases to be "selfish" as if freedom, our very birthright in this nation, is selfish. Notwithstanding this, the wider issue is the basic right of freedom, especially in matters of family life. We cannot let the state define what "family" means no more than we can allow it to limit the basic autonomy of its citizens. [I discuss this in more detail here.] This is what is at stake, what has to be continually underlined, and why the march is quite important. Success!