A road paved with babies

I was going to post something about this, but I figured the only people that care are those that are politically involved in America -- so, about four.

Instead, I will talk about dead babies.

My drives between Grand Forks and the Twin Cities are always filled with greatness: taking my jacket off, letting the wind sneak in through a crack in the back window, singing along to Elton John, stopping for gas at the same Holiday. (Ain't nothin' like pissing in the same urinal every time you stop somewhere. Feels like home.)

But the commute between my homes is always punctuated with moments of utter disgust, because for some reason, ProLife Across America (along with the Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life) seem to have bought out that entire stretch of I-94. So for miles upon miles, I get to read about how precious life is and how babies should be allowed to partake in such activities as riding motorcycles and growing up with drug addictions.

Now, I love a good motorcycle romp and heroin high just as much as the next leather-studded American cowboy, but there are some things seriously wrong with these billboards:

1. They are propaganda. Plain and simple. They use age-old propaganda techniques such as:

Glittering generalities -- using virtue words that mean different things to different people such that they can be interpreted in different ways. 

Eg: What is "happiness"? What are "human rights"? They didn't have room to define these words on their billboards. It's unfortunate that these words take up the entirety of the ad space.

and

Emotional appeals -- appealing to the fear, anger, joy etc. of a person instead of to their logical abilities. Like the use of giant close ups of baby faces for which the MCCL seems to be just smitten.

Other propaganda techniques include:

Transfer -- carrying out the authority, sanction or prestige of something we respect to something else. 

Case in the point: the Bible.

2. Aside from being propaganda, they frustrate me at how incredibly one-sided they are. Let us say we are considering every human life, when in fact, we neglect the life of the mother, the father (or baby daddy, let's be honest), the parents of the parents, etc. 

How will going through with the birth affect the mother? Her family? Doesn't matter. You're having this goddamned baby. And it's going to be fucking precious. 

The MCCL's website claims that since 1973 (Roe v. Wade), "well over a million unborn children have been killed each year from abortion while their mothers are left to suffer in silence."

Would you rather they suffer in public? That's called 16 and Pregnant, and it's not pretty. Seriously, I'm trying to enjoy a night at the cinema here, and teen mom behind me can't keep her kid quiet because she's 14 years-old and has no fucking idea what life even is. 

Further, instilling fear into young women is about the worst method to get them to reconsider pregnancy options. Instead of considering safe alternatives for abortion -- like consulting a real doctor in a real hospital -- they might be too frightened or ashamed of their choice because they have 300 square feet of plywood egging them on like Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, burning holes of shame through their pregnant bodies.

What the MCCL fails to realize -- or just straight up ignores -- is sometimes the circumstances are such that an abortion is warranted, and that the choice to do so is based on a person-to-person basis, and saying that one scenario/option fits all people is ignorant and childish. Remember how you used to put a Band-Aid on every injury you sustained when you were 7? Well, you're a fucking adult now; some incidents require Band-Aids and some require you to remove the human being from inside your stomach because you can't afford a goddamn baby right now.

It's not like the world population needs it right now anyways, and I could go for a few less eyesores on my otherwise exhilarating commute between my two homes.

-eb