Take Me To Post Comment Form I have prided my self as being an out of the box thinker, and I am always looking for out of the box ideas to find solutions. I like to think I take a pragmatic view to coming up with answers as opposed to a group-think ideology.

pragmatism |ˈpragməˌtizəm|
noun
1 a pragmatic attitude or policy: ideology was tempered with pragmatism.
2 Philosophy an approach that assesses the truth of meaning of theories or beliefs in terms of the success of their practical application.

So today I am reading about Arizona lawmaker Rep. Terri Proud's idea for women who are in a position that they require an abortion. Her suggestion is to have a law that the woman must watch an abortion being performed prior to having the procedure.

She is quoted as saying:
“Personally I’d like to make a law that mandates a woman watch an abortion being performed prior to having a “surgical procedure”. If it’s not a life it shouldn’t matter, if it doesn’t harm a woman then she shouldn’t care, and don’t we want more transparency and education in the medical profession anyway? We demand it everywhere else.
Until the dead child can tell me that she/he does not feel any pain – I have no intentions of clearing the conscience of the living – I will be voting YES.”

Now, by no means am I condoning Ms Proud's suggestion that a woman be submitted to such draconian practices that hinge on torture to the woman who is already dealing with the angst that comes with her decision in the first place. Ms Proud has a history of wanting to pass laws that force others to conform to her beliefs in religion and contraception. Obviously the good people of Arizona have an issue with personal liberties, but I digress.

What I am thinking about is taking the premise of her idea, and applying it in areas that do not infringe on people's liberties, such as, before we go to war, the American people must first see our young soldiers being blown up by an IED, or shot in the head while in combat. Let's really let the flag waving, chest thumpers who show their patriotism by sending other American's children to war by first witnessing the carnage that comes with war. It could be a public service address on network and cable TV, as well as the internet prior to congress, or the President making the decision to take our young citizens and subjecting them to the horrors of war for their profits. In order for Americans to make an honest decision they must see the young men and women of our Armed Forces having their legs and arms blown off, eyes shot out, wounded soldiers being carried off of the battle field, screaming in pain as they are taken into the ER.

The last administration that took our young citizens into two unfunded and unprovoked wars would not allow the American people to see the flag draped caskets of our brave soldier's bodies coming home for fear that it would sour the American people on the wars. This must be seen as well as witnessing the suffering that those who do come home go through during their rehabilitation. Little things like watching burned flesh being scrapped off while the soldier is screaming in pain, or seeing a young soldier being fitted for a new artificial leg or arm. The film can conclude with seeing homeless and unemployed veterans struggling to deal with the mental issues that come with post dramatic stress syndrome. How their families are left to deal with their loved one's suffering or loss.

I didn't even cover the death and maiming that occurs to the children of the people that the politicians want to kill and subdue in order to gain their resources.

Another practical way to use Ms Proud's suggestion would be at the grocery store. All along the meat counter would be a constant video playing of how those neatly packaged pork chops, T-Bones, and chicken breasts are processed. Corporate America has done a great job at providing a sanitized view of our food and where it comes from.

Taking this concept of knowing what you are about to purchase to a realist view of where your meat comes from. In the chicken section the video would show the live chickens suspended by their feet on an overhead conveyor, as a worker cuts its head off and allows the carcass to drain of blood prior to dipping in boiling water to aid in the removal of the feathers,

Over in the beef section the video would show the animal being slugged in the head with a mallet, or alternatively shot in the head with a nail gun stunning the animal before it is strung up by its hind legs and it is sliced open allowing its guts to fall to the floor.

It all sounds so graphic and discussing doesn't it? And what would the children think if they were subjected to seeing where their food comes from, and how it is processed, or knowing that they to will someday be walking along in a foreign land with the possibility that they are about to be blown apart at any given moment.

Like I said at the beginning, we need to look at all suggestions being made, and apply them where they will give us the best return. After all, Rogain was derived from heart medication, as well as the little blue pill. Original ideas that were altered and produce new and different solutions. We can take Ms Proud's mean spirited notion of getting Arizonians to comply with her beliefs, and apply them where we can actually be honest with the decisions we make concerning the treatment of actual living creatures.

One of my favorite sayings comes from former Yippie leader, Abbie Hoffman, who said, "If people were forced to eat what they killed, there would be no more wars."

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/03/21/448772/arizona-lawmaker-women-should-watch-an-abortion-being-performed-prior-to-having-it/