Engdahl_Journal2

I chose this journal for the same reason I chose my other journals, it was interesting to write. Everyone enjoys writing about his or her opinion because deep down they want to convince people they are right. It is also a good topic to put on this wiki space because our class had such a passionate reaction to the topic of gay marriage.  =“Adam and Steve--Together at Last” = I think this was a fantastic article about an issue I feel strongly about. I don’t see why everyone gets all up in arms about gay marriage. Gay marriage won’t affect all the people who are upset about it. I have two gay uncles that have been together for 35 years, yet there are tons of people who get divorced within a few years of being married. If my uncles could get married it would make many things a lot easier such as health care, taxes and legal issues. The author of the article made an interesting point. It is the church who gets upset about gay marriage, yet supposedly there is a separation between church and state in our government. I will never be convinced that gay marriage is wrong, when I have grown up around a fully functional gay couple. It makes me sad, because I feel like they will never have the full rights your average citizen does.

Another controversial issue that interests me is abortion. I am pro-choice, which in some people’s mind makes me a terrible person. I just don’t see why a mother can’t make the decision to get rid of her baby. Sure she shouldn’t have had sex in the first place, but people make mistakes. If a girl has a baby when she is too young, not only does it ruin her life, but it also ruins the baby’s. I read in the book //Freakonomics// that the crime rate has gone down since Roe v. Wade, and I can believe it. You also hear these terrible stories about illegal abortions, or women who leave babies in dumpsters and alleys. Although I personally would never get an abortion, I think that women should have a right to choose.

Related to abortion in a way, is the topic of stem cell research. I am completely for stem cell research. The cells they use would never grow up to be a person, and there are thousands of wasted cells in the human body. If they could find a cure for previously incurable diseases it would affect thousands of people. Stem cells could be used to cure certain types of cancer. I know more than 100 people that were affected by Jordan Paganelli’s death. That is a 100 people that would have done anything to cure him. I don’t think stem cell research is immoral because it uses cells that wouldn’t ever have a chance to mature, to cure disease.