I wrote this exactly one year ago today...

[Stump]

And I Hope it can be an inspiration once again. I Hope it shows that people can wake up and Change. I Hope my conversion story can help a lurker here at DU say, "man, I feel the same way...maybe I'll take a stand too." I mainly wanted to repost this to show that my conversion wasn't temporary...I'm still fighting for Change, and I'm gonna march on for the next 43 days and do all I can in my community to Change some hearts and minds...if nothing else, teach someone to think for themselves.

I can only think of two things that have Changed. 1)I do not consider myself a Christian, I consider myself Agnostic. 2)I am firmly pro-choice. Here's my post from September 22, 2007.


I just wanted to write a short version of how I came to join the DU. I've grew up under two republican parents who are truly loving people and did a wonderful job raising me after an unwanted teen pregnancy.

I was raised to believe republicans represented all that was morally right and stood for the working man. I also remember them going to Jimmy Swaggert crusades if this sheds some light on their views. When I was 10, my father got a job that moved us just outside of D.C. and we stopped going to church after my parents realized how legalistic their fundamental church was.

During my teens I really partied all the time and wasn't too political.
I joined the Army at 17 and ended up moving to Lynchburg (Jerry Falwell's City) and worked for local government. I became a Christian a few years ago and joined a Baptist church where politics once again came to the forefront.

I was told about how abortion is wrong but never heard much about the war or other social issues, other than helping the poor. I began to really try to put myself in others shoes and started to realize how hypocritical many of my beliefs were. I began to realize how the church seemed to focus on scripture that fit their political views while many of the tenants of Jesus seemed to be ignored. The turning point for me was realizing how wrong this war is.

I will not lie, I voted for Bush both times believing the republicans were the Official Christian Party. After seeing how many have been killed in this war, and how the poor & disadvantaged have been largely ignored by the right...I began to question just how my Christian principals shaped my political views. I am still a Christ-follower and I know many here at DU seem to have disdain for Christians. After seeing how many Christians live their lives, I can see why.


I know I'm kinda rambling so I'll try to get to the point. I will no longer let someone tell me what I should believe and how I should interpret my religious beliefs. I feel progressives are doing more to protect our rights and more especially the rights of the poor & those who don't have all the luxuries of life such as myself. I now see that many progressive principals are more in line with what Jesus actually taught. He did not hang out with the high society and Enron executives, Jesus spent his time with sinners & the poor.

I still can't call myself completely pro-choice yet, (I hope this doesn't get me kicked out, it is such a difficult issue for me though) but I now see that my personal beliefs are much more in line with the left. I spoke with a long time republican friend this week who said "if not for abortion & gun control, I would be a democrat."

Well, as I said before, I'm not sure where I stand on abortion yet...I'm studying both points of view. But I know this: I will not support a party who ignores the bloodshed in Iraq and the problems in this country while rallying the "religious right" by being pro-life and against gay marriage. Spending time yesterday condemning moveon.org while people are dying here and abroad makes me sick.

I'm tired of it, I'm a DUer!!!

[Warpy]

1. That's what happens when you start to THINK

You become a Democrat.

You also start to read, and that includes the bible, our culture's mythic basis. You begin to see how far from Christianity the GOP and their tame churches have strayed.

We all got raised with various degrees of the same BS. We all got tired of it at different times.

And we all found DU.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

2. No, we "all" didn't

I was raised by parents and grandparents who taught me early on that unions were good - my parents both belonged - that FDR was a god, and that the Democrats were the party that would take the best care of the people.

It must be gratifying, though, to find your way, eventually. Sort of like a homecoming to a place you never even knew you missed.

[grannie4peace]

3. i hadn't noticed a disdain for christian on du-

but i miss many things . i like your post -i worked at lu for awhile. - have you heard what obama says about abortion-- to concentrate on stopping the pregnancies before they happen. for over 40 years that is what i've believed . we could almost stop them by educating young people better. i'm a firm believer that if you tell a person the truth and let the make their own decisions they will choose wisely. i think moveon.org is great!!!! who was condemning them?

[Stump]

4. This was during the time...

the republicans were condeming moveon.org for the General Petraus ad...remember that?

[grannie4peace]

5. oh, no, but like i said, i miss a lot of stuff-

:):):) are you still in the 'burg? :)

[Stump]

8. Yeah

Still hanging tight in fundy-land.

[grannie4peace]

10. cool i have a friend :):):)

[madmax]

6. Welcome to the party!

:bounce:

I'm still wrestling with the religious question and I'm 59. :shrug:

[nradisic]

7. Kudos for using your God given brain...

If only everyone else would think little....Good for you man. Being Christian does not mean that you vote Republican...not in the least.

[BonnieJW]

9. Abortion

We are for free choice. What if you were forced to have an abortion? That's what happens to women in China every day if they already have one child. Women should be free to choose to have a baby or not.

[Stump]

11. I agree...

It took a lot of soul-searching but now it's so clear it's not even an issue for me anymore.

[EC]

12. I still have a problem with those on the right saying we are for

abortion, when we are not for abortion. We are for the right of our privacy the same as men's...Roe v. Wade was decided on rights to privacy...as an example a few years back Rep. Westmoreland (Georgia)asked hospitals and doctors for the records of women that had miscarriages, so that his staff - his staff, not doctors, could go through them to make sure they were really miscarriages and not late term abortions...this is what Roe v. Wade was determined on, our rights to privacy...no one has the right to go through our medical records but our care takers, period...This is what it's about...not abortion at all, but our medical history...


So yeah, we are not going to just let it go, our records are just as private as men's records are.

There are many other reasons, being: Make abortion punitive and there will be another Black Market for criminals to partake in, there will be no records of abortions being preformed, no follow-up medical care, more deaths...and let's face it even the Catholic Church absolves a woman that has had an abortion. There are better ways of eliminating abortions, better education, birth-control, jobs, child care etc. During Clinton's years abortions were lower than they are now, so who's way really works? Sarah Palin's own daughter being pregnant shows that abstinence only doesn't work...it's unrealistic to believe hormonal kids aren't going to give in to instinct, so it's best to protect them with education and a loving family. Especially the double standard is going to have to be exposed...father's that brag about their son's prowess should take stock at what they are saying...that their sons are having sex with girls is not a sign of the manly man, but the sign of an asshole who takes advantage of girls....

[Stump]

13. Great post...

It took me some time to realize all of these points.

[EC]

14. Well, tell your friend that said if not for this reason

he'd be a Dem....also we don't want your guns...we just want to make city's safer...