A parting thought
The strong nuclear force is the force that binds the nucleus of an atom together. The protons and neutrons, the quarks, and more are held there by that force.
For forty years, Roe v. Wade has been the strong nuclear force of the conservative movement. It has held disparate people of different walks of life together in common cause. Some have done it for the constitutional principle that abortion is not in the constitution and must be a matter for states. Some have done it for deeply religious reasons. Others have just signed on to be part of that cause.
Today at 10:20am ET, the United States Supreme Court snuffed out the strong nuclear force of the conservative movement. That movement will now fracture in many unforeseen and unpredictable ways.
Some small-government conservatives will now favor more expansive government spending for families and mothers. Some will favor and support more robust moral policies at the federal level. Some will be more libertarian than ever before. Where there had been consensus will now be, in some cases, disunity and discord. People who never cared for each other, but cared greatly about the cause, can now be disagreeable. People who’ve wanted to stake out positions to make names for themselves will be more bold. Others will work quietly.
Others will find new unity and new opportunity to work together for a greater and more expansive culture of live. They will agree to disagree and debate and work together for a new unity.
A new strong nuclear force will form and a new element within conservatism will take shape. A new atom with new energy will come to a movement that looks in some ways different from the old. It will take time.
For now, the cause that bound us together is gone and the parts of the movement move into new fights as the real work for a culture of life begins. It will cause disagreement, separation, and unity.
But, in the end, it is absolutely worth it. There was never a point for a Republican Party committed to ending Roe if it would not actually do so. Power for the sake of power must ultimately give way to use of that power even if by use, the power then fades. We have spent forty years persuading voters, building coalitions, changing hearts, changing minds, changing politicians, changing laws, and changing a Court — all for this one case, this one victory, this one day.
Let the power fade. Let the movement now evolve. The right decision has come.
In the end, life always finds a way.
But is this a pyrrhic victory? Has it come at the expense of free markets, limited government, and individual rights that used to be part of the bedrock of the conservative movement. Was so much focus dedicated to Roe that the other issues were sacrificed as distractions?
I celebrate this decision, not only because it corrects a Constitutional wrong, but also because it will affirm the value of life and save so many of them. But it came at a significant cost.
Erick, Thank you. Greg Laurie’s book on Revelation talks about a world when right becomes wrong and wrong becomes right in the end times. That’s pretty much the pro-choice argument. Abortion rights will be the Democrats rallying cry in the mid-term election. As conservatives we have to remain focused and persevere. This battle is far from over. The abortion battle has now turned to war.