RICHMOND, Va. -- Abortion-rights advocates have been unable to halt the "Choose Life" license plate variations in nearly two-dozen states, so now they're working to balance the bumper debate. Activists are pushing a "Trust Women/Respect Choice" license plate in Virginia, which would become only the fourth state to offer a pro-choice plate and the first to require legislative approval for it. Supporters have threatened to sue if lawmakers don't give drivers the option. "We really don't feel like a license plate is the place to be promoting a political agenda," said Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. "However, the pro-choice community feels like they're being taken on by the anti-choice side with this license plate, and we feel like we need to get involved.".... Opponents, including the state's attorney general and governor, say they oppose diverting money from plate fees to Planned Parenthood offices - not necessarily the plates themselves.
I've been wondering for some time when those on the Left would find the wherewithal to fight back against the Far Right by using some of the same tactics. After all, if it's good enough for the Far Right to use certain tactics, then it should stand to reason that the same logic could be employed by the Left. For some reason, this hasn't happened...as if we're required to do things differently. Think about it, though...why NOT fight the Right by turning their own tactics against them? Why not expose their hypocrisy and cynicism for what it truly is? Why not expose them for being the intolerant, inflexible zealots they are? Why not, indeed?
Anti-choice groups have pushed to have their message encoded on automobile license plates for years now. "Choose Life" plates are available in 23 state. More than 520,000 of these plates have been sold since 2000, raising more than $11 million for "crisis pregnancy centers". So, the question then becomes whether it's acceptable for one point of view but not another. If the anti-choice lobby is allowed to push their agenda on license plates nationwide, why shouldn't pro-choice folks have the same option? It's not as if the anti-choice crowd has been anointed by God, and is therefore considered to be morally superior to those of us on the other side of the ideological fence. Why not fight them on their own turf? If nothing else, it ought to be fun listening to the whine about how we shouldn't be allowed the same things we are.
If sales from "Choose Life" plates can be directed to "crisis pregnancy centers", why shouldn't those who are pro-choice be able to do the same for Planned Parenthood? It's not as if abortion services are the only services Planned Parenthood provides. Or is it just that the anti-choice folks really hate women so much that they'd deny them basic reproductive care and counseling to make their point? And their point would be...that women are the property of men?
If government is going to sanction publicly advocating a specific point of view, shouldn't those who hold the opposing viewpoint enjoy the same rights and access? Or is the separation of Church and State really just a farce and a smokescreen?
