Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and even beyond, we Americans have lived with two major threats to our country. One threat was nuclear war. The other was Roe v. Wade being overturned, with the potential for America culturally exploding and being ripped apart.
It is undeniable that in our American collective subconscious lurked both "Duck and Cover" sung by Bert the Turtle in a 1951 Nuclear Civil Defense film and "Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned" as adapted from William Congreve's "The Mourning Bride," a play first performed in 1697.
Nuclear Armageddon, thank God, has never come to pass. But ... Roe now has.
Yet the political front remains surprisingly quiet. There is good reason for this that goes far beyond reproductive rights.
Start with our social contract. We the people own this country. Through our divine rights imbued in our Constitution and our taxes, we hold an actual collective deed.
Our government didn't build America. We the people did. Be naturally born or legally immigrate here and you merit a share of our deed.
As a result of this great compact, most of us know that we remain protected by our enlightened Constitution and our deeply American individual liberty protecting traditions.
This compact contains a well-protected civility and the continual preservation of what is good in the inherent character of our people.
Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville has been (erroneously) credited since the 1830s for labeling American society exceptional and saying, "America is great because America is good; and if America ever ceases to be good, she will no longer be great." Americans overall are mostly happy, warm-hearted, kind, down-to-earth, hard-working, good people.
Even as our problems are rising and our country devolves in this present moment, anything remains possible.
The problems are undeniable.
Rising crime has turned inner cities into war zones.
Open borders bring the evils of human trafficking, sex trafficking, drugs and throngs of new criminals with zero interest in assimilation.
Foreign countries in alliance with us are falling, leading to increased despotism and deaths.
All of these undeniable problems are solvable. A wave of new American leadership will rotate in and fight to solve them.
Americans are good people, and good people value life. It is who, the vast majority of us, still are.
As for women who are individually pro-choice or pro-life, we Americans will take care of them both. We good people care about life, both mother and child.
As Frederick Douglass wonderfully said, "The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous." Most Americans are all of these noble qualities.
Abortion and life are sensitive and essentially should be beyond politics. That is why it remains chapter 13½ in my last book. There is a reason our Constitution's "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," places this sacred word life first. America is a reluctant world leader by chance of the fates of history. We are not Europe, China or the Middle East. We are America. How we treat our citizens from the cradle to the grave or even further back from the womb to the tomb matters.
Although life itself is not the core focus of this column, there remain many notable facts to always keep in mind. Context matters.
Per the Guttmacher Institute, only 37% of the world's 1.64 billion women of reproductive age live in countries where unrestricted abortion is permitted. In our country, Guttmacher's latest 2020 figures estimate 930,160 American abortions. The CDC states only 629,898. Notably. this is down from 1.5 million in 1991, yet the abortion pill is harder to track now.
Meanwhile, and positively, the USA has 2 million couples waiting to adopt, meaning 36 couples waiting for every child presently placed for adoption. In an Elliot Institute study of 260 post-abortion women, 53% stated losing their temper more easily. 48% became more violent. 56% reported suicidal feelings, with 28% attempting suicide one or more times, with 37% describing themselves as more self-destructive. This is a far cry from a morally relativistic net-zero or simply political equation.
Our civil society should always be in conflict over life. It's hard to lose a potential child on the body of a mother. There are long-term, path-altering life consequences for those who go through both abortion and unplanned parenthood.
America remains radically free. The Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade was merely a strong move toward greater federalism — yet like it or not, abortion shall always remain widely available. Americans know this balanced truth.
Some women must now travel to make an individual choice, but they are still surrounded by great freedom in making that choice. This is why America did not burn in a Night of Rage.
This is also why there is no blue wave coming. The 1994 anti-Clinton and 2014 anti-Obama red waves were real. So was the 2006 anti-Bush blue wave. In the fall of 2022, an anti-Biden red wave is shaping up. Despite the Roe v. Wade ruling, there is no blue wave shaping up. Most Americans remain inherently good and civil, regardless of overhyped gender and cultural issues.
Host of ''Unapologetic with Judd Dunning'' on KABC AM790 and on YouTube and Co-Host of "BulletPointNation" with Fox's Michael Loftus, Judd Dunning is a political author, host, pundit and producer. Judd is also both a Newsmax Regular Guest Commentator, and just authored his new Humanix/Newsmax Book "13½ Reasons Why NOT To Be A Liberal: And How to Enlighten Others." — More Here.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.