Stop using babies
The time has come to draw a line and stop playing politics with the life of a baby.
Rachel Borg is an independent columnist based in the tourism industry y now we are very aware and used to the games played by Joseph Muscat in distracting the public and attacking the opposition parties. This unrelenting agenda of political strategy and deceit should be met with an uncompromising united exposure of maleficence.
Here the victim is life and the life of an innocent child. Joseph Muscat is playing games of shadows, now stating he is not in favour of abortion and then preparing the way for it. When he is not instrumental in dangling it in front of a gullible audience, he uses others to do it for him and hides behind skirts.
The military style organisation that the labour party has built, with the emperor at the top is as 1970’s and 1980’s as it comes. This government has succeeded in taking the island back to those dark days which Muscat himself claimed to have rid his party of. One of the great claims that the Labour Party make is that they are the ones to have introduced all the civil liberties from divorce to gay rights and now, as they consider whether it is in their best interest or not, abortion is kept on the burner.
Abortion should not ever be used as an electoral score. Especially not in the insincere way the topic is being manipulated for popular consumption.
We all know how recent serious cases of pornography on babies were treated by our courts. The suspended sentences took no consideration of protecting babies and children and just sent the message that the innocent children have no value or rights. This goes for women too. The release on bail of the man who is accused of having kidnapped and raped his wife again shows no consideration for the woman who suffered so much in that ordeal and is being made to look like she is responsible for what happened to her.
It has always been this way with Labour. A glorification of the male supremacy. It is no wonder that they could not tolerate a journalist who was a woman and better than any man and who showed them up for what they really were. Even now they want to discard any reference to her and assert their dominance in the most ludicrous ways, playing cat and mouse games with her memorial and obliterating any honours she has received.
In the meantime they continue to feed themselves and play with their cars and their toys as they plan one high rise after another and exploit the minds of those who seek only to be led by an image and take strength from the popularity of the leader.
As plans are made for transition to the next step for Joseph Muscat, the need to keep the abortion topic alive in people’s mind is like an umbilical cord to bind the supporters to him or a card he can play when he needs it to take the heat of some uncomfortable situation he may find himself or one of his cronies in. The opposition too are forced to become entrenched in the argument at a time when their unity is anything but assured and one holds their breath on whether their opinion will hold steady.
The Church and those who are against abortion are branded as outcasts and left to defend the life of the unborn child, without a chance. It brings to mind the martyrs of Rome in the Colosseum, sent to the lions for the entertainment of the emperor and the crowd.
The level of politics is pathetic. Principles are completely lost. Bullying is encouraged.
As a country we are well aware now that those subjects which were once hidden and cause for pain such as becoming pregnant outside marriage are today seen as deserving of help and support. The truth is acceptable. We do not need to have abortion to prove that we have come to terms with accepting unmarried mothers. There are many ways in which we can create a safe and secure environment for women who face difficulty, whether social or financial. Likewise, more mature women should be able to base their choice on the realisation that a life is at stake and not just a life-style.
We know and understand that we live in a secular society but we hope that that society is one that still believes in protecting life, not just of the baby but also of women. How sure are we that the whole abortion idea is not in the man’s best interest? Increasingly this government is taking women into a more submissive place, whether it is by the crass treatment and bullying in Parliament and in the media, of female opposition members or by the agenda it follows where we have seen the gender and pay gap grow and much double-standard when dealing with women.
If Labour want to legislate in favour of allowing abortion they should have the honesty to say so categorically and stop the double-faced games. We, the public, are not children or fools. All the while we cannot even ask a question in Parliament about Keith Schembri’s business interests. The speaker does not allow it. Who is hiding things now? Divorce is in the open, perverse behaviour is condoned and yet we cannot speak his name or question his validity. All of this is evidence that nothing has changed in Malta. We are as narrow minded and insecure as ever.
Anyone who really embraces open society and freedom, will want to accept freedom of the press, the right to life, and individual rights. Those rights are not to come at the cost of hurting others. This is a government that used the perception of being positive as a flag. The intention behind all this legislation is nothing but negative. It is the reverse of progress. It is a cowardly grab of power at the cost of the good of society.
Make your intentions clear or put an end to this drab and stifling atmosphere of threat held over the people. This is not a popularity contest. An X factor or Eurovision show looking to find new talent. Labour won the election with a strong majority. We know that but that does not mean that we accept everything they do. In Italy, the same has happened where two parties gained significantly but still it does not mean that the voters accept all of the manifest of those two parties. They simply like to give them a chance and are sympathetic to some of their policies, whilst hoping that their own interests will be defended and improved.
Sad to say, so very little of what this government was elected for, has been realised. All the shouts of meritocracy, democracy, transparency, accountability and good governance have been dumped into the trash. Instead we are fed a daily diet of show-boating, sleaze and corruption. We are reminded on a daily basis too, that this is the government in power and absolute power is keeping them there, thereby giving the majority what they want. No one is allowed to argue with that.
The truth is though, that the real purpose of that absolute power is meant not only to give the majority what they want, whether or not they are entitled to it, but to ensure reelection for many decades to come.
As Jesus said to Judas in the garden of Gethsemane – do what you must. He did. And then proceeded to hang himself.