Chapter 2: Critical Reading

oo1. Have you ever read something that someone told you was bad for you? Was it? How do you know? How about something that someone said would be good for you?

I guess the main thing that I read growing up that several people were against was the Harry Potter series. I began reading the books at the age of 11, and most of the people that I went to church with told me that if I read those books, it would sway my beliefs and make me a 'sinner'. Well, as all 11 year olds would react, that made me want to read it even more. And I fell in love with the books.

Did it sway my religious beliefs? Of course not! Did it make me a sinner? Not in my opinion. But to this day, most Christians are blatantly against these books just based on the fact that they have witchcraft in them.

I was once visiting a very conservative Christian family. Their 16 year old son's favourite pastime was playing video games. When I asked him what type of video games he preferred he answered very plainly, "shootem' ups", and continued playing his game.

I then broached the subject with the boy's father and made the following statement: 'If your son is playing these video games and killing these men in a game world, how is that any better than someone reading a fantasy book about children going to a school of witchcraft? According to the Bible, killing is a sin. According to the Bible witchcraft is a sin. In both instances, according to your logic, these activities would be sinful. Yet you have no problem allowing your son to play these video games. Explain to me why.'

The man couldn't say anything. He changed the subject, but also never mentioned anything about my reading of the Harry Potter books again.

The only time someone has told me to a read a book that would be 'good for me' has been a cheesy Christian 'spiritual renewal' type book that I have never had an interest in. It is true I was raised in a Christian environment, but this doesn't mean that I necessarily am required to believe in it.

oo2. Can you think of any ideas that you agree with only to a certain degree? What has your agreement to do with the quality of the reasons you have heard in support of these ideas?

The one thing that came to my mind when reading this question was the subject of abortion. This is a very touchy subject, and I don't want to cause any arguments or anything between classmates. But I honestly can't think of anything else I could write about regarding this question.

When a friend of mine asked me whether I was pro-choice or pro-life, I told them I was both. They looked confused and said it was impossible to be both, but I stood firm and didn't sway my opinion.

In what way am I pro-choice? I believe that every woman who gets pregnant on this earth has a choice in whether to keep their child or not. It is not up to me, their mother, the mayor, the president, or anyone to choose for that woman. Everyone has a choice in everything they do, no matter whether they think they do or not.

If abortion was made illegal, it would continue to happen. Women would find alternate ways to abort their unborn children. One possible future of this would be that it would go underground. Needles would be shared for one thing, and other unsafe, unregulated practices would be performed for women who wanted it done. I believe that this would lead to more diseases and more issues than the US is aware of.

Abortion should be legal so that the government can regulate the practices, make it safe for the women who want it done, and because every woman should have the choice what to do with her body.

But why am I pro-life? Because I feel that taking away the life of a child is one of the worst choices a human can make. The emotional turmoil that woman goes through after an abortion is unreal to those of us who haven't experienced it.

I understand that if you were raped and got pregnant, you might not be ready for a situation with a baby. But why on earth would you kill that child because of someone else's stupidity?

Honestly, I am pro-life mainly for myself. I would never get an abortion because I believe that all lives are important. And I would never be able to look at myself in the mirror again if I knew I had killed an unborn child who never had been given a chance.

oo3. In general, how would you define a good reason? Find examples of good reasons and bad ones to illustrate what you mean. Does everyone in your class agree?

This is going to be a hard question to answer. A good reason? I suppose I would consider a good reason to be one that was clearly thought out with several ways to back itself up.

For example, a good reason to move would be:
a. a higher paying job offer in a new city
b. better school districts to raise children
c. closer to family than your current location

A bad reason to move would be:
a. to run away from your problems
b. to live with your online boyfriend/girlfriend that you've never met before in real life
c. because everyone says that's where you should go

Of course, I believe that pretty much everything is relative. And what I believe a good reason to be might not be someone else's. That's the fun in being a human! :)