The 'culture of life' propaganda.

Watching from Europe, the fuss about the Terri Schiavo case makes very little sense – especially at a time when the U.S. has so much on her hands already but if this case has drawn so much attention, it is because there is more to it than the ‘mere’ issue of euthanasia.

It is a symbol of the broader cultural and ideological war raging in the U.S. which is splitting the nation over other issues such as abortion, stem-cell research, prison reform or even evolution which were all at the center of the 2004 elections. The polarization over those issues has made it almost impossible to take into consideration the complexity of their moral implications. The thought of a life in a body that will not respond to thought is pretty horrifying and there is no easy answer no matter what.

That is why the high drama played by conservative politicians over the Schiavo case is pretty sickening. What has been going on with l’affaire Schiavo is typical of what has been going on with all the other issues in the last few years – the appropriation by the religious-right of common values shared by all Americans which has de facto thrown the liberals on the defensive.

The emotionally-charged ‘cuture of life’ theme promoted by the GOP Conservatives, including President Bush is sheer propaganda used to energize their religious fundamentalist base. And it works - the expression has been dominating the airwaves the whole week. It has also made the other side look bad (anti-life?). This is the same strategy used by the religious-right on abortion (the term ‘pro-life’ is more powerful than ‘pro-choice’), or by Neo-Cons with the ‘war on terror’ rhetoric ( the use of ‘terror’ has kept the fear active and made people ready for compromises on their personal freedom).

Many have been quick to point out the contradiction between the ‘culture of life’ rhetoric and the actions by the Bush administration and the Republicans on the Hill, including cutting Medicaid funding, voting for a bankruptcy bill that will make it even more difficult for families who suffer a catastrophic illness. We won’t even mention the cluster bombs used in Iraq or the refusal by Texas Governor Bush to grant clemency to people on death row whose cases were in serious doubt (Terry Washington, a mentally-retarded thirty-three-year-old man).

No we won’t mention that!

If nothing else, this issue will at least divert the attention from Tom Delay's legal and ethical problems in the House and from the discussion on the privatization of social security. No wonder why Delay was so quick to 'defend the cause'. He even claimed that

“murder is being committed against a defenseless American citizen in Florida"

On the positive side – it seems a majority of people are not buying it, according to a recent ABC poll:

"Americans broadly and strongly disapprove of federal intervention in the Terri Schiavo case, with sizable majorities saying Congress is overstepping its bounds for political gain. . . ."

It has even been suggested that the action may have helped rather than hurt the right-to-die movement. So maybe these Conservative Republicans can't get away with everything after all...