Abortion, I have come to realize, is the quintessential good vs evil proxy battle here on earth.
It is also the quintessential “LIBERAL” issue.
“Liberalism” (which is NOT about liberty) is, at its core, defined as
“using force to make those who make good decisions (the innocent) pay for the alleviation of the consequences of those who make bad decisions (the irresponsible)”. And, more specifically, the only “freedom” that the left supports are those related to sexual matters.
With the abortion issue, we have the MOST INNOCENT human life, the unborn baby, paying WITH ITS LIFE, for frivolous sexual behavioral decisions of the irresponsible.
MrB, I have noticed the same thing about the left wing types. They seem to instinctively side with evil. They report so favorably toward the PLO type terrorists and ignore the Tibetans who are among the kindest peoples I have ever met.
“using force to make those who make good decisions (the innocent) pay for the alleviation of the consequences of those who make bad decisions (the irresponsible)”. ...
That is another reason the left can't get behind Tibet. The core of Buddhist practice is to recognize that actions have consequences. (the law of karma) To accept that premise leads directly to the realization that personal responsibility is indispensable to any progress in practice. That in turn leads to the inevitable conclusion that the only way to affect positive changes in the world is to first affect those changes in one's self.
When all the mysterious rituals and cultural trappings are stripped away that is the essence, the foundation, that progress in all Buddhist practice proceeds from. Personal responsibility. Without it all the rest has no meaning or use and that is how it is taught.
That is 180 degrees out of phase with Marxist leftist ideology and naturally the greatest threat to its promotion. It is better for the left to treat Buddhism like an exotic pet, useful as a decoration and an interesting topic to dabble in around its periphery. To dig in and defend Tibetan Buddhists against the left's own philosophical allies, the communists, would risk exposing that the conflict between the ChiComs and Tibetans goes much deeper than simply a human rights issue.
What lies beneath that is the inherent conflict between a people whose nation from the top down was based on a philosophy of personal responsibility and a government that operates on a philosophy based on moral relativism. DemocRats, RINOs, the MSM, all of our western proponents of socialism, don't want to shine too much light on that. A little lip service to "injustices" is about all they can afford to do.