Christian, Political Blogs Make Sense of Terri's Situation
For the past few weeks, the Christian and political blogosphere has been abuzz with news and information about the Terri Schiavo right-to-life case. Americans have been congregating in blogs nationwide, debating both pros and cons of Terri's parent's desperate bids to keep her alive. But no matter which side of the proverbial fence each person stands on, few have been left untouched and without emotion in the Schiavo story.
Blogs last came into the national limelight for their role played in the 2004 elections. They followed strict political lines and played as instrumental a role in steering public opinion toward their causes as any other form of media. They were so pivotal at times, as in the conservative counter-volley against the botched CBS National Guard story, that some pundits labeled blogs a check of power against traditional media.
But this time, blogs are no longer polarizing red-and-blue America; they have become forums in which Republicans debate Republican sand Democrats debate Democrats. Authors are bolting from traditional political lines to espouse their own feelings of the situation. For instance, the conservative C-Blog Web Log has produced articles for conservative writers on both sides of the fray.
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"I won't deny that this emerging power struggle among the branches of government is likely the worst possible forum for determining this issue," wrote Travis McSherley, online editor for several conservative groups. "Yet matters of life and death — namely preserving the former — are at the fore of the state's mission."
Another Republican blogger, John Cole, offers a contrasting view. He blasted the GOP's "lunatic fringe" as being "divorced from reality" and for turning the Schiavo case into a pro-life cause. But lest he be mistaken for a Democrat, he lists issues the Democratic Party has wrong, like taxes and gun control. "Before I lose all my regular readers," he wrote.
Blogs are again proving their diversity and their humanity, their ability to both attack a subject and to embrace it. But in the end, blogs are only fulfilling a very basic need of human beings to sound off to one another about their feelings and their thoughts. But in a case mixed with as many legal twists and political turns as Terri's, some turn to blogs simply to make sense of the mixed emotions and feelings they have - only to find that they are not the only ones conflicted over the case.
