Schiavo and the Iraq invasion

I’m noticing some strong parallels between what is happening in the Terri Schiavo situation and the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

1. GOP disregard for the law: Bush ignored the restrictions of the “war bill” and invaded Iraq illegally, not to mention the rationale was built entirely on lies. Now, the GOP has successfully dodged repeated rulings in favor of the Schiavo husband. They keep trying to redo the case, and have even passed a federal law in desperation that maybe an activist federal judge might rule their way. Didn’t happen, but the GOP disdain for the authority of the individual states to rule on their own law is now obvious.

2. Selective indignation: Despite all the other tyrannical governments in the world, the GOP supporters got all worked up over the toothless tiger, Saddam. There is worse oppression going on elsewhere, so why pick Iraq? In the Schiavo case, families are deciding to remove loved ones from various means of life extension such as feeding tubes every day. So why let all those others die, but jump feet-first into the Schiavo issue?

I may have figured this out. Conservatives are stuck in what educational psychologists know as Piaget’s Concrete Operational stage. They have difficulty thinking in abstracts and big concepts. They need direct, concrete examples before they can fully process it. In both cases, the GOP/cons processed the concrete example and rose to act. Prior to having those concrete examples, these issues were vague and impersonal. Too distant to be thought about. It doesn’t matter that hundreds or thousands of families willingly let members die (by removal of tubes etc) every year. Until you put a face and a name on it, it’s not real to them.

Of course, this makes them very susceptible to manipulation. Notice that the GOP/cons don’t rise to action against a social ill until it has been officially sanctioned by the Republican party. It’s a pretty neat trick. The GOP trots out a concrete object, tells their base to get excited about it, and viola! There is a big furor.

As much as I find the fate of Terri Schiavo heart-wrenching, the national involvement has nothing to do with her. Just as invading Iraq had nothing to do with liberation of its people. There is a political goal here. The GOP wanted to expand their “pro-life” marketing beyond just the abortion issue. Now it’s about sick people too. But not in a meaningful way, such as making sure everybody has health care. Oh, no. That costs money. (Remember, the GOP never takes a moral position that costs money. It’s always an issue that’s cost-free.)

Keep in mind, despite all their blather about “saving” Schiavo’s life, all the GOP intends to accomplish for her is the continuation of her persistent vegetative state and the need for expensive health care. They have no plan for a cure. How could they? Key parts of her brain are spinal fluid soup. And every doctor has said she is unrecoverable.

Except for one, and he’s a GOP Senator (Bill Frist). But then, he also said he “didn’t know” if AIDS could be transmitted through sweat...! He’s either a pathetic doctor or a pathetic liar. But then again, he also said Bush’s Iraqi WMD lies were true. So, liar it is.