Iyow - in your own words

A Question:
How does one defend being:
1) FOR the death penalty, but AGAINST abortion?
or…
2) AGAINST the death penalty, and FOR abortion?

I’m not saying it’s impossible—but it seems taking either position would require higher-order reasoning and not a reliance on a pithy rejoinder like “I support life!” or “Killing is always wrong!”

And yet somehow it seems the first case (despite its inherent hypocrisy) is supported by the Right, and the second case (again, despite its inherent hypocrisy) is supported by the Left.

People who are against both the death penalty and abortion? Hmmm… how do we classify them? Well, I guess Catholics would apply here, but how many in the US, including American “cafeteria Catholics,” would find themselves agreeing with this?

Anyway, that’s a bit of a segue into the world of Latin America, where two leaders dominate the discussion among the incessantly bickering Left and Right in the Developed World:
FIDEL CASTRO
and
HUGO CHAVEZ

If you fall into either of two prevailing political moods today, then they’re both either:
DICTATORS
or
BENEVOLENT SOCIALISTS

Yes, I know they’re friends, confidantes, political bedfellows, ideological buddies, whatever. But isn’t there a clear difference between the two?

One of them was elected in free elections by his own people. Twice.

The other has not allowed elections since he seized power over 40 years ago.

So… regardless of how despicable or wonderful you think they are, one duly deserves the legitimacy of leading his people, while the other duly deserves the contempt of squelching the basic freedoms (expression, assembly, pursuit of happiness) of the people he is supposed to be uplifting.

Maybe it’s the ends justifying their means. You could be such a fan or opponent of their political/economic model that it really doesn’t matter how legitimate their power is. It’s just wrong or right.

Anyway, just getting this rant out…

(Yes, I’m aware that a precious few are willing and able to set aside today’s current polemics and render a more nuanced perspective, although I have to say, in my opinion, that precious few is really a precious few…)