It occurred to me recently that the difference between a concerned citizen exercising his or her right to free speech, and a radical, fanatical zealot lies in the medias' perception of his or her cause.

Tobacco has long been a target for numerous political action groups, government, and private organizations and the like. They have been a target for very good reason. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance. The effects of smoking greatly impact the health of the smoker, and the health of those around the smoker. Lung cancer, throat cancer, emphysema, cardiovascular disease, and low birth weight are just a few of the nasty side effects of this habit. There is no debate cigarettes kill tens of thousands of people on a yearly basis.

Fortunately those groups and individuals which have taken it upon themselves to champion the cause of eradicating this deadly product receive a great deal of coverage in the mainstream media. You see since it's considered politically correct to rally under an anti-tobacco banner the press responds to their cause with open arms. Spotlighting the cause and its spokesmen in the most flattering light.

Unfortunately not all causes are seen as politically correct. Not all life saving crusades are considered worthy by the press, as they pass judgment from on high, as to which political cause is favorable and which is not.

Abortion has also long been a target of numerous individuals and organizations. Concerned citizens who are of the opinion that abortion is murder. Who have chosen to exercise their right to speak out, and legally organize against a practice which takes tens of thousands of lives annually. Make no mistake abortion is murder. The fact that an unborn child relies on its mother to survive doesn't give her the right to snuff it out like a candle. The fact that the unborn child is still in the womb doesn't make it right to take its life. In fact it makes it even more deplorable. The fact that a portion of American society finds it not only acceptable for a mother to take her own child's life, but considers it her right do so says more about the decadence prevalent in our society than I would care to go into here.

Unfortunately for those who would champion this cause. society in general, and the press in particular doesn't embrace this issue in a politically correct fashion. Therefore it doesn't receive the coverage that say the anti-tobacco protesters receive.

Right-to-lifers, when they do receive press coverage, generally are depicted as fanatical pro life zealots, bent on physically harming the poor abortion doctors who are only ensuring a woman's right to choose. No mention is made of the literally thousands of man hours, and the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent counseling young women in distress, helping them in their most trying time, educating them on their options, arranging adoptions, and generally saving lives of unborn children.

Both abortion and tobacco kill tens of thousands annually. Both abortion and tobacco effect the lives of those who choose to partake of them. Both abortion and tobacco are evil.

Why is it a person who decries the evils of smoking is a conscientious citizen, involved in a just cause, while a person who decries the evils of abortion is a chauvinistic, fanatical, religious, zealot?

The perception of the media!

Regards,
Bill "Tiki" Hengst - E-mail: tiki3619@juno.com , webmaster@tikitrash.net , Spin Doctor Supreme...and driving force behind "Tiki Trash" URL: http://www.tikitrash.com , Subscribe to our "Free Newsletter" tikitrash-subscribe@listbot.com

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