SWA #2

Kathleen Parker's article, Seeking Balance in an Either-or-World, explores the intermediate space between idealism and realism. She writes of how most of the world puts themselves on one side of this spetrum, but never in between the two. Parker includes a quote from John P. Avlon that says, "Extremists and ideological purists on either side of the political aisle condemn compromise." This quote helps support Parker's point because it further shows how there is no "middle" in between being conservative and being liberal.
Parker uses the example of abortion to illustrate an agreeable compromise between the conservative and liberal aspects of the issue. She describes how over the years she has written and urged pro-life, while still clinging to a pro-choice conclusion. She comes to this conclusion by saying that abortion is a terrible way to terminate an innocent child's life; however, she can find no way to justify government-enforced maternity. In many ways, I agree with Parker in the fact that abortion is an awful method of killing an innocent baby, however the government has no right to tell a woman that she has to have a baby. Furthermore, Parker talks about compromise. She says that schools should further urge the use of birth control methods, therefore lowering the amount of abortions that would take place if they were legal. I also agree with Parker on this point because educating children that abortion is a violent act and teaching them how to avoid it would be a much better alternative to the government having the rights over a woman's choice to reproduce.