Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Quote for the Day

It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.

--Mother Theresa

3 comments:

Kai Jones said...

That's not a very convincing quote. People will die all the time so that I can live as I choose. They might die because I bought a candy bar instead of donating the money to charity, or because I put away money for my retirement instead of buying a new t-shirt made in a foreign sweatshop by a child who at least ate that day.

DebD said...

I believe that quote was spoken in the context of abortion. If memory serves me correctly (which it usually doesn't) it was also spoken with Pres. Clinton and his wife in the audience when Mother Teresa was visiting the US.

I like this quote, it makes you stop and think for a bit.

Elizabeth said...

Oh. I was just about to defend the quote to Kai....I was thinking, yeah, you've got it exactly right, how *I* was interpreting the quote. I think it's a poverty that children in the Ivory Coast have to do slave labor, being taken away from their parents, in order for us to eat Hershey's chocolate.

I think to apply this to abortion (which, I think you're right Deb--MT did mean it about abortion, from what I can find online) is to miss the point of abortion. I no longer believe that most abortions are the result of a choice of convenience. I believe the number one way we can cut down abortions is to make it easier for women to take care of a child. This is a whole 'nother post...

Shoot. I've seen this quote on bumper stickers here in Portland, and really liked my interpretation of it. Guess the best way to find out what context a quote was made in is to put it out there online.....