Joey Ramirez

That, in capsule form, is what I felt hearing our legislators defend their opposition to the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill until...

I respect your right to have your own faith, wear whatever religious iconography you deem makes you feel "closer" to your chosen deity, say your own prayers, read your own religious books. You can conduct a seance or dance naked in your garden, I don't really care. Why do people like Preacher have such a hard time returning that same courtesy?

What I find disturbing - monumentally - is why Bastes was complaining: his contention that "we are a Christian country" certainly leaves a bad taste in the mouth, particularly for those who have been advocating a more secular space and tone where discussions of laws and government are brought up, in the context of a democratic government and country.

I would never imagine telling someone that "based on MY faith, you are doing something wrong!". Yet, day after day, I see Catholics who have no problem doing the exact same thing, and frighteningly, on a national scale. They see it as their "business" to meddle with someone who doesn't share the same faith at all!

Why can't we learn to respect each other's preferences? Are tolerance and respect such alien and difficult concepts that men who claim to be the arbiters of morality cannot comprehend them on any given level?