You know, I hardly ever play in the shallow end, because I feel more comfortable in the deep end. Most of the time I feel I have nothing funny to contribute, but I always have something smart to say...does that make sense?

One thing thought I want to get off my chest, because I saw it posted several times at the other place is the thoughts of beating a dead horse...

To me, debating something as important as my reproductive rights will never be beating a dead horse, because it is so much more than just that one debate. Let me ask you readers a question, if the women who fought for those rights in the first place listened to everyone who said you are fighting against something that will never change, where would we be if they just quit?

To me, debating the right to choose is also debating the right to be my own person. History in this country and others has shown that the woman is property, to be treated as such. There is still laws in many states where beating your wife is okay, because she is seen as yours.

If I walk away from one debate, and know that someone who never would have thought about the other side is silently thinking, silently brooding, I feel good. Whether it was my post or someone else's to get that response, I feel like something was accomplished. It only takes one.

I am not sure about other peeps, but many times after those threads or during those threads I get PM's or emails from peeps who have not commented who tell me that something I said got them to thinking, and while they may not be ready to change their mind just yet....they are thinking. Not just accepting what they have been told.

Same thing for civil rights. Basic rights that everyone should enjoy. You will always have those who will never see that everyone deserves the same treatment, the same laws and privileges, but then there are those who are on the fence. Who may never post, who may never utter one word, but their thoughts begin to change, because it has become more real to them. It is not just something that is what other people deal with. It is in their face, it is people that they have become close to, there is a common ground that makes it more real, more reasonable for them to look at it a different way.

I will continue to beat the dead horse till I am blue on the face, on the boards and off. I have not been very vocal as of late, because other things have happened that have taken me away from what I love. However, that has not changed that I will never shut up. I will never just go away because it has all been argued before.

The monster thread that is over there right now has comments from peeps that say that while this is a long debated issue, new points have been made, new stories have came out. It may never change the RR's of the world, but you never know about those who never speak up in those threads. It may just get their mind turning, get them to thinking...that is what makes it worth it to me.

If you don't want to beat the dead horse, that is fine...I will do my part in beating it for you, but another question...in this countries history...how many dead horses do you think were beat before women's suffrage came to a head, before segregation finally was outlawed totally, before women had a right to birth control? I would say lots...but I am sure glad that the ones who kept beating did so.