“Vampire” author returns to roots
She had to see that title coming.
Interview with the Vampire author Anne Rice, who famously told Newsweek in 2005 she would from henceforth “write only for the Lord” after returning to her Catholic faith, has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president.
From her website, August 10:
To my readers….
My vocation at this time remains unchanged. I am committed to writing books for the Lord….This has become my life….
However, I have come to feel that my Christian conscience requires of me a particular political statement at this time….
My commitment and my vote… must reflect my deepest Christian convictions; and for me these convictions are based on the teachings of Christ in the Four Gospels….
To summarize, I believe in voting, I believe in voting for one of the two major parties, and I believe my vote must reflect my Christian beliefs.
Bearing all this in mind, I want to say quietly that as of this date, I am a Democrat, and that I support Hillary Clinton for President of the United States….
Though I deeply respect those who disagree with me, I believe, for a variety of reasons, that the Democratic Party best reflects the values I hold based on the Gospels. Those values are most intensely expressed for me in the Gospel of Matthew, but they are expressed in all the gospels. Those values involve feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting those in prison, and above all, loving one’s neighbors and loving one’s enemies….
I want to add here that I am Pro-Life. I believe in the sanctity of the life of the unborn. Deeply respecting those who disagree with me, I feel that if we are to find a solution to the horror of abortion, it will be through the Democratic Party.
I have heard many anti-abortion statements made by people who are not Democrats, but many of these statements do not strike me as constructive or convincing. I feel we can stop the horror of abortion. But I do not feel it can be done by rolling back Roe vs. Wade, or packing the Supreme Court with judges committed to doing this. As a student of history, I do not think that Americans will give up the legal right to abortion. Should Roe vs Wade be rolled back, Americans will pass other laws to support abortion, or they will find ways to have abortions using new legal and medical terms.
And much as I am horrified by abortion, I am not sure – as a student of history – that Americans should give up the right to abortion.
I am also not convinced that all of those advocating anti-abortion positions in the public sphere are necessarily practical or sincere. I have not heard convincing arguments put forth by anti-abortion politicians as to how Americans could be forced to give birth to children that Americans do not want to bear. And more to the point, I have not heard convincing arguments from these anti-abortion politicians as to how we can prevent the horror of abortion right now, given the social situations we have.
The solution to the horror of abortion can and must be found.
Do I myself have a solution to the abortion problem? The answer is no. What I have are hopes and dreams and prayers – that better education will help men and women make responsible reproductive choices, and that abortion will become a morally abhorrent option from which informed Americans will turn away….
Again, I believe the Democratic Party is the party that is most likely to help Americans make a transition away from the abortion crisis that we face today. Its values and its programs – on a whole variety of issues – most clearly reflect my values. Hillary Clinton is the candidate whom I most admire….
There is so much to unpack here, the bulk of which I’ll leave to commenters.
I found this from Wikipedia, an insightful aside:
Whether Rice would continue to be a supporter of causes like gay rights (her son Christopher is openly gay) was much debated; she has said that Christianity’s stance on homosexuality was something she wrestled with as she considered converting. She remains a passionate supporter of the rights of homosexuals and their right to participate in religious worship.
Rice minced no words explaining how morally repugnant she found abortion. Yet, she thought since it would not stop even if illegal, we should not make it illegal – common pro-abort logic we apply nowhere else.
And her statement, “I feel that if we are to find a solution to the horror of abortion, it will be through the Democratic Party,” was simply bizarre.
To start a list, it appears Rice has trouble with moral absolutes, consequences of sin, the Biblical role of government (to protect and maintain order), and the Biblical role of the Church (to extend compassion). I think I read underlying in one of her sentences she is also against military force (“Those values… [are]… above all, loving one’s neighbors and loving one’s enemies.”)
The only way I can see how she got to this place was to abandon the rest of the Bible for the Gospels. She is currently writing a trilogy on the life of Jesus, another insightful aside.
On the surface it would seem inexplicable for someone to think a pro-abortion political party and a pro-abortion presidential candidate would lead the way to stopping abortion. But Rice has apparently bought into the notion that comprehensive sex ed, liberal access to contraception, and socialized healthcare are the answers.
She obviously doesn’t understand or believe the abortion industry is behind – and stands to gain from – all three.
Such messed up theology.
[HT: Ed Moore, Phil E.]
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
A true pro-lifer and Christian does not vote for a “pro-choice” canidate.
I think that she just takes at face value the things the Democrats say about “reducing the need for abortion”, without stopping to analyze exactly what they’re doing and what it accomplishes.
She trusts her friends. That’s human. And it’ll be a hard, painful thing for her when she finds out she’s been lied to and duped by the Party that she’s trusted all these years. But we must pray that she does come to see that a Party in the hip pocket of Planned Parenthood, NOW, NARAL, and NAF is not a Party that has any interest whatsoever in reducing, much less eliminating, abortion.
When scrolling down the posts, I couldn’t help notice how the words “Interview With a Vampire” are placed directly over Hillary’s head in the next post.
Guess you know how I feel…
“And it’ll be a hard, painful thing for her when she finds out she’s been lied to and duped by the Party that she’s trusted all these years. ”
I think she knows it already Christina. I think she does’t mind or care about the number of abortions…if fact, I would bet that she likes abortion since so many of her donations come from abortion organizations.
You know, anyone can say they are Catholic just like anyone can say they are pro-life.
Or from Mars for that matter.
It doesn’t change the truth.
Sorry Anne. You were more believable when you were writing about bloodsuckers…Oh, my bad. Now you’re writing about liberals…Same thing. Never mind.
I just looked up Planned Parenthood financial records (yes, I know Jill posted them awhile back but a conversation with my son prompted me to look them up anew) and saw something rather odd.
Listed under income is:
Guttmacher Institute — $6.3 million
But then, listed under expenses is:
Guttmacher Institute — $10.3
Am I crazy or does that sound fishy?
http://voteyesforlife.com/content/facts_plannedparenthood.asp
It also lists as expenses, payment to related organizations AND services to affiliates — $2.9 million and $26.3 million…
What does that mean? Who are they givin’ $30 million dollars to? And what affiliates? Either they’re part of planned parenthood or they’re not.
She’s returned to her Catholic faith, yet she voted for Hillary[[ Pro Abortion}}, Clinton. So, when was she going to return to her Catholic faith?
Oh. My. Goodness. I’m no expert, but I really don’t think Jesus would have cared who Anne Rice supports in the election and I really don’t think it says anything about how Christian she is. Give liberal Christians a break, people. There are tons of them, just as devout as you are but with different political opinions.
Leah, now think really long and hard about this. Read on how tenderly Jesus looked at children. How Jesus loved the children, how Jesus told people not to grieve them. Not to reject them. To love them and to nurture them.
I believe, based on the information that I have in the Bible about Jesus, and the fact that we are to love one another, not to kill one another, that Jesus character and principles would never allow Him to justify the murder of a little child, especially at the most innocent of stages. Hilary Clinton supports the murders of millions of babies a year…even those sucked out in pieces in late term abortions- and even those born alive and left to die. The Bible consistently refers to the unborn as “babes”. The Bible says that we were “knit in the womb” by God, and that God “knew us” before the world even knew we were there, when we were in the “secret place”. I do not know where you get your justification of abortion from, but it certainly isn’t from the Bible, and it certainly isn’t from my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Please stop defaming His name.
P.S. Jesus was, of course, merciful to women who sinned…but didn’t He always leave them with this command, “Go now, and sin no more.”? He didn’t tell unrepentant women that they did what was right for them at the time. He told women who felt sorry for what they had done, that while what they did was wrong, He still loved them, but to turn away from their sins. Ponder this.
You had to figure this would generate some controversy.
For any and all ranting about Hillary (who I am no fan of) I note that 13% of abortion patients say they are “born-again” or “evangelical christians.” (CDC statistics – and it used to be higher.)
This is a group that one would expect to have less abortions than do US women as a whole, and they do – it’s a lesser rate, to be sure. Yet the large overall number shows that while it may be easy to follow “the party line” when one is not really involved, an unwanted pregnancy can have the woman seeing that in the given individual situation, ending the pregnancy may be best.
For any and all ranting about Hillary (who I am no fan of) I note that 13% of abortion patients say they are “born-again” or “evangelical christians.” (CDC statistics – and it used to be higher.)
Who ever denied that people can be liars?
Doug,
I sure hope you’re not going to leave us hanging on the weekend question posts. Lots of people piped up and you got some ‘splainin’ to do…
Doug, I sure hope you’re not going to leave us hanging on the weekend question posts. Lots of people piped up and you got some ‘splainin’ to do…
Ha! Good humor, MK, and I’m trying. I drove 400+ miles up to Michigan today, for a job we’re doing the rest of the week. Torrential rains most of the way.
I’m tryin’ ol’ buddy……
Lucy.
Waaaaahhhh!!!! Riiiiicckkky!
So Jesus loves the little children who are murdered by abortion. He also loves the little children who are murdered by the Republican Party’s warmongering and capitalist policies. What are Christians supposed to do, not vote at all? All we can do is support the party that will do the least harm, from a Christian perspective. It’s clear to me, and to millions of other liberal and socialist Christians worldwide, that said party is not the Republican one.
Jasper, why would you say such horrible things about Ms. Rice? Upon what do you bases these assumptions, that she is just a willing PP shill?
Bethany, but Hillary doesn’t SAY, “I hate fetuses, and want to see as many as possible aborted.” Yes, the policies she advocates will ACHIEVE that, but as long as she talks the talk, many people won’t look past that.
I was dating a guy who voted for Clinton because of the health care plan he promised, thinking that Clinton meant what he said about people being entitled to adequate medical care. It wasn’t until Arlen Spector’s office deciphered HillaryCare that my boyfriend learned that the most severely disabled people would be denied care that “normal” people would be entitled to, on the grounds that it would be a waste of money to spend it on someone with a low “quality of life.”
My boyfriend was outraged and kept saying, “But that’s not what I voted for!” He felt so betrayed, beause he didn’t know how to decipher DemoSpeak.
I have no reason to think that Anne Rice isn’t as duped as my old boyfriend, who would never have knowingly voted for somebody who would deny medical care to a mentally retarded person.
Doug, the fact that women who know better still climb on the aboriton table is another argument in favor of recriminalization. Stressed out people do not think clearly. They panic. They do whatever looks like it will get them out of the immediate crisis.
We need to shut down the abortion mills that turn women’s fear into tragedy, for a fee.
So Jesus loves the little children who are murdered by abortion. He also loves the little children who are murdered by the Republican Party’s warmongering and capitalist policies. What are Christians supposed to do, not vote at all? All we can do is support the party that will do the least harm, from a Christian perspective. It’s clear to me, and to millions of other liberal and socialist Christians worldwide, that said party is not the Republican one.
Really, anonymous? Are you saying there are more casualties of this war that are children, than there have been of aborted children? If so, show me the numbers.
Christina, excellent points!
“Jasper, why would you say such horrible things about Ms. Rice? Upon what do you bases these assumptions, that she is just a willing PP shill?”
Christina, I was refering to Hillary Clinton. I thought you were refering to her….
Christina: I have no reason to think that Anne Rice isn’t as duped as my old boyfriend, who would never have knowingly voted for somebody who would deny medical care to a mentally retarded person.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are you a compulsive liar?
Clinton Care would never have denied health care to a retarded person, nor any person with a disability.
In fact, the only one I know of who signed a bill to deny poor people medical care was George Bush, who as Governor of Texas signed the bill that allows Texas hospitals the right to pull the plug on “futile care” patients who don’t have the cash.
Christina: Doug, the fact that women who know better still climb on the aboriton table is another argument in favor of recriminalization. Stressed out people do not think clearly. They panic. They do whatever looks like it will get them out of the immediate crisis.
We need to shut down the abortion mills that turn women’s fear into tragedy, for a fee.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you really believe that women are too stupid to make adult decisions? Perhaps they should be kept away from the car keys, flammable liquids, and small children. If we’re too panicky to own and operate a uterus, we really shouldn’t be allowed near the kids!
“In fact, the only one I know of who signed a bill to deny poor people medical care was George Bush, who as Governor of Texas signed the bill that allows Texas hospitals the right to pull the plug on “futile care” patients who don’t have the cash”
but every Texas hospital could not deny care to anybody, even if one did not have insurance (which included many illegal aliens)
It isn’t a matter of being too stupid. Try too callous!
Laura,
If we’re too panicky to own and operate a uterus, we really shouldn’t be allowed near the kids!
Well now isn’t that what we’re saying? If you’re too stupid to understand that having sex can get you pregnant we really shouldn’t allow you near the unborn…seems you have a tendency to kill them. Not very good for the unborn…
If women were constantly pouring lighter fluid on themselves and then lighting matches, all the time wondering why they keep getting set on fire, then yes, I’d say we should keep them away from lighter fluid. Wouldn’t you?
Laura,
Do you really believe that women are too stupid to make adult decisions? If we’re too panicky to own and operate a uterus, we really shouldn’t be allowed…(near men)
Yeah well, if you’re doing such a bang up job operating your uterus’s then why is there the need to abort your 1.5 million mistakes. Most people would have caught on by now. Truth be told, some women are that stupid and need to be saved from themselves…
Why don’t you guys learn to operate that thing that comes before your uterus??
Laura-
You need all the facts before you make accusations. You know nothing about the Texas Advance Directives Act (and apparently nothing about socialized medicine).
I am a doctoral student who is writing my dissertation on the Texas Futile Care Law. Bush did not create medical futility policy in Texas – He signed a compromise 10-day reprieve from the already existing law. This would give patients 10 days more than they would have had in which to find another facility. Now- I disagree with futility on the whole and believe we should “treat until transfer” but Bush’s compromise bill has saved many already condemned sick/disabled people. While many of us wish he’s have vetoed the compromise and let the courts vindicate each case, he vetoed the original bill to give those condemed a fighting chance- not to put his stamp of approval on medical neglect. Do just a little research before you spout off inaccuracies from people that simply love to Bush-bash and will exploit any piece of misinformation to that end.
Secondly, vote Hillary Clinton and you can guarentee that the most vulnerable (the disabled, for instance) will be denied health care. It’s an economic and ideological inevitability in what she proposes. Hillary Clinton suggests a Britain-like socialized health care system. Are you vaguely familiar with that system? They routinely deny or delay caring for disabled people as a cost-saving, Malthusian, humanistic measure. Research Leslie Burke, a man with a degenerative disease who has fought British Court for years to keep feeding him after he loses to ability to communicate his wishes. He keeps losing- and Britain intends to starve/dehydrate him to death. Research Charlotte Paige Wyatt, a preemie that has defied all odds. Britain refuses her medical care in a crisis- and refuses routine antibiotics because her prematurity has left her disabled. Hillary Clinton’s universal healthcare system would usher in this type of Darwinistic medical neglect.
Seriously Laura, research and analyze the policies you speak of before suggesting them as truth.
Hi Jacqueline. Great post, thanks for all the information! Do you currently live in Texas?
Great post Jacqueline!!
SH- Yep, I’m a Texas girl. I’ll probably never leave.
You?
And thanks, Heather. :)
Me too – I live in the Dallas area currently but we are eventually planning on moving out to West Texas at some point. Where are you working on your doctorate?
SH-
I go to North Texas (Go Mean Green!) but I was just told that I lost my flextime and have forego this semester. :( I’m really bummed.
I live in Arlington and work with the Catholic Pro-Life Commitee in Dallas and Respect Life in Fort Worth- We wouldn’t know eachother, would we? I can think of several SH’s that I work with in Dallas. I will be floored if you’re the same SH I’m thinking of!
What part of West Texas?
So you will have to take a semester off, yuck, I know you probably want to get everything done as soon as you can!
I don’t work with any of those organizations but they sound great – I will have to check them out. But maybe we have met in passing? : )
My husband’s family is from Lubbock so we would like to move out there at some point. Plus, cost of living would be cheaper, which always helps!
I have tried reading Rice. For me, its the literary equivalent of trying to wade hip deep through a pool of ice cold cooked oat meal.
SH- One of my best girlfriends lives in Lubbock. She’s trying to get me to come for a visit. She tells me the natural views and hiking is incredible. I’m sure you’ll love it there. We’ll be sad to lose you. :)
Christina: Doug, the fact that women who know better still climb on the aboriton table is another argument in favor of recriminalization. Stressed out people do not think clearly. They panic. They do whatever looks like it will get them out of the immediate crisis.
Well, C, women “who know better” often go ahead and continue pregnancies, to their later sorrow, too. Ain’t no guarantees…. still no reason to take away people’s freedom.
Doug
I have tried reading Rice. For me, its the literary equivalent of trying to wade hip deep through a pool of ice cold cooked oat meal.
Iva, me too – I’ve read a few of her books, and though there’s a “feeling” in them that seems a little different and interesting to me, in the end they really don’t hold me, and it takes a long time to finish a book.
Speaking of which…. I’m reading “Under the Volcano” which is supposedly one of the ten best novels of imagination of the last century.
Geoffrey Firmin, a former British consul, has come to Quauhnahuac, Mexico.Here the consul’s debilitating malaise is drinking, and activity that has overshadowed his life.Under the Volcano is set during the most fateful day of the consul’s life–the Day of the Dead, 1938.His wife, Yvonne, arrives in Quauhnahuac to rescue him and their failing marriage, inspired by a vision of life together away from Mexico and the circumstances that have driven their relationship to the brink of collapse.Yvonne’s mission is to save the consul is further complicated by the presence of Hugh, the consul’s half-brother, and Jacques, a childhood friend.The events of this one day unfold against a backdrop unforgettable for its evocation of a Mexico at once magical and diabolical.
“The novel can be read simply as a story which you can skip if you want. It can be read as a story you will get more out of if you don’t skip. It can be regarded as a kind of symphony, or in another way as a kind of opera–or even a horse opera. It is hot music, a poem, a song, a comedy, a farce, and so forth. It is superficial, profound, entertaining, and boring, according to taste. It is a prophecy, a political warning, a cryptogram, a preposterous movie.”
I do like the mood and scenes from Mexico in the 1930s, and Malcolm Lowry, the author, has a great vocabulary and lyrical style, but still ….. it’s some *heavy going.* It’s just stubbornness on my part or I would have chucked it.
Doug
Well, C, women “who know better” often go ahead and continue pregnancies, to their later sorrow, too. Ain’t no guarantees…. still no reason to take away people’s freedom.
First of all- freedom has limits when it infringes of the freedom of others. I don’t have the freedom to dismember you with forceps, Doug, and rightly so. I shouldn’t have the freedom to dismember my child either.
And I still don’t see why the preference is a dead child vs. a live one. If a woman regrets choosing to parent she can choose to relinquish- the only difference is that in that case, the child is still living and still has his or her body parts attached.
Jaqueline,
Thanks for clearing up the whole TX ADA issue. The truth always comes out to vindicate, doesn’t it?
Ahh, abortion. A house of cards ready to blow…