Now it's your turn. Here are some recent emails we've gotten in response to "The Way I See It" cups. To see the quote that's being talked about, click on the link.
And feel free to send us your own comments. |
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"The Way I See It" #208 -- Michele Johnson
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 The insensitivity of this comment made me literally spit out my hot tea this morning. As a member of one of these couples she is speaking of who are desperately trying to conceive a child, I want to assure her that we all consider adoption. And some of us just aren’t there yet. I want to carry a child in my womb. I long to feel kicking and movement. More than anything in the world, I yearn to give birth to an amazing little person that is half me and half the man I love, and to see him in that child’s eyes. Yes, we are exploring every means possible to make that happen. Have I ruled out adoption yet? Of course not. I know that one way or another, I will be a mother. But am I ready to admit to the failure of my own body? Absolutely not. -- Susannah Hall Perry, Augusta GA Thank you, thank you, thank you for printing this on your cups! My husband and I made the decision to adopt over two years ago. After many ups and downs, we have become foster parents to two wonderful, beautiful infants. One is strictly a foster placement while the other is an adoptive placement for us. The morning of our monthly foster-parent meeting, we stopped for coffee, an extraordinary feat considering how closely we run on time these days. This quote was on both of our cups. Reading this quote and realizing that we both had the same quote brought tears to my eyes, since we are truly living the embodiment of this statement at this moment. Although these precious babies may only be in our lives for a short time, the impact is permanent—we will never be the same, nor do we ever want to be. -- Shelley Pierce, Aubrey TX This comment denies the pain and destruction of natural families that always precede adoption. If your forum truly promotes free speech, I ask that Starbucks provide cups promoting family preservation and telling the unspoken truth behind adoption—that the mothers of adopted children and the children themselves are inevitably traumatized by being torn apart. I wish more couples who, for whatever reason, cannot have children of their own by natural means would grieve the loss of that dream and not rush to build families by whatever means available through the expense of vulnerable women and their infants. -- Marijke van Ekris-Rigby, London, England |
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| "The Way I See It" #217 -- Kevin Streit
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This cup offers a poignant message about today’s world, but the way I see it is different. The writer concludes his experience with a rationale for increasing population. My view is that the world already has too many people and this is still a fundamental problem that seems too taboo to mention. Nowhere are there enough courageous people willing to admit that “enough is enough” and that the place is too crowded. The writer seems to have forgotten the selfless-yet-childless individuals that exist alongside selfish parents. -- John Wolins, Philadelphia PA |
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| "The Way I See It" #220 -- David Quammen
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David Quammen’s note on Darwinism revisits the “Evolution or Intelligent Design” argument with the assumption that only one can be true. First light, then planets, then life in water, followed by life from water on land, and then man. Darwin concluded this through scientific inquiry and Moses (the early Bible’s earthly author) through divine inspiration. I can guess how a learned man like Darwin came to his conclusions in the absence of God. But Moses? No one ever claimed that he (or any others in his time) had such knowledge. There is no stronger proof for Darwin than the Bible, or for God than Darwin. -- Brian Boyle, Greensburg PA Given the derogatory tone of this quotation—derogatory not just toward Intelligent Design (ID) proponents but toward theists in general—I can only hope that you offer fair consideration to opinions of the other persuasion. I’ve listened to hours of academic debate between naturalists and non-naturalists. ID proponents are often motivated by deeply held religious beliefs, but these people aren’t idiots. I wish neo-Darwinists would stop attacking the messengers and really take on the arguments of ID in the court of science. As it is, the dictatorial academic elite won’t even let ID onto the playing field. -- Greg Greene, Nashville TN Regarding your quote by David Quammen, I suppose atheists who are fearful of not giving proper reverence to God are consoled somewhat by Mr. Quammen’s quote. But his analogy between Intelligent Design theory and the idea that the Earth rests on Chukwa, the giant turtle, is false. The Chukwa theory is demonstrably false, and no reputable scientist gives it any credence. On the other hand, many reputable and even renowned scientists openly profess a belief in Intelligent Design. They recognize in it a theory that is every bit as legitimate as—and much more a credible scientific hypothesis than—the theory that the matter of the universe and intelligent life came into existence and evolved by pure chance. -- Catherine Norman, Fremont CA |
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| "The Way I See It" #224 -- Dr. Jonathan Wells
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Darwinism is used here to suggest that evolution or natural selection is a set of beliefs. But evolution isn’t a belief system; it is a scientific theory. Science doesn’t make value judgments. Humans can make anything an argument for their agenda. For instance, imagine a group of people acting in the name of a man who preached peace and forgiveness by blowing up women, children and doctors in abortion clinics. Just because humans have misunderstood what evolution means, and perpetuated crimes in the name thereof, doesn’t suggest that evolution didn’t happen. If the quote on your cup is really intended as a discussion opener and not an attack on evolution, perhaps the quote should address the science. Intelligent Design isn’t science, and evolution is. Scientific theories are falsifiable statements that explain why the world looks the way it does. Intelligent design is an exploitation of people’s misunderstandings of the evidence and meaning of the theories of evolution and natural selection. It isn’t science. Science doesn’t debate faith. Why does faith keep trying to debate science? -- Meg Ballard, Woodbury NJ I do not know to which "traditional social values" Dr. Wells speaks, but we have historically held many "values" that are also far from benign. Regardless, the impact to society and its inhumane actions are irrelevant to the legitimacy of the knowledge that motivated it. Copernicus’ heliocentric model of the solar system arguably had a more profound effect on society at its time than has our understanding of natural selection, yet we no longer teach children that the earth is the center of the universe. I assume we should each be free to self-medicate with willfully ignorant philosophies, but to cloak such views as truth and promote them through fallacious arguments is intellectual treason. -- Christopher Portner, Hunt Valley MD This cup opens our eyes to the fact that not all scientists are Darwinists! Throughout our lives we are brought up to believe that all real scientists believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution when in fact there are many within the scientific community who do not. Why should we only be allowed to learn Darwinism in our public schools? Is not Darwin’s theory accepted by faith the same way that Christians accept the Bible by faith? Everyone should be allowed to learn the facts and the implications on both sides of this important issue. -- Aaron Rubio, Swansea, Wales |
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| "The Way I See It" #230 -- Joel Stein
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The way I see it, Joel Stein has it all wrong. Heaven has nothing to do with monetary luxuries, and people shouldn’t want to go there because of golden harps, clouds or the fact that it is considerably cooler than the alternative. People should want to go to heaven to be in the Grace and Glory of the Lord. I think it is sad that some people only want to go to Heaven to avoid the alternative. The way I see it, Heaven doesn’t have to step it up at all—we do. -- Leilani Layer, Royal Center IN Mr. Stein obviously has never read the Bible, because at no time does it say we live in clouds or play harps when we arrive in heaven. I thought columnists researched their material before writing about it, but he is blinded by what he thinks is the truth. For me, seeing heaven and being in heaven with the Lord Jesus, and seeing those loved ones, who have gone before me, are what I look forward to, not the so-called clouds and harps. I feel sorry for Mr. Stein because if he had a relationship with the One who created heaven and earth his perspective wouldn’t be so bleak. -- Debbie Wallace, Bakersfield CA |
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| "The Way I See It" #242 -- Beth Vanden Hoek
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Have you noticed that one of the first words a child clearly says is “mine”? Children are born so selfish—it is all about them. They don't care about what is fair, they only care about what they want. It is amazing, however, that when I go to discipline one of my kids, how the other one sticks up for them. They don't want the other one to have to be in time-out or get yelled at (yes, we all make mistakes). My kids have been my inspiration to improve myself while teaching them that life is not all about them, but neither is it fair. We cannot control what happens to us all the time, but we can control how we act. We can share, we can give to others, and we can change. That is what my kids and I are learning together. -- Sharon Carton, Lake Forest CA |
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