During these Olympic games in Beijing, America witnessed some of the greatest athletic feats in the world, and drew from them lessons in dignity, discipline, perseverance and sportsmanship. With the games coming to a close, we pause to soberly reflect on what we have learned, and return our attention to new episodes of “America’s Got Talent.”
Goodbye Beijing
August 25, 2008 at 3:24 am (Humor, Life Observations, Philosophy & Religion)
Tags: athletes, couch potato, entertainment, olympics, sports, sportsmanship, television
“A little bit pregnant?”
August 20, 2008 at 2:44 am (Philosophy & Religion, Popular Media)
Tags: abortion, commercials, first response, pregnancy, pregnancy test
I just watched a commercial for the First Response brand pregnancy test in which an actress starts by saying, “There is such a thing as ‘a little bit pregnant.’” The point of the ad is apparently that this test detects pregnancy as early as possible.
I think everyone knows that either you are pregnant or you aren’t. What is this ad trying to convey by saying otherwise? Just how quickly does a woman really need to know that she’s pregnant? What I take away from this commercial is a very subtle message that if you catch pregnancy early enough, at the “little bit” mark, you have more options — such as abortion. If a woman is only just a little bit pregnant, is a fetus only just a little bit human?
Call me paranoid, but I find that this “little bit pregnant” premise leads too easily down this slippery slope.
