President Barack Obama and the Obama administration continue their
ongoing campaign for president ( this time for re-election in 2012) by
speaking at Notre Dame and attempting to further divide Catholics and
others on the subject of abortion. The guise was a commencement speech
and the awarding of an honorary doctor of laws degree. The protests and
the arrests occurred. The press tried to make the opponents of the
speech into a minority and the university took a major public relations
mistake and made it worse by arresting 80 year old priests and claiming
that it had not violated the USCCB's 2004 prohibition honoring open and
notorious pro-abortion politicians.
But what of the speech?
Well, I read the speech. There were the appropriate recognitions and pronouncements to the new graduates about this time period being tougher and that they need to go into more service for their neighbor, etc.
And he tackled the subject of abortion by asking for everyone to respect the other side while acknowledging the incompatibility of the two sides.
But think about some white segregationist asking Martin Luther King, Jr. to be more respectful of Bull Connor after he hosed down Black civil rights activists in the 1960s.
He couched his speech in some biblical sounding phrases and mentioned that we need to follow the Golden Rule, "the call to treat one another as we wish to be treated. The call to love. To serve. To do what we can to make a difference in the lives of those with whom we share the same brief moment on this Earth."
Why can that sentiment not apply to the unborn?
President Obama said this as well."Because when we do that - when we open our hearts and our minds to those who may not think like we do or believe what we do - that's when we discover at least the possibility of common ground."
I ask the president. When has he done this?
He also noted that there was a serious debate in this nation. He said
Understand - I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away. No matter how much we may want to fudge it - indeed, while we know that the views of most Americans on the subject are complex and even contradictory - the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable. Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction. But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature.
How complicated is the debate?
The pro-life side argues one should not kill unborn children by abortion.
The pro-choice side argues that it is a woman's "eight" to decide if she wants to kill that unborn child.
The pro-life side argues that law should protect all human beings.
The pro-choice side argues that the law should not prevent the woman from killing her unborn child.
The people and organizations who support Obama support abortion and its continued legality. Where can there be "common ground" with people who are a part of an industry that kills children for money?
He said, "Maybe we won't agree on abortion, but we can still agree that this is a heart-wrenching decision for any woman to make, with both moral and spiritual dimensions."
Mr. President, why is an abortion heart wrenching? Is it because a baby dies as a result?
He did say something that I will echo and remind those of us in the pro-life movement.
These are all very nice words. Sadly that is all they are - words. Because the man who spoke them did not remember what his mother did not him and is not willing to allow his fellow human beings the same opportunity for life that he had.
So the emptiness of his words are a stark reminder of the million dead each year. The emptiness of the rhetoric will not help the woman who is coerced into killing her baby and has no recourse through the courts. The vagueness of his soundbites will not ease the grief of a parent whose minor child was victimized by a child predator and then aborted by the local Planned Parenthood.
President Obama went to Notre Dame. The abortion apologists in the church, in the media, in the universities think they have won. But God is not mocked. Perhaps the prayers of the millions who objected will bring about conversion. But it is sad to think that this otherwise intelligent man does not know, does not care or even worse knows and does not care about the lives of these unborn children. Perhaps he should listen to his own words.
Lets find common ground there first and stop all the killing.
Cross-posted: Jacubczyk on Life
But what of the speech?
Well, I read the speech. There were the appropriate recognitions and pronouncements to the new graduates about this time period being tougher and that they need to go into more service for their neighbor, etc.
And he tackled the subject of abortion by asking for everyone to respect the other side while acknowledging the incompatibility of the two sides.
But think about some white segregationist asking Martin Luther King, Jr. to be more respectful of Bull Connor after he hosed down Black civil rights activists in the 1960s.
He couched his speech in some biblical sounding phrases and mentioned that we need to follow the Golden Rule, "the call to treat one another as we wish to be treated. The call to love. To serve. To do what we can to make a difference in the lives of those with whom we share the same brief moment on this Earth."
Why can that sentiment not apply to the unborn?
President Obama said this as well."Because when we do that - when we open our hearts and our minds to those who may not think like we do or believe what we do - that's when we discover at least the possibility of common ground."
I ask the president. When has he done this?
He also noted that there was a serious debate in this nation. He said
Understand - I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away. No matter how much we may want to fudge it - indeed, while we know that the views of most Americans on the subject are complex and even contradictory - the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable. Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction. But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature.
How complicated is the debate?
The pro-life side argues one should not kill unborn children by abortion.
The pro-choice side argues that it is a woman's "eight" to decide if she wants to kill that unborn child.
The pro-life side argues that law should protect all human beings.
The pro-choice side argues that the law should not prevent the woman from killing her unborn child.
The people and organizations who support Obama support abortion and its continued legality. Where can there be "common ground" with people who are a part of an industry that kills children for money?
He said, "Maybe we won't agree on abortion, but we can still agree that this is a heart-wrenching decision for any woman to make, with both moral and spiritual dimensions."
Mr. President, why is an abortion heart wrenching? Is it because a baby dies as a result?
He did say something that I will echo and remind those of us in the pro-life movement.
In this world of competing claims about what is right and what is true, have confidence in the values with which you've been raised and educated. Be unafraid to speak your mind when those values are at stake. Hold firm to your faith and allow it to guide you on your journey. Stand as a lighthouse.He also said this:
Remember that each of us, endowed with the dignity possessed by all children of God, has the grace to recognize ourselves in one another; to understand that we all seek the same love of family and the same fulfillment of a life well-lived.
These are all very nice words. Sadly that is all they are - words. Because the man who spoke them did not remember what his mother did not him and is not willing to allow his fellow human beings the same opportunity for life that he had.
So the emptiness of his words are a stark reminder of the million dead each year. The emptiness of the rhetoric will not help the woman who is coerced into killing her baby and has no recourse through the courts. The vagueness of his soundbites will not ease the grief of a parent whose minor child was victimized by a child predator and then aborted by the local Planned Parenthood.
President Obama went to Notre Dame. The abortion apologists in the church, in the media, in the universities think they have won. But God is not mocked. Perhaps the prayers of the millions who objected will bring about conversion. But it is sad to think that this otherwise intelligent man does not know, does not care or even worse knows and does not care about the lives of these unborn children. Perhaps he should listen to his own words.
[F]aith ...is the belief in things not seen. It is beyond our capacity as human beings to know with certainty what God has planned for us or what He asks of us, and those of us who believe must trust that His wisdom is greater than our own.God's wisdom says that "Thou shalt not kill."
Lets find common ground there first and stop all the killing.
Cross-posted: Jacubczyk on Life
