GET IN THE FIGHT

George Offerman

I have received considerable feedback from the past few postings, and want to thank all who sent comments, especially pertaining to yesterday’s posting. It is good to hear from people and to know what the pulse is pertaining to the front lines. I do want to be clear that I when I refer to the pro life movement and the criticisms levied at them, it is directed at the political front and activities. Ending legalized child killing will only be accomplished through the Supreme Court, or by amendment to the Constitution. In order for either to occur, politicians or judges must have the ‘fear of God’, whether this accomplished through grassroots organizations with solid leadership or the church really doesn’t matter. It is the fact that neither are working, and some of the organizations are actually counter productive to this goal.

Those on the front lines that run crisis pregnancy centers (CPC) and providers of other services to the women and babies are worth every penny that they raise and every hour of time the volunteers give. Nearly all of these organizations run on a shoestring budget, and most of the directors do not receive any salary for their heroic efforts. Donating money, goods or time is one of the highest callings for the majority of Christians, and is a very honorable way to serve in this cause. The need for CPC’s will undoubtedly continue after Roe and Doe are overturned or an amendment is passed making child killing illegal again. So I want to be clear that I am not referring to these organizations when I speak of fund raising letters that tout peripheral efforts as heroic and changing the course of legalized child killing. I’m referring mainly to groups, or individuals who claim they are making inroads at the political level, when in reality, they are doing little, to actually thwarting real efforts made by others.

These individual or organizations want to sell themselves as being on the ‘cutting edge’ or ‘the voice of the babies’ or ‘your voice’ in this fight to end legalized child killing. In many cases, they collect significant salaries and can have large office expenses, and a disproportional amount per dollar goes to ‘overhead’ which can mean about anything. Many are non profit, and tax exempt, which already has potential for conflict of interest, in that they have to be mindful of what they do and say, as to comply with the IRS laws. This may be why some of them do not use words like 'legalized child killing, holocaust, abomination, slaughtering the innocent’ or other charged language. They shy away from confrontation and distance themselves from anyone or anything that may make them ‘look bad’. They want to be friends with the murderers, and believe they can ‘convert’ them through flowery language and online petitions, and if they are just ‘nice’ enough, they will get the laws changed.

Well, here we are 37 years later, and we are no closer to ending this holocaust, and in fact are further away than ever. Senator Lindsay Graham, the supposed champion of life, has moved to the ‘moderate’ area of politics, and wants to sell himself as the new model for future Republicans. This man has no fear of the pro life movement, and does not look to us anymore for his support. That means our movement is floundering, if not on its death bed. Its time to look at what has worked in the past, and time to implement actions that bears fruit. We will know if our actions bear fruits, by looking at changes in the laws and behaviors of the lawmakers. Virtual protests, online petitions for the most part, and regurgitated, sanitized news from supposed pro life news sources will not change anything.

When things like virtual protests, petitions, and promises to ‘lobby for you’ are peddled as real activities with real results, it does a real disservice to those who have been hoodwinked into believing they are making a difference, when in fact, they are in compliance with the forces of death, who want us to be silent. I know that every time I am at the abortuary, we are always outnumbered by the death scorts, greatly outnumbered at most protests and marches, (other than the pro life march in January). The culture of death is there, physically, and representing their views for the politicians to see. That is why they are winning. They are not afraid of us, and they use intolerance and violence (if need be), to try to make their ironic point that we are the ones who are intolerant and violent. Despite being convoluted in thought and deed, they are there and actively involved in their cause.

If one pays the slightest attention to the Gospels, it will become very apparent that Jesus was physically present at all of his miracles, except for the Centurion, who requested Jesus not go under his roof. If Jesus as God found it important to be present at the scenes of his work, why do most pro life leaders, and the groups they represent claim that they can do their work effectively from a distance, or by representation? Are these leaders and groups greater than Jesus? Do they know something Jesus did not know? No, these leaders and groups take it further: they actually condemn those who take a strong stance and make others uncomfortable. These are the same leaders that will misrepresent Jesus cleansing of the Temple, and will make claims that the work can be done from a distance, with little trouble or inconvenience for the Christian. This is an anti Christian stance and anti Christian theology, and a great way of bilking money from the faithful. Get in the battle and show up on the battle field.