The reality of last week's election has started to set in. Last week I think I was still in disbelief. As when someone dies, it takes a while for it to be real. My opinion of this election, and its outcome, is still very low. There has been, and I think, still will be, a lot of hatred from both sides. There were suspicious activities related to this election, with election officials, that I think was worse than ever before. And there were more lies in campaign advertising than I ever remember. All-in-all, elections today are not the thing of beauty that our Founding Fathers thought they were.
But there is one little glimmer that I have seen come from this election and that is that pro-lifers are more convinced than ever that the right to life must be guaranteed to all, in this country. I think that fighting for this election made "pro-lifers" more certain in their convictions than ever before.
Two days before Election Day, my mom had brunch with her best friend. She later told me that the conversation turned to the election, and eventually to the issue of abortion. My mom said that her friend agreed that abortion should be illegal, but she just couldn't come to terms with making abortion illegal in the case of rape. My mom said to her, "If a woman is raped, how is that a baby's fault? Why should the baby be punished and how does that make it better? It doesn't make the rape go away, it just punishes an innocent baby."
I know that prior to this election my mother would never have spoken back to a good friend, or to anyone. She would have just let it go and later wished she had said something.
I hope that every person who fought for life in this election will hold onto that fight, and continue to fight with all the life in them. The only hope for the poor babies is that we continue to pray, and to help women who are facing the choice to make the right one, and to support the life they hold within.
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Barbara,
ReplyDeleteA great post. Yes, like your mother I was saying things to people that I had not done before; in order to stand up for life.
I think we have to ask ourselves what are we doing each day to help reduce and end abortions in this country.
The Priests for Life website has great ideas on how to end abortion. We all should be doing these things.
God Bless,
Kathy
Great post!
ReplyDeleteI have a neighbour who hung his flag at half-mast - it's still hung that way today. He's so upset about the election turnout. My next-door neighbour put orange tape letters up "OBAMA" with a triangle. I had to ask them what the dickens that triangle meant: apparently "unity". Uh, okay.
Pro-lifers are wide awake and ready to move. Let's roll!
The shock still hasn't entirely worn off for me... but I do agree that the results of this election has convinced us we need to be more BOLD than ever... after all, we are the only voices that these poor murdered babies will ever have.
ReplyDeleteRape/incest account for 1% of all abortions, so even statistically, it doesn't make abortion something that is "necessary". And a woman that experiences an abortion after rape/incest only hate themselves afterwards instead of being able to work at a directed anger to the assaulter.
ReplyDeleteI know I have stepped up my work with Pro-life stuff. I wish I could do more too.
I think you are very right, Barbara. I know that it was one of the main reasons why I couldn't keep silent on my blog anymore. I figured most people knew where I stood, but I have a few very good friends who read my blog and who are opposed to my views. We usually just never ever talk about it.
ReplyDeleteI'm way past that now, and it feels right.
Barbara, you make a good point. It's encouraging to know it's happening on a large scale.
ReplyDeleteI do feel more convicted than ever to speak up, to DO something, on my blog as well as in real life.
I am getting a bumper sticker with the pro-life Option Line phone number (1-800-395-HELP) to replace my McCain one. I wouldn't have gotten that if McCain won.
ReplyDeleteIn my area, which sadly voted for Obama, the mood is very jovial. We took our car in to be serviced (with the McCain sticker still on) and the black staff told us where we could buy parts cheaper than theirs and threw in some free services to boot. Maybe they felt sorry for us losers, and maybe they just felt like they could afford to lose a little business now that Obama is allegedly going to pay their mortgage and gas bills. (Plus of course, they have earned us as repeat customers after the great service we received--and who knows, maybe they were some of the 5% of African Americans who didn't support Obama?)