Tuesday, November 4, 2008

When pro-lifers choose death

"Father forgive them; for they know not what they do."
  - Lk. 23:34
The sober and troubling reality is that, even as I write this, millions of U.S. citizens are casting their votes for Barack Obama. Many of these voters are Christian, and many identify themselves as pro-life Catholics.

Ballot box How can this be? Is it because they have an uncritical loyalty to the Democratic Party, an unthinking herd instinct reaching back to early childhood? Are they disgusted with the Republicans' pathetic failures, and suppose there is only one other option? Is it a matter of "white guilt", of feeling obliged to support the African-American candidate? Do they not recognize the intrinsic evil of abortion? Are they therefore intimidated into seeking a "balance" between this and lesser evils? Have they been duped by media bias, and actually believe the euphemism that it's about "choice"? Do they believe the over-population myth, and secretly fear human propagation?

The plain truth is that Barack Hussein Obama is the most rabidly pro-abortion candidate to ever seek the U.S. Presidency. Whether or not he wins it today is not the main issue. Folks who say they are pro-life Christians are voting for him. Followers of Jesus are choosing death. I wish I could find a reasonable explanation for this.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Regardless of their stance on abortion, the President can only indirectly influence its legality or illegality. And even then only if the opportunity arises to appoint supreme court judges who they expect to share their views. I expect many people who consider themselves pro-life but voted for Obama recognize that abortion is already legal and that that is unlikely to change via the Supreme Court in the next four years, and therefore considered other life&death issues - including attitudes towards war - that the President can directly influence. I believe the last President, who was so avowedly "pro-life" illustrates my point.

Jerry said...

I am very honored, Terri, that you have taken the time to navigate here and share this thoughtful response. I think it must have required a certain level of courage as well as of filial love.

Having said that, i must also honestly say that your comment reflects an inadequate grasp both of American politics and of sound moral principles. Starting with the latter: to equate legalized abortion with war is morally and logically untenable, on several counts. The one involves the direct intention of murder, and its primary victim is both wholly innocent and wholly defenseless, while the other may be honorably pursued, depending upon the particulars. For this reason, a single procured abortion can be a more serious matter than an entire war. In addition, the sheer scope of the abortion holocaust eclipses all war casualties. Compare the raw numbers for yourself. This is not to mention the secondary victim, who is usually scarred internally and irreparably for the rest of her life.

Moreover, the legalizing and sanctioning of abortion pollutes, degrades, and weakens the entire society in a way that warfare, capital punishment, and the like do not. When otherwise decent people become comfortable with such an unmitigated horror and injustice, the conscience is necessarily blunted. When this happens en masse there cannot but be grave cultural consequences. As Mother Teresa observed, "The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion." I suspect that a better explanation for why pro-lifers vote for pro-abortionists is due to this kind of collective cognitive dissonance. I weep especially when i observe this in people whom i love.

As to the politics, are you not aware that Obama has already stimulated the abortion machine by rescinding the "Mexico City policy"? This will funnel large amounts of American tax dollars into abortion and population control measures internationally, often against other sovereign nations' wishes. This is money that would otherwise be used for true humanitarian and health care efforts. His new Secretary of State promises to wreak even more abortion and population control havoc internationally, especially via the U.N. Obama is likely to veto and thus kill pro-life legislation, and sign pro-abortion legislation such as the infamous FOCA bill. With a pro-abortion majority in both houses of Congress, this Stalinist measure is now likely to be passed, after decades of unsuccessful attempts. I could go on and on, but perhaps the most devastating is the probability of Obama nominating one or more justices to the Supreme Court, and thus forever rendering impossible a political solution. This is not peripheral or incidental influence, as you have suggested. For all his defects, W. Bush was mostly on the right side on all of the above, while Obama promises to be dead wrong and downright evil in these policy matters.

The most tragic of all is that this president and the pro-abortion majority in Congress have come to power, not by force, but by the will of the people, many of whom consider themselves pro-life. Whether knowingly or unwittingly, these voters have made themselves partially guilty of the additional innocent human lives that will now be lost. The moral solution to this is heartfelt contrition and repentance. The practical solution may now be beyond human reach, although my new website and David Little's site suggest another possible attempt at a human answer. There is always the possibility as well for direct divine intervention, but i feel certain we would not find that very pleasant. True love can cause awful pain.

Enough words for now. Please know that they are offered with sincere prayer and filial affection, and that i welcome further response.