In the beginning I was very proactive about controversial postings, both commenting on the ones I read, and also posting my own views and beliefs. I felt the compelling need to speak up when immorality was being promoted, especially by those who should know better. Taking a course in apologetics was inspiring, and I had grown up in a home where Jehovah's Witnesses were invited in and debated with. After all, two of the spiritual works of mercy are to admonish the sinner and to instruct the ignorant. A person usually posts things to social media that are close to their heart, and feel the need for others to understand their view, if not totally buy it. Through the years I started noticing a pattern. Someone would post about some controversy, comments would pour in, both for and against, and no one would change their stance on anything. Oftentimes both parties ended on bad terms. So what was the point in voicing the opinion?
Many of the "posters" were not always great role models for the ideals they pushed, or the stories they shared had questionable sources, or conflicting evidence, and all credibility was completely lost. Many would call others names, or rant, or use profanity, and by the time anyone hits adulthood you should know how childish that is. That's what out-of-control children do to get what they want.
There is a woman I know who has a faith so simple and strong, it is like that of a child. She lives, as far as others can see, exactly as she believes. She is one of the kindest and most generous people I have ever met. At least two conversions to the Catholic Faith can be linked to her and her family. People can see the strength and happiness her Faith gives her, and you can't help but want it too. We should be inspiring people to live a good life mostly by our lives, not by our harsh words.
After a series of "debates" I myself was part of on social media, I became very wary of any article I shared, and knew if it was from a religious site it would hold no credibility for most of the opposing commentators. How much can you really believe on the internet? Arguing is exhausting, and I was starting to think that's what others saw me as: someone who loved conflict. From there on out, in the decreasing "debates" I joined, I tried to argue from their point of view, or one that they could understand, without sacrificing my beliefs. No opinions were changed, but in staying civil and polite while discussing things, no hard feelings were engendered (on my end at least). Constantly thinking to myself "God loves them dearly and desires their salvation as much as anyone else's" helped keep me from being unnecessarily rude.
Fast forward to this week. Most people by now have probably heard about the Planned Parenthood scandal, and have seen (or at least heard about) videos (includes links to all four videos) of them selling body parts of aborted babies. As more and more posts on this topic surfaced on social media, I posted this picture:
with the hashtag #PPShoutYourStory. Cute, not too pushy. And of course this one:
I did not post the harsher ones that I was considering sharing:
These are the first "controversial" posts from me in a long time. I was even uncharacteristically silent through the Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage (because everyone already knows where I stand on that one, right?) as a good portion of profile pictures were rainbowized... and also through the issue with the Confederate flag. (U.S. history is so screwed up and altered as it is that I haven't taken the time yet to go searching for the answer to that one. And really, if someone wants to take offense at a flag that may or may not represent racist beliefs, no opinions from me are going to fix it.) I have much more important matters to tackle.
Like this abortion thing. On Friday I ran across a post from Conservative blogger Matt Walsh. He described so well how I thought about the situation that I decided to share his post, with my own two cents thrown into the header comment. For those who don't have Facebook or who haven't yet read it, here is his post:
The fourth Planned Parenthood video has been released. It's the worst so far. A few quick points about it:
1) This footage features Savita Ginde, the VP of a massive Planned Parenthood abortuary. In the video, she explicitly details how the selling of baby parts must be coordinated with the other clinics, so that they "have their stories straight" in case "they get caught." She conspires to file the transaction under "research," and explains that she "doesn't want to get called on selling fetal parts across states."
She also, like the serial killers from the other videos, directly states that abortion procedures are changed to preserve specimens for sale. This, along with selling them, is a violation of federal law.
There is just no question at all that Planned Parenthood has been caught breaking the law. We have executives on video literally describing how they break the law, and now saying that they're afraid they'll get caught. What else do you need? How can any conscious person watch these videos, listen to people plainly and clearly outline how they are breaking the law, but come away reassured that nobody is breaking the law?
Planned Parenthood executives: "Here's a five step outline of how we break the law..."
Planned Parenthood sycophant: "See! I told you they aren't breaking the law!"
Planned Parenthood sycophant: "See! I told you they aren't breaking the law!"
Planned Parenthood apologists are staring at a brick wall and telling us there isn't a brick wall. But of course they've been doing that for forty years. The only difference is that now they're slamming their heads into the wall and still telling us the wall isn't there. The level of intellectual dishonesty is almost superhuman at this point. It's unlike anything I've ever seen.
2) The second part of the video shows Ginde dissecting an unborn child. She laughs and jokes throughout the process, and makes light of it as the camera catches the sound of a skull being cracked open by a knife. She talks about the different organs they can extract from the babies, saying often the brains come out intact. She then says they like to sell the parts individually because that way they can "see how much [money] they can get out of it."
At the end, a Planned Parenthood tech is sifting through the severed parts, apparently notices the child's reproductive organs, and shouts gleefully, "it's a boy!"
Everything I just described should enrage you. If it does not -- if that dead lion ticks you off more than Planned Parenthood butchers laughing over a vat of dismembered baby limbs -- you are a deeply disturbed and troubled person.
3) The most damning part of the video, if you can really call one part more damning then the other, is when Ginde explains how sometimes the patient "delivers before we get to see them for the procedure," in which case the baby "is intact." Do you know what that means? It means sometimes they baby is born alive, and then killed and harvested. That's what it means. It can't mean anything else.
Look, if you are still on Planned Parenthood's side, there is no debating anymore. You have chosen to ignore or deny the indisputable reality of the situation. I want to make it clear that I do blame you for this, and I hold you complicit. Enough of deflecting the blame to institutions and government bodies and so forth. Sure, the abortion industry and the government deserve all the blame in the world, but I'm tired of people letting the average pro-choice Planned Parenthood sympathizer off the hook.
You people are adults. You have brains, unlike the babies whose brains are sucked out and sold for profit. You have souls. You have the ability to understand simple moral concepts. Now put those capacities to work. Wake up. No more excuses. This is a moment in history where either you are right or you are wrong, and it is just not OK to be wrong about this. It's not OK.
And you are definitely wrong. One hundred percent. Black and white. Absolute. You're not even a little bit right. There isn't even a glimmer of rightness in your position. You are totally and indefensibly wrong, and you should be profoundly ashamed of yourself. I love you and I pray for you, but I am very angry at you. You are whistling past the concentration camp, pretending you can't smell the burning flesh, and I, for one, am done letting you off the hook for it. Get it together, alright?
4) The people that filmed these videos are heroes. They didn't break any law, but I wouldn't care if they did. Nobody has a God given right to privacy while they murder children. They forfeit that right. This group acted legally as investigative journalists, but laws that aid in the murder of children are not legitimate anyway, so it doesn't matter.
These people are absolute heroes and warriors for life and liberty. They have done something incredible here, and I thank God for them.
I know full well that a Facebook status is not going to change the world. But I hope at some point reality hits the people that think abortion is a solution to a bad situation. And so I will continue to speak up occasionally against the things that are morally wrong, because somewhere someone some day may need to hear it. Since my "friends" on Facebook are also those who claim to support human and civil rights, I thought approaching it from that angle would help illustrate the rights of over a million unborn humans a year that are being taken away. It's called logic. Most women should know what causes pregnancy; if you're not prepared to deal with the possibility of a baby, don't do it. These were my two cents:
If you support something, as an intelligent adult, I assume you understand exactly what it is you're supporting. You can claim that Planned Parenthood is doing loads of good for medicine with the body parts harvested from the dead babies: you're telling me that one life is worth more than another. Oh but it's the mother's choice because it's HER body? Pretty sure it's not her brains being pulled out of her skull, or her kidneys, or her lungs being dissected. You say that mothers will just keep on having abortions anyway, might as well let them do it safely. If you think abortion clinics "do it safely" you have no idea what abortion is. People will also keep on murdering other people, so we should probably make sure they can do it safely as well. This is every bit a human rights case...For those who cannot speak for themselves. For those of you who like to whip out the quote about "if you don't like abortion, don't have one", this quote applies to you: "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." A Facebook status is not going to change anything, we need to stand up and live as we preach. This sickness going on with Planned Parenthood is the symptom of a far greater disease in the world.
Basically, as disgusting as selling aborted baby parts is, it is not as bad as killing the unborn babies. In this sick, twisted world, the killing is legal...making money off of it is what is illegal. Father had sermons on this topic the last two Sundays. And what makes people think it's ok to kill babies? I cannot fathom how someone could watch an abortion procedure, or even know how they're done, and come out the other side thinking it wasn't wrong, that a human life wasn't taken. It defies logic. And it's our fault. Catholics don't live as Catholics, it's easier to turn a blind eye, and anything goes.
One person argued on my Facebook post in favor of Planned Parenthood and for the rights of women to kill their unborn babies. Unfortunately, she is family. She isn't the only advocate for abortion on my friend list, just the only who chose to speak up. As a full disclosure, this blog is public, so I know full well she may see this post. My Facebook post was also public, so anyone could see it whether they're my friend or not. I will refrain from using names, but this is why I feel the conversation is open for discussion. The purpose of this post is not to "throw anyone under the bus", but to illustrate how the lines of morality often split families.
The conversation touched on being Conservative, their lack of belief in opportunities for the healthy birth of unwanted babies (?), rape, incest, the possibility of adoption, room for the rights of everyone in this country. Other friends and family commented on the post, voicing their conviction in the evil of abortion. I loved one aunt's comment on how all children are a gift from God, and a blessing; there are couples like her and my uncle who desperately want children of their own, but cannot have them. There are so many couples who would be honored to give those unwanted babies a home. The comments I added are as follows:
As an American citizen, you have the right to choose all manner of unethical and immoral things. Tolerance for all religions, or lack of religion, is an impossible ideal. At some point someone has to draw a morality line or chaos ensues. Generally this line borders on what does or does not harm others. Abortion is ending the life of an unborn child; as much as people try to change the semantics of it or the situation surrounding it, it remains what it is. There is no room in this country for the rights of the unborn, and this is the issue. As I've said, it is but a symptom of a greater disease. It's a consequence of people living only for themselves. Pregnancy is not a disease, and many of the dangers of pregnancy, that doctors advise abortion as the cure for, are misdiagnosis. The fact that the founder of Planned Parenthood was a proponent of eugenics is cause enough for concern...add to that the fact that 79% of Planned Parenthood's surgical abortion clinics are within walking distance of Black or Hispanic neighborhoods.... Ending rape and incest is a glorious goal, but also an impossible one. Evil people exist. The purpose of sex has been taken away by birth control, leaving it wide open for misuse and selfish ends. It's part of the disease, but I'm not going there right now. Let's stop calling a spade a spoon.
After this comment it was implied that I was being hypocritical, and I was warned not to cross a line. A comment was made that the more educated a woman is, the less likely it is that she'll even have children. I was curious if she believed the reverse of that was true, but I really wasn't trying to pick a fight. She said she had hoped for an enlightening conversation, and was apparently disappointed. She also expressed the feeling of being attacked. My last comment:
I'm not arguing liberal/conservative politics here. All person's lives should matter regardless of who gets voted into office. Expecting to have an enlightening conversation about a topic you've already declared you won't change your mind about? Really? You wonder why we won't consider as necessity the occasional murder? Or how about over a million a year? Many of those babies could feel the pain of their limbs getting ripped from their tiny bodies. But it wasn't fair for the mother to have to deal with them any other way because they weren't planned or wanted. There is a desperate need for other options for these mothers, not for the solution they're presented and pushed in so many clinics. There are plenty of valid arguments against abortion in this post, but as you so beautifully put it in a previous post, we are all idiots, and you may now commence mocking us to our faces and behind our backs, because we know nothing about everything. And in reply to your other loving comment about myself: I never claimed to have always lived according to what I believe, but there is such a thing as contrition, amending one's life, and penance. And you may want to check the log book of my sins before calling me a hypocrite. I've respectfully avoided commenting on your politically charged posts (because, of course, your view is the only right one) out of a desire to preserve peace in the family. No debates between us ever end amicably.
She apologized, and said she never should have posted her opinion, and that she admired our passion. By the time I saw this comment we were on our way to a birthday party. By the time I was able to answer I was unfriended and blocked. The next day another mutual family member posted as her status something about passion being one thing, crazy was another. But it was probably just a well-timed coincidence, right? Let's go with that.
Should I have refrained from posting at all about Planned Parenthood/abortion? No. Should I have refrained from commenting after that? Possibly. I at least should have watched my spiteful tone in the last comment. I'm all about being open and honest, and hashing things out until everyone is at least still on speaking terms. When you contradict someone's beliefs on their own page you have to expect to be countered. There's no need to feel attacked because of it, it's the ideals or views that are being attacked. I love you and I will continue to pray for you. Abortion is murder. Those who've had an abortion or performed one are by definition, murderers. If that offends you maybe you should rethink your stance. As I've said before, there is such a thing as amending one's life, and forgiveness.
I'm sorry these things always end up causing bad feelings, but doing the right thing is rarely pain free. The world is in such an immoral tailspin because for too long good people have "kept the peace" and done nothing. Catholics have blended in with everyone else so that they don't even appear to be Catholic anymore. Their lives hold no more traces of the visible faith. Underneath the crust of politeness is an ugly festering mess of twisted morals.
Well said Sweety !!
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