The Great American Holocaust

Its not her fault, she's just inconvenient...

Former president Ronald Reagan once said that the flaw in democratic thinking is that by electing the right politician, effecting the right legislation, and setting the right regulation, we think we will some how conform all of society to a form of morals and ethics. Reagan was dead right about this, society isn't shaped by the government. I submit that when facing the battle for pro life, the abortion issue specifically, we can never hope to solve the issue through politicians or legislation, rather the only way to protect the unborn is through a renewed sense of morality and ethics. First, lets look at why we have failed thus far to protect the right to life, second, how morals and ethics around the world have effectively eliminated abortion rates, and finally, lets evaluate what is the best use of our time and our resources.

It's painfully obvious to see why our approach has failed. We're trying to change a tool, when in reality, we need to change the work man. Government, and what it does is a byproduct of the society that wields it. Politicians are subject to popularity checks, and accordingly, the policies and legislation that gets passed, simply reflects what the society desires. Because of this, legislation in and of itself will never solve the issue. Pro life legislation already exists, the United States Constitution which guaranties life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However such legislation has been twisted by society to protect the right to murder an unborn child. Neither will a great politician solve our problem. Even one of the greatest American politicians, Ronald Reagan was unable to stem the flow of unborn blood during his time as president. According to the department of health and human services, abortion continued to rise during his administration, and by the end had reached it's highest point in American history, claiming the lives of 1.6 million children in 1989. We can't hold Reagan responsible for these numbers, but we can recognize that no politician or legislation has the power to reform our society.

If politics can't solve, then what can? The only thing that will effectively protect the lives of unborn children, is a strong sense of morality and ethical practice. When I refer to these two, I refer to them as they are born out of the natural order. Greek Philosopher and atheist Aristotle refers to it as Natural Moral Law. Now as a Christian I believe that this moral law was put in place by God, but you don't have to be a Christian to understand that the law exists, and consequently, to hold life as sacred. This law of morality and ethics is seen at work in three countries where there is no recorded abortion rate, because no such rate exists. These three countries include Iran, Syria, and Afghanistan. How can these countries characterized by lawlessness and chaos hold claim to stronger protections for unborn children then our country? These countries have no laws governing abortion, they have no politician lobbing for the lives of the unborn, and yet as a society without governmental assistance they hold to ethics and morality on the pro life issue that we in the United States can only dream about. The answer is in the sense of morals and ethics, adopted by their almost exclusively Islamic culture.

It's human, no matter how you slice it...

Our failure to reform the hearts and minds of our society has had horrific impacts, Many people have likened abortion in the United States to the Holocaust, saying a sustained rate one and a half million people killed per year would be a rate even Hitler could be proud of. And right they are so right to do so. We get so desensitized hearing numbers like 1.6 million deaths. We all have the numbers, so in addition to numbers, what I'm going to offer you is some perspective. The HHS reports that in Texas, there were roughly three hundred thousand births in 1992. In Texas, the same year, there were nearly one hundred thousand abortions. This year, the most of the generation of 1992 is graduating, that means, if you are attending a Texas graduation ceremony this year, add a third to the student body, and that's how many empty seats there are. 

Persons missing... one third of this group...

I was born in 1992... I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm beginning to feel a bad case of survivor's guilt, statistically I'm lucky to be alive. One fourth of my generation is not here... that is some perspective that can't be ignored, and perspective that I won't ever, ever forget.

But look to our future. The future stolen from these one hundred thousand children. Without a doubt, the approach of trying to solve the abortion issue with politicians or legislation will result in failure. Without question, a society with strong morals and uncompressed ethical practices will protect the unborn's right to life. We need only ask how do we reform our society? Reform will only happen if we reach out and touch the people around us. This is a war for people's hearts and minds, not a war for political seats or positions. A government is shaped by the society that wields it. I'll close with a quote from Former President James Garfield. He proclaimed the year he was assassinated in 1881, “Now more than ever before the people are responsible for the character of their congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities.” Ladies and gentlemen, its hard to swallow that we, collectively as a society are responsible for our governments actions, but only after we've accepted that can we move on, move on, to reform our society.