What is the real cause of the abortion epidemic?

I attended Mass and prayers at Notre Dame yesterday. The event was hosted by NDresponse. http://www.ndresponse.com/ They are a student group formed amidst the controversy surrounding the honorary degree awarded to President Obama. The group was given permission to host a peaceful, prayerful alternative for students who chose not to participate in the questionable commencement exercise.

Today we are going to learn Religion Mache. This is a college course worth 1 credit hour, unless it is accompanied by classes designed to foment hatred of the United States. Then it is worth 5 credit hours. First, you need a piece of wire. Preferably something recycled. Even better if it conjures images of misogynistic, patrician, old fashioned squares. Here is a good example:

Barak Obama's handlers are keeping his travel itinerary quiet citing security concerns. That is not acceptable to taxpayers footing the bill with hard earned treasure. To honestly believe that foreknowledge of a US Senator's travel plans would influence the decision- making of professional terrorists shows a lack of nuance. Furthermore, the Secret Service detail assigned to Senator Obama was not consulted prior to the trip, placing their families and loved ones in the unhappy position of not knowing when they will see their sons and daughters again. These agents will not speak up on their own behalf because they are too stupid to find real work in this Bush/Cheney generated economy.

Now that public pressure has forced Barak Obama to grudgingly visit our troops on the ground in Iraq, I'm prepared for a climax. The drive-by media plans to send an entourage befitting a rock star of his magnitude. Cameras, lights, sound men- the works. I wonder if the creative types at "Team Obama" can stage another recreation of the flag raising on Iwo Jima like the Enviro-wackos did. Maybe they could have a diverse sampling of soldiers raising a white flag. It might also be time for a series on skin cancer caused by the purple voting ink used in the Iraqi elections.

If the Reverend Jackson is serious about cutting out Barry O's nuts, he's going to have to find them first.

On Dignity

God has made man from nothing. We are creatures made for a specific purpose. We can perform many tasks, which tend toward that ultimate purpose.

We have hands which can grasp, point, caress,strike, etc. Legs which can walk, run, climb, etc. These are attributes.

Dignity seems to be more of an ingredient than an attribute.

Dignity seems to have been granted in equal measure to all men. Although not everyone can perceive dignity, it is always there. This means that the perception of dignity is the sole responsibility of the observer.

To say that someone conducts himself with dignity implies that the person acting, perceives the dignity that God has placed within him, and acts accordingly. Conversely, when we say that a person acts in an undignified manner, we imply that the person does not perceive his inherent dignity. This means that we perceive the outward expression of a person’s inward relationship with their Creator.

With all that said, only one man is known to have seen and appreciated the dignity of all men perfectly. Many saints have demonstrated intimate familiarity with human dignity and should serve as models for those of us “who do not see”.

This means that we “have a beam in our own eye” and are incompetent to judge the worthiness of a person’s right actions until this beam is removed.

How do we remove this beam?

Humility is the proper tool for the job. Humility is to stand on God given dignity alone. Offering no defense for the handiwork of the Creator, no embarrassment for what we cannot do, no pride for what we can. Only from this point of simplicity is our own human dignity visible to ourselves.

With a real appreciation for what God has made we have no compulsion to be seen as more or nagging sense of being seen as less. Now that we are no longer competing for position, we can clearly see the dignity of our brothers.

We can see others as God sees them.

The word "sin" is an ancient archery term that means simply to "miss the mark"

The Wooden Beam In Your Own Eye

“Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but you do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?” Mt.7.3

We see the world through our own eyes and perceive it in our own minds. What we think about something we see can be very different than what the next person thinks about the same thing. A farmer may see a stone in his field as an impediment to his prosperity, while an artist may see fortune in the very same stone. This is the healthy outcome of recognizing our own strengths and weaknesses and coupling them with vision.

The same is true for our behavior. We tend to se something we like to do as “good”, even if evidence surfaces to suggest otherwise. Very often we and our friends and family have similar likes and dislikes, so our attachment to activities and behaviors is reinforced. This is a good thing when what we like is, in fact, good. This is a bad thing, obviously, when the thing we like is bad. This is the true origin of peer pressure.

Sometimes a loved one will tell us they are worried about our behavior, health or spending habits. Our response to genuine concern should be gracious and appreciative. A mature person will examine the merits of these observations and make adjustments where necessary. If our actions are righteous, there is no reason to be defensive.

So what would make an otherwise intelligent person resentful of the loving concern of a friend?

Denial.

When we see something we like, we want it to be a good thing. The more we like it, the more we will that it  be good. Conversely, when we don’t like something, we look for reasons for it to be bad. These reasons justifying the goodness and badness of things do not need to be rooted in reality for us to come to believe them.

These justifications are called denial by therapists, attachment to sin by the church and they were called “the wooden beam in your own eye” by Jesus.

The admonition of our Savior to “remove the wooden beam in your own eye first: then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye”, serves to teach us to use discretion when confronting a friend with a problem, but more than that, He tells us that we will be better able to help after we have removed denial from ourselves.

Another observation about these “splinters”

A penny seen from twenty or so feet away looks very small, but up close it can completely cover your eye. This analogy is to indicate that a behavior or habit is only the tip of the iceberg. It may be almost imperceptible to others, but the attachment to it can taint our perception of everything in our lives. It will prejudice our thinking, decision making, child rearing and money spending. It will choose our mate, our friends and our jobs. It will stand as an obstacle to communion with God.

There is no greater obstacle to spiritual growth.

One of my favorite scenes in any movie occurs in one of the National Lampoon movies. Clark Griswald is being sexually assaulted by his brother-in-law Eddie"s dog. Eddie assures Clark that the best thing to do is to "just let him finish."

Code Pink  so far has been a very entertaining diversion on the cable networks. Much like the dancing hot dogs in the movie trailers at the drive-in, they neither add or subtract anything of value from the feature attraction. They do, however, remind you that you're at the theater.

Dad was a union steward for years, so I learned a little about both of his jobs as I was growing up. One memorable discussion we had occurred after a call from an employee that thought he had a grievance.

Barbara Walters revealed an affair with a married United States Senator in the 1970s in her memoirs. On an interview tour to publicize the book she has stated many times that if the public became aware of the affair with Senator Edward Brooke, who is black,  their respective careers would have been ruined.