Cool new video from the Population Research Institute, a group of good folks working hard to break the presumption (ala Paul Erlich of Zero Population Growth “fame”) that there are too many people for the planet.
It’s a short (minute and a half) cartoon, the first in a series. Check it out here:
There’s also a backing website where you check out the science behind the claims in the video.
Good stuff!
I have been slow to wake up to the powerful reality of abortion, both it’s impact on the obvious victims as well as the not so obvious – the women and men who’s parenthood is so abruptly cut short, even the society who loses large swaths of it’s intended population.
Last week I talked about an “ah ha” moment about something I’d long known – that each person’s unique DNA is determined at conception – but simply hadn’t thought about too much one way or the other.
Un Video Poderoso de Eduardo V.
I recently ran across a powerful, fairly short video by Eduardo Verastigui. You may know Eduardo as the main actor in Bella, a recent movie that has, against most odds, turned into both an artistic and financial success.
Eduardo achieved quite a bit of success as both a musician and a telenovela (soap opera) star in Mexico, then while working to cross over to English language markets in the US had a major conversion. As a result he abandoned the secular entertainment biz and swore to use his talents to honor God. You can see more here, among other places.
A Powerful Message
Along with a few others he recently made a short video called Dura Realidad, or Hard Truth, concerning abortion, the impact on the hispanic and other minority communities, and this (US) election.
It is well worth a few minutes to watch and reflect. This is the original version in Spanish, with English subtitles and the abortion footage removed.
You can watch the entire video (including the abortion scenes) in both English and Spanish here (both without subtitles).
I’d strongly encourage you to watch at least the embedded version, and consider watching the full, unedited version.
Does This Bother You?
Honestly, I hope so. I have never really run into anyone who wants to see footage from an abortion.
Why is that?
Could it be that most people, regardless of religious, philosophical, or political viewpoints instinctually understand that abortion kills another human being?
I think that is precisely the reason why most folks don’t want to see abortion photos, why some of the most ardent “pro-choice” proponents get so agitated when such photos or videos are shown.
It’s also why so many women, who given a chance to see an ultrasound of the baby within, change their minds from an intended abortion.
Dura Realidad (A Hard Truth)
The reality is beyond gross, it’s an abomination to our very nature as human beings.
Most people can only support abortion in the abstract, not in it’s brutal reality.
Then why do we continue to support abortion? More importantly, how can we?
How?
Politics and religion don’t mix
That could almost be the post-modern American mantra, in a tragically peculiar sort of way. Except that it’s just not true. Maybe in a small sense, but that’s a post for another day.
In contrast, consider this short quote:
The Church claims no right to dominate the secular realm. But she has every right – in fact an obligation – to engage secular authority and to challenge those wielding it to live the demands of justice. In this sense, the Catholic Church cannot stay, has never stayed, and never will stay ‘out of politics.’ Politics involves the exercise of power. The use of power has moral content and human consequences. And the well-being and destiny of the human person is very much the concern, and the special competence, of the Christian community
- Arch. Chaput, Render Unto Caesar, pages 217 – 218.
This is from a recent book that I’m really excited about – Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life, by Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver.
I’m going to be reading it soon, and will post more as I go along.
I heard a comment in passing the other day that really struck me.
You know how that goes sometimes, where you know some little fact, perhaps even know that little fact for a long time, but then for some reason, perhaps all of a sudden that little fact really means something now?
Exactly what happened to me the other day.
It was this simple – I overheard someone mention that each and every person receives their unique DNA, their unique, fully-encoded definition of every aspect of their physical nature, at a very precise moment … conception.
No sooner, and definitely no later.
You don’t have to have any particular religious, philosophic, political, or any other particular world view to understand this fact. Rather, this is a very easily observable, well-accepted, scientific reality.
After that we begin changing in just about every aspect except this one … this central, well-defined structure which is the very definition of us as a unique person.
This is true for everyone and anyone who has ever been conceived. That’s right conceived, not born.
Why then, can we decide to take that unique individual, that unique person who carries their very own DNA, their own personal definition of who they are, and deny them life?
Why?
Posted in chewy chunks, life
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