Are We Really Pro-Life?

            This is going to be a bit of a rant of sorts. There is so much going on in the world these days that I am sure you don’t need another person adding to it, so forgive me for piling it on. We need to talk about some things though. We need to go ahead and acknowledge that a lot of thoughts in our communities have come from the roots of racism. We need to realize that this is just a fact that we all know in the back of our minds even though we don’t vocalize it or even want to acknowledge it at times. Racism runs deep in our society and it is even more prevalent these days. I know this is a hard topic to wrap our minds around because the majority of us think we are good, kind humans that aren’t racist in any form. I hate to bring it up, but we all have ingrained thoughts or beliefs that are racist in some nature. 

Think about how you characterize different groups of people. One example that I have seen played over and over in the media and in the community is the idea of a welfare queen. You know what I am talking about, the woman you see using food stamps at the grocery store but yet she has the latest iPhone, a designer bag, jewelry on every limb, and a few kids hanging on to her. Let me let you in on a secret, that iPhone well you can put it on a layaway plan and not pay a lot of money for it and that phone is her only way of communication with the outside world. In fact, that phone is used not just for phone calls and texting but it is used to find resources, find help, uses the internet for her children’s school work. That designer bag is most likely a knockoff. They make amazing knockoffs these days, and I am not going to get into a debate over the issues of knockoffs. See she wants to fit into society, she doesn’t want to be viewed as less than so one way of doing that is to have the bag that others have. Don’t tell me that you don’t have things that others in your community have so that y’all all fit in. I see you all in the lululemon yoga pants, the LV purses, the OTB shoes. We all want to fit in, that doesn’t stop at school age. That jewelry she is wearing, guess what? I own some of that jewelry and I may be paid $1 for some of it, again it’s all about fitting in. Those kids that she has, guess what? that is something that happens in her community because there are not resources to educate girls on safe sex, not enough to help them raise the kids, not enough jobs in her community that pays a livable wage so she can put her kids in daycare. See on our side of town we have all the money, all the resources to help our girls better themselves. 

I am going to shock you with my next statement, so buckle up and this is not up for debate. Did you realize that the fundamentalist view on abortion just came about around the 1970’s? See it was no longer prudent for Christians to taut their views on race, they had already funded private schools to keep white students separate after the big push for integration but realized since that was such a hot button issue, they could not touch it in that manner. So instead of being blatantly racist they turned their idea to abortion because if they argued that then they could still affect the black communities and prove how the white race was superior in that respect. Also, if they took up the mantle of abortion then they could continue to be elected because that was a hot issue. Well look back and see that they have done nothing in regards to abortion, in fact when the democrats are in office abortion rates are lower than if republicans are in office. That goes to the idea that democrats place more funding into poorer communities which the majority are black. 

I am telling you all this so you will see something. If you are against abortion then you have to be pro-life for all life. You have opposed the death penalty, you have to oppose homelessness, and you have to oppose differing schooling in communities. That is where the issue comes in, the majority don’t oppose the others just abortion. That is great but abortions are on the low end of pro-life. If you truly are pro-life then put your money where your mouth is. There are people right this minute freezing in downtown because they are homeless and it is not easy to get into and stay a shelter, do the research and learn about it. There are women with children who just had their power shut off even though they aren’t supposed to and they can now not feed them. They can use their phone (which you argued they didn’t need bc they are on welfare) to call and try to get it fixed but they probably won’t be able to because the power company doesn’t see people, they just see the numbers on the account. There are disabled people who can’t afford a wheelchair and are at the mercy of their neighbors. You know what? You are their neighbor and what are you doing to help them? 

I am not saying I am doing whatever I can to help all the time. I have just had my eyes opened lately to what it truly means to be pro-life. I am struggling with part of it because I’ll be honest, I agree with the death penalty in some cases so I am not sure I can say I am fully pro-life because of that fact; I am not even going to touch on abortion because that is a hot button issues that doesn’t factor into all of what I am saying. What I do know is that there are people, and I think that is the issue at times that we forget they are people, that are suffering. I am donating to help have their power turned on, to get a place to live, and to be able to feed themselves and their kids. I found an organization to donate clothing to that helps homeless people get clothed for free, I am pro-life. I want us all to open our eyes and really think about what it means to truly be pro-life. Pro-life has to mean more than just abortion, it has to be about all humans from all walks of life and their struggles. So, think about this and think about what you can do to better the human race and the help the humans in your community, which is not just your neighborhood or zip code. If you are pro-life then show it, be pro-life about all.