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Reader Response Deepens Our
Collective Appreciation of the
Value of Unborn Children and Our Need to Protect the Vulnerable Part One of Two Good evening. Part Two brings you the latest on the Supreme Court nomination of Elena Kagan. There are four items on our new blog, "National Right to Life News Today" (www.nationalrighttolifenews.org). Everything from the latest in Canada and a Scottish online poll to Sarah Palin and more good news about adult stem cells. Please send me your thoughts at daveandrusko@gmail.com. If you like join all those who are now following me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/daveha. By Dave Andrusko There are so many wonderful benefits from writing this blog, but none is more personally rewarding than when readers take the time to share their ideas. As we wind up the week, let me give a thumbs-up to everyone who sat down at their keyboards to give me their thoughts on items that ran in "Today's News & Views" or in our new blog, "National Right to Life News Today" (www.nationalrighttolifenews.org), or both. I especially appreciated your thoughts on how to handle hostile responses (see http://www.nrlc.org/News_and_Views/May10/nv052010.html). I'm not going to identify anyone, because that allowed people to be extremely candid.
The very first feedback explained how often the "questions" he gets are not what they seem. By that he meant he was kind of the middle man--or the conduit--for people who were really gripping about something (or someone) else. Amen to that. When somebody goes to DefCon 4 about three seconds into a conversation about abortion--or even before you begin to talk--it's pretty likely the verbal eruption has nothing to do with you and everything to do with their own past. My correspondent wisely pointed out the value of waiting. He typically formulates his response but sends it only after calming down and reflecting. Another of his insight was that he sometimes postponed his response multiple times--and then found to his amazement that he had gained insight both into the original message and his own initial response. If the objection is--and it IS--to help someone deal with themselves and their oft-times intensely complicated feelings about abortion, then holding your own counsel is frequently a good decision. Not only do they benefit, we often will as well. Other readers were as fascinated as I was by the mixed media response from pro-abortionists to Sarah Palin's challenging insistence that pro-abortion feminists sell women short (see www.nrlc.org/News_and_Views/May10/nv052010part2.html). At least a few columnists seemed to be able to understand that you can connect the "feminist" dots but not come up with a picture that celebrates abortion. One TN&V respondent wrote, "It's encouraging how, in the last year or so, several writers with prominent pulpits in the media have tentatively expressed doubts about the pro-abortion stance, or open-mindedness toward the truth about life." But, as she wisely added, "The hard part about acknowledging truth is facing the responsibility to live by it." Indeed! Another young woman wrote arguably the most intriguing response of all. About to graduate from high school, she'd been "educated" on what "feminism" ought to mean during her senior year. By now she could articulate how respect for equality between the sexes and respect for unborn life go hand-in-hand. Wonderful responses, wonderful week. Please keep your thoughts coming. You could even--gasp!--write a letter. My address is Dave Andrusko, 512 10th Street NW, Washington, DC, 2004. |
