Dehumanization

Dehumanization-defined- simply put is treating a human being as if they were not human. How often does this happen? Some may think that it is a very rare occurrence. This is WRONG, it happens all of the time, in fact it never stops happening.

I will first cover one of the most obvious ways that we dehumanize people-abortion. Simply, a lot of people know that they are killing a baby but they use terms like fetus or say that it is just a clump of cells. Because truth be told if they said that it was a baby then they would be admitting not only to the woman that have the abortions, but to themselves that they are killing a human person. How many people do you know that can live with themselves after knowingly murdering a person? My guess is none. Also if abortion mill workers said that the baby was a baby then how many less abortions would there be? How many fewer abortion mills would there be?

Another way that we dehumanize is when we judge people by what they look like. Everyone does it. We all have a tendency come up with who we think a person is by what they look like before we even know who they are. If we see someone with a fancy car or expensive clothes most of the time we place them in a group of people who think that they are too good for us or are snobby. When in reality they could be very generous people who got there clothes at a thrift store to save money or they are just borrowing a car from someone because they don't have one available to them. We also tend to place people who have messy clothes and messed up hair and dirty skin in a lower class then even ourselves when they could have just finished helping someone fix their yard or paint their house. The thing is that we don't know there story or reasoning for something yet we look at them and push them down, sometimes unknowingly, so that we can build ourselves up. We forget to think of them as humans.

The final way that I am going to mention is teen pregnancies. Think about it, here we are as pro-lifers (disclaimer-not all people do this) and when we see a pregnant teen at the mall or walking down the street we automatically think of them as a bad person for getting pregnant in the first place. But did you ever stop and think to yourself that maybe it wasn't there fault and event if it was then at least they didn't have an abortion. At least they kept the baby and did't kill it. I think that a lot of teens get abortions because they are afraid of what others will think of them for being pregnant. We should show them a little support, they are human and make mistakes just like us.

There are so many ways that we dehumanize people that I am not even going to try to cover them all. Can I make a suggestion? Why don't we all try, when we see a person, to think of them as a person and not judge them for what they look like. It is a very hard thing to do but I personally am working on it because I am pro-life and pro-lifers, who are also human, are supposed to stand up for life from conception to natural death. And that means that we respect and care for all humans whether they are in the right or in the wrong.

Birthdays

Your birthday is a day that you look forward to every year. It is a day when friends and family think of you and wish you a happy birthday, there is more or less a feeling of being special and important. Everyone has a birthday it does not seem like a rare thing. You can walk up to a random person and ask them if they have a birthday and I bet that they will look at you like you are crazy and tell you that of course they have a birthday, who doesn't? But I am here to tell you that there are a LOT of people who do NOT have birthdays or whose birthdays are forgotten, and even worse most of them are little kids! The thing that keeps little human beings from having a birthday, even there very first one, is abortion and contraception (and yes, contraception can be an abortifacient).  Some kids, who do have birthdays, have their birthdays forgotten. Some who are in abusive homes are beaten for even having a birthday. Most people look forward to their birthday and the things that they will be able to do. When you turn 13 you become a teenager, 15 (in Texas) you get your drivers permit, 16 (also in Texas) you can legally drive on your own, 18 you are an adult, 21 (in the U.S.A) you can legally drink, and so on. every year there is more freedom and (hopefully) joy because you are older. In a way I for one have taken advantage of my birthday, and I'm sure that many others have as well, How many people go to their mom and tell her thank you on your birthday? You wouldn't have one without her.  For my birthday (this Monday) I will not take advantage of it. I am so glade that I have a birthday and that my mom chose life for me even though I was born after Roe Vs. Wade. So, thank you mom! Thank you for choosing to keep me and not legally (or illegally) aborting me! I am going to ask that everyone, when you are done reading this, to go and thank your mom (and dad) for choosing life for you! Know that you are BLESSED to be here, especially if you were born after 1973. 

March For Life Washington, D.C.

Hello, I mentioned previously that I won an essay contest to go to the march for life in Washington, D.C. and I will say that I had an amazing time! On the flight home I had three hours of basically nothing to do. At first I was sitting next to a complete stranger and I put in my headphones (that were only allowed to be used if we were not sitting next to someone in our group) and tuned out and fell asleep. Then once in the air, after my first nap of the flight, my good friend Aniya kindly asked if the guy would mind switching seats with her. He didn't seem to mind since he was only listening to music anyway so we got to sit next to each other for the rest of the flight. There was however about 2 full minuets that I had all three chairs to myself...Anyway since it was late at night and both Aniya and I were tired we listed to music on my phone (yes I guess we technically broke the rules but I am pretty sure Mrs. Laux would understand :) ). So again we were just listening to music and I was kind of bored so I started typing on my phone all that I could think of that we did on the trip and it goes a little like this...

1-22-14
I am currently on the airplane from Washington DC to DFW airport. It is 8pm Dallas time and we will not land for about an hour(and yes several of use calculated it...don't judge we are all very tired...). All of us from the Youth for Life Fort Worth Diocese will defiantly has some awesome memories. We flew into Washington DC last Sunday morning. Then Sunday evening we went an toured the national monuments. It was awesome! We took monument selfies and group selfies and monument selfies....(it was our thing...).

A very bad selfie with the Lincoln monument

Then went to the hotel for hot coco and cookies. We went up to our rooms (four to a room) and unpacked and pulled out our layers for the next day.

Monday morning we bundled up and got on the metro and went to the replica of the holy lands. When we got there we ate our sack lunches and walked around the gift shop. I got something for everyone in my family. Then we went on a tour of the monastery. Lauren her boyfriend Josh and her friends Anna Marie and Janeth met up with us and went on the tour. It was a really beautiful church and catacombs. Laurens friends are really funny. Janeth even climbed into one of the bunk bed thingies and I got a picture.

Janeth in the bunk bed catacomb replica 

And Annamarie was very excited about everything! It was really nice to get to meet them :). After the tour they went to the gift shop and we started to leave then Lauren texted me and asked me to come get something from her for the family. She got us a little pope Francis statue. It is really cute! After we went to the poor Clair's convent for adoration. Then we walked a long way back to the metro. We took the metro to the back of the White House and took lots of pictures.

Group selfie behind the White House.

Some of us were standing on a curb thing next to the fence of the white house and I got pushed onto the boys in front of me. After a million and one selfies and pictures we went to pray at planned parenthood. When we got there there was one other group and they were praying the rosary so we joined in with them. After they left we prayed the chaplet of divine mercy and the started another rosary. By the end of our rosary there were at least five other groups there. We were lined up all of the way down the street!!! It was soooooo amazing!!!

This is not even everyone!

Then we went back to the hotel and had dinner night prayer and games. On Tuesday it snowed!!! It was fluffy and cold and awesome!!

We went to the natural history museum and the air and space museum and met up with Kathleen!!!! We hung out and semi caught up for about an hour and a half.

Group selfie with Kathleen :)

Then we went to the basilica for mass. We sat on the floor to the side of the alter it was a good 45min profession of seminarians, Deacons, priests, bishops, arch bishops, and cardinals. Then we had the most normal mass you could with those standards. Mass started at 6:30pm and ended at 9:30ish pm.

Laying on the floor of the Basilica

Then we met up with Bishop-Elect Olson (for Fort Worth) and took pictures and talked to him and I got a selfie with him:) !!!!!!

Then we went back to the hotel and to bed. And today we got up at 7am and packed and made lunches then went to the youth rally/mass and then to the march for life.

Youth rally (only what was directly in front of me I was really close to the front)

There was still snow on the ground and it was really windy and cold. We marched for a few hours and my feet from and got stepped on.

I got just a few of the many people there in a picture.

Before we started marching we met up with everyone from the Fort Worth diocese and Totus Tuus (our homeschool youth group) plus some surrounded Zowey like she was the president just to keep warm. I also bought a march for life T-shirt. After the march we went back to the hotel to get our luggage and eat some snacks then we left for the air port on the metro. Then we waited and ate dinner then got on the plane. We are going to land soon (hopefully) it is 8:35pm now.

After we landed there was a good sized crowed of parents and siblings waiting for us. After saying hi to them and giving hugs we went around and of course took more pictures and selfies as if we had forgotten to take them on the trip :). It was a truly amazing trip and I cannot wait until I can go next year! (But hopefully it will be in rejoicing that abortion has ended instead of the reminder that it will be 2 years since Roe Vs. Wade.).

-Your Pro-Life Teen Blogger :)

What if

This is a thought that came to me.

March for Life in Washington DC, essay contest

Hello all, sorry that I have not posted recently.  I have some big news! I won an essay contest and I get to go to the March for Life in Washington DC!!! every year the Youth for Life group in the Fort Worth Diocese sponsors scholarships for 10-15 teens to go to the March. I was one of the winners!  Below is the essay that I wrote.

March for Life
Essay contest
2013

In the Bible there are many stories regarding marriage.  In Biblical times, the father would hand over his daughter in marriage to whom he saw fit (1 Samuel 18:19).  It seemed as if the father was handing his daughter over in marriage as a reward (Joshua 15:16).  However marriage has changed since Adam and Eve: and even more so since the time of our great-grandparents.  It used to be that once you married to someone, you were married to them until death.  Divorce was highly frowned upon, and was very rare.  Now, 41% of first, 60% of second, and 75% of third marriages end in divorce (statistics are from: http://www.mckinleyirvin.com/blog/divorce/32-shocking-divorce-statistics/).  Not only has the length of marriage changed but also the definition.  The original definition of marriage, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is, “The state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband and wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law.”  The new definition of “marriage”, also according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is, “The state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage; also known as same-sex “marriage”.”

When a married and financially stable couple announces a pregnancy, friends and family are normally eager to congratulate.  It is when the mother and father are not married and/or do not have a way to support both themselves and a new baby that friends and family can push them in the direction of abortion, and even when the couple has more than two children.  They justify the abortion by placing the parents’ needs above the child’s rights. They may not even believe that the baby is alive.   Life is an interesting thing, but what is the definition of life?  When does life begin?  “Life is the ability to grow, change, etc., that which separates plants and animals [and humans] from things like water or rocks; it is the period of the time when a person is alive.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).  Human life, for a fact, begins at conception, or fertilization.  Of course not everyone understands or knows this; and their definitions of when life begins change from person to person, argument to argument to fits what they want it to.  If the parents cannot care for a baby, their definition might be that life begins when the baby can survive outside the womb. 

Because of this “definition,” the lives of many humans have been terminated and disposed of.  One of the main, popular, and obvious ways that this is done is by abortion; which put simply is the killing of a human being.  However, abortion is not the only way that babies are being killed.  Contraceptives like the Pill and Plan B are abortifacients.  An abortifacient is a drug that causes and abortion.  Contraception is often use by woman and girls who want to avoid pregnancy.  The Pill works in three ways: first it tries to prevent ovulation, though some woman have breakthrough ovulation and can conceive.  Second, the pill tries to prevent sperm from reaching the ovaries by thickening the cervical mucus.  However, it is possible for sperm to break through and fertilize the egg.  If and when this happens, the hormones in the pill change the lining of the uterus, causing it to be thin and have holes in it; thus making it hard for the baby to implant, causing a chemical abortion.  Some women use the pill for “health” reasons.  Little do they know, most of the time the contraception can cause infertility in the future as well as cause other health problems.  For example the pill has many health endangering side effects such as: cerebral hemorrhage and thrombosis, Melasma, migraine, dizziness, loss of hair, cataracts, hypertension, mental depression, Edema, weight change, rash, pre-menstrual syndrome, bone loss, cancer, nausea, vomiting, etc.  Along with the above listed side effects, the pill has a large impact on reproductive organs; a few things that it can cause are: breakthrough bleeding, change in menstrual flow, breast changes, Vaginitis, Endometriosis, and so much more (side effects found on thepillkills.org).  Almost all of these side effects are serious; some of them may even cause death to woman.  All of these effects are in addition to the abortion that may occur. 

In these ways, life is not protected and cherished as it should be.  How can we protect and cherish life if abortion and contraception are readily available just about everywhere?  The biggest and most important thing that we can do is pray; we can and should pray for the mothers, fathers, babies, and families.  We should also pray for those who act against abortion and those who perform and defend abortion, contraception, euthanasia, etc.  Another thing that we can do is to spread the truth.  In order to spread the truth we have to stay calm.  But why do we need to stay calm?  It is important to stay calm because calmness invites deeper discussion and allows the opportunity to connect with people at a personal level.  We need to see each person as an individual and listen to his/her story.  Only once we understand their point of view can we speak truth with charity and hope to change hearts.  Personal attacks or emotional outbursts serve only to put distance between hearts, whereas calm responses will gain respect and trust.  A prayerful presence will also help us to remain calm.  With prayer we can ask for wisdom, peace, and the conversion of hearts.  It is also important to remain calm in order to be a model citizen and representative of the pro-life movement.  After all, to be pro-life is to respect life at all stages, never seeking violence as it is an assault on human dignity and the very essence of the culture of death which we are trying to overcome.  All in all we can help save people of all ages and the true definition of marriage by living and speaking the truth.

I am excited to be able to update you on what it is like to go to the March!!!

Pro-Life Boot Camp

Hello, I recently went to a pro-life boot camp. It lasted 5 days and was amazing! The camp started on a Friday and lasted until Tuesday. On Friday we arrived around 5:30pm for check-in at UD, after moving all of my stuff into my dorm room and meeting my room mates we all headed to the common room for the information on the week and to meet our groups, I was part of the Life-savers group. After organizing ourselves into six different groups we started on a scavenger hunt around the campus, my group finished first and got a prize of tootsie pops :). When all of the groups finished we did praise and worship in the chapel. By the time we ate pizza, as a late night snack, it was 9:00pm. When everyone had eaten their pizza (and popsicles) we lined up (girls on the right, guys on the left) with candles and processed back to the chapel for adoration and confession. Around 11:00pm we went back to the dorms for night prayer and lights out. On Saturday morning we had mass at 7:00am and then breakfast then we watched a movie on the truth to abortion, there were some graphic images but they were necessary for the video and for us to see. After seeing what really goes on in abortion mills like planned parenthood, we went to Southwestern, an abortion mill is Dallas, and prayed the rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet in front of the building. On the way back to UD we talked about how it affected us to be praying in front of an abortion mill and knowing what is going on inside. Many of us commented that it felt like we were actually doing something for the families affected by abortion rather than just talking about it. When we got back we had lunch and free time then our groups gathered for skit prep. At 3:30pm our groups gathered together and said the Divine Mercy Chaplet. After the Divine Mercy Chaplet we listened to a talk given by Dave Pomerantz, the founder of Save the Storks. After a dinner break we listened to Alison M.* (Not me) speak. After her talk we watched a movie on the Demographic Winter and then our small groups discussed what we thought. On Sunday morning the girls were awakened (not really most of us were already awake and getting ready) by the sound of the guys singing songs. The only one that I caught the words to was "you don't know your beautiful  by One Direction. After morning prayer in the common room we went to breakfast then we had a 'mom and baby bags' activity. During this activity you could make little diaper babies, sort through the items that all of the campers brought, assemble the baskets to give to the moms, or color crosses (There was a huge wall filled with crosses that needed to be colored, there were 13,744 crosses on the wall, I will explain them in farther detail in the next post). After we finished the activity we went to mass and then to lunch. After lunch we headed quickly back to the dorms to change into comfortable clothes. After we had changed we listened to a talk by Kristan H. from Students for Life America. After dinner and a talk by Rebecca we watched the film Crescendo then had a pro-life game night. We had Free time then night prayer and then the guys we singing along with a few of the girls. On Monday morning my group along with two others went to Fort Worth to pray at an abortion mill and then we went to a pregnancy help center and helped them to sort through some donations to give to the people who came for help. We then went to St. Patrick's Cathedral for noon mass  and then to CiCi's pizza for lunch. After lunch we went to St. Michael's church and the guys pulled weeds on the sand volleyball quart and the girls sorted through maternity clothes. When we got back to UD we had skit practice and then dinner. After dinner one of the chaperons, Hali N. gave a talk then we had a sports tournament (really we just did different sports there was not really a winner or even real teams for some of the games). After night prayer a few of the guys along with some of the girls started singing the Chaplet of Divine Mercy after a few minuets all of the guys, most of the girls and a few of the chaperons we singing, it was AWESOME!! then we sang a few other songs that everyone knew, "Don't stop believing" and "You don't know you beautiful". Tuesday morning we had morning prayer and breakfast then we got on the buses and went to pray at an abortion mill then we went to Calvary hill cemetery (the place where over a thousand aborted babies are buried) and prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet, it was a very touching and emotional moment. Upon returning to Ud we had mass and then lunch. Then we listened to a TOBET talk (theology of the body). After Ms. Monica finished talking to us Jacquelyn S. gave us a Pro-Life challenge and then we had dinner with our families. After diner our parents listened to a talk and the campers had final skit prep. after all of the skits we had night prayer and we gathered all of our stuff and checked out to go home. It was a fun and amazing experience and I plan on going again next year!

*names are not used for personal reasons. :)