Monday, September 01, 2008

Children: A blessing or a punishment?


How we answer that question indicates much about ourselves. Having had the privilege of working with developmentally-disabled children and adults for years, I believe with all my heart that every human being is created by God and is a unique treasure placed here for a purpose.

Senator Obama apparently sees things differently. In his own words, "..look, I've got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old..I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby." See here. Children as a punishment which should be avoided by murdering them? One has to wonder whose "values" the Senator intends to pass down to his children. Attila the Hun's?

Speaking on her husband, Michelle Obama is quoted as having said that, "He'll protect a woman's freedom of choice, because government should have no say in whether or when a woman embraces the sacred responsibility of parenthood." Read here. Has Mrs. Obama never heard of adoption? When has anyone suggested that government should force women to accept the sacred responsibility of parenthood? But does one have to kill an innocent human being to avoid the sacred responsibility of parenthood? Protecting innocent human life is also a sacred responsibility. Do we have to violate one sacred responsibility to avoid the other? Is this what the Democrats mean when they say that Senators Obama and Biden represent "change we can believe in"?

By way of contrast, Governor Sarah Palin (if she weren't already married I'd be at her doorstep with a fistful of roses), who has confirmed that her baby Trig Paxson has Down syndrome, is quoted as having said that, "Trig is beautiful and already adored by us..We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives...We have faith that every baby is created for good purpose and has potential to make this world a better place. We are truly blessed." Read the full article here.

Are children a blessing or a punishment? It all depends upon your world view doesn't it? For some, children are viewed (when they are deemed "inconvenient") as a "punishment." For others, "every baby is created for good purpose and has potential to make this world a better place." For some, a baby with Down syndrome is a blessing.

Since Michelle Obama has invoked the word responsibility with regard to the question of abortion, let's examine what Pope John Paul II had to say in his book Love and Responsibility some years ago:

"A person is the kind of good which does not admit of use and cannot be treated as an object of use and as such the means to an end...A person is a good toward which the only proper and adequate attitude is love." (Love and Responsibility, translated by H.T. Willetts, New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1981).

A person is a good toward which the only proper and adequate attitude is love. This is why those of us who are authentically pro-life will not vote for Senator Obama. We view children not as a "punishment" but with the "only proper and adequate attitude" which is love.
Related reading: Hurt.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't want anyone who thinks children are a punishment to represent me in the White House. No thank you!

Michael Cole said...

Finally, a VP choice we can all get excited about. Governor Palin is really going to energize this campaign. Not because she is "hot" (as Glenn Beck noted on his show), but because she brings integrity like McCain (being committed toward reform) and a committment to pro-life and conservative principles.

McCain/Palin has my vote.

Anonymous said...

Paul, your Blog is a blessing. There aren't very many Catholics who consistently "tell it like it is" and who would have the courage to tell the governor of New Hampshire he is a liar.

Your example inspires. It really does.

Pax Christi.

Anonymous said...

I didn't realize that you worked with developmentally-disabled children Paul. You really are a sweetheart you know that? Your writing reflects that too.

In His Love.

Anonymous said...

Sarah Palin did a great job at the RNC last night. I was very happy when she reminded those present as well as the larger television audience about Obama's statement ridiculing middle-class Americans who (he claims) use guns and religion as a "crutch."

Obama is out of touch with middle America and working-class Americans who believe in faith and family.

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