letters from the director
March 20, 2007
No Honest Way to Avoid Certain Moral Questions
Anne S. from Illinois knows why I wrote about Barack Obama. She thanked me for speaking up about this moral and controversial issue that many Americans (and Catholics) choose to ignore. But one of Anne's Democratic co-workers thinks I’m attacking Obama because he is a front runner for the Democratic nomination. Therefore I want to clarify why I chose Obama to illustrate the Democratic position on abortion.
We know already that, like her husband who thrice vetoed legislation to ban partial-birth abortion, Hilary Clinton is Pro-Choice. Obama is simply a new face in the midst of an ongoing problem: pro-choice posturing. That is politicians who appear to be concerned about this issue to get elected, but do little to encourage change. For Obama, it’s crazy to say you want to help reduce the number of abortions, and at the same time, condone the killing of born and partially born children.
But, I will now take a moment to talk about Liberal Democrats in general, as I did via email with Anne, because Liberalism is killing this country’s values beyond abortion. How? It acts against the ideal of democracy or republicanism, as our third president, Thomas Jefferson, believed in. Republicanism is the political value system that among other things, “expects citizens to be independent.” A piece of trivia on Jefferson, he died on Independence Day, 1826.
America, as you know, has two political parties: Democratic and Republican. Liberals like Clinton are Democrats. But, really, if you look closely at her policies, such as National Healthcare, she is more like a Socialist; an extreme liberal, who desires advancement in life, avarice (or greed), and power. As such, one desires to take care of all Americans as if we are a village of children. (Again, I'm not talking just about the sick, poor, and less fortunate among us who should be treated with dignity and receive every ounce of assistance they need and deserve as human beings.) This liberal ideology is quite frankly, scary, and against the potential that resides in us as individuals and as a nation.
“Liberalism is necessarily sympathetic with the depraved nature of man, just as Catholicity is essentially opposed to it.” And Liberalism, that is Protestantism, rejects the “principle of authority in religion, it has neither criterion nor definition of faith.” Faith in God, something the aforementioned founding father had.
Therefore, liberals offering longterm welfare as the solution to poverty for example – the easy road – even to those who might otherwise become autonomous individuals, independent and free to be the best that they can be (and to help others achieve this goal too), are opposing the human spirit and freedoms guaranteed under our great nation. And they are limiting a God-given potential as well.
So, no, I am not attacking Obama. Or Hilary. At least not in the way liberals attacked Republican radio personality, Rush Limbaugh, when he challenged them on the issue of whether or not lobsters have feelings, and therefore, it’s cruel to boil them alive.
Anne hadn’t heard about this. But it happened.
Renowned author, David Foster Wallace, wrote 'Consider the Lobster' in his August 2004 feature on the Maine Lobster Festival for Gourmet magazine. Reportedly, his article highlighted two specific coping mechanisms that people adopt when confronted with the reality of animal suffering—avoidance and denial. Wallace admits that his “own main way of dealing with this conflict has been to avoid thinking about the whole unpleasant thing.” However, upon arrival at the Maine Lobster Festival, he found that “there is no honest way to avoid certain moral questions."
February 14, 2007
It's All We Got
There may be plenty of time to talk about candidate choices for the 2008 presidential race. But with so much being said about the Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, I want to jump in sooner rather than later.
One newscaster called the Senator a man of charm and charisma. And said something like this about his policies: he is for tax reform, good government and responsible spending, and finding energy alternatives without harming the environment. He is against the war in Iraq but wants our defenses to be strong, and promises to take care of our seniors and veterans, get tougher on crime, and ensure that every child receives a quality education.
This sounds right. I visited his web site to check them out myself. So, what could be wrong with this man who, on the whole, appears very respectable and full of integrity? No skeletons, yet, that I could find Googling his name.
However, I didn't have to look long or hard (or really at all) to recognize - based on his policies - the thing missing in the man: concern for the unborn.
Abortion kills over 3200 Americans per day, and 1.2 million per year, according to a 2006 Guttmacher Institute report. A child is killed by abortion every 22 seconds in America. Over 45 million Americans have lost their lives to abortion since 1973. And 50 million babies are killed worldwide every year. "This crisis deserves the utmost attention of our policy makers, and leaders," say Christians for Social Justice.
"Obama trivializes abortion by his attempt to find consensus social issues on which to base his campaign. He has a long record that neglects protecting pre-born children. Some 1452 black babies lose their lives to abortion every day in America. Unbelievably, Obama continues to refuse to address the disproportionate killing of African American babies in their mother's womb. Obama even supports the killing of born and partially born children. He claims to stand for justice but neglects to try to stop abortion."
In New Hampshire where I live, five state legislators are pushing a bill that would establish legal rights for the unborn, from conception to birth. House Bill 177 changes the definition of "another" in the murder and manslaughter code to include a fetus. The state already has a law punishing those who cause stillbirth or miscarriage. The bill may not make it far because NH Democrats now hold the majority. But I applaud these courageous and morally conscious politicians.
In past letters I've shared what Popes and Theologians say about abortion and how it affects our country and our future. Their message is worth repeating:
“Upon leaving the U.S. following a visit in 1987, John Paul II said, "...the very condition of your survival as a nation is directly dependent on how you treat the weakest among you, those yet unborn, in the womb, abortion." And in September 1996, trembling with anger, he stated, "...a nation that kills its own children, is a nation without hope."
Author, Dr. Malachi Martin, once stated that it is his opinion, and the opinion of many, that abortion is the chief cause of the final destruction of what we used to call, 'western civilization', because we have turned on babies, unborn babies.
You may have time still to compare the candidates before casting your vote for the next leader of a blessed nation - now forever changed on that hellish day in September, 2001 - but there's no time like the present to consider your faith, conscience, and what's at stake in America's Presidential elections. With so much being said about the Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, I want to speak up sooner rather than later.
* * *
I bumped into Peter today. No, not Saint Peter, during his profession of faith in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, when Jesus having asked the question, "Who do men say that I am?" Peter answered firmly, "Thou art the Christ, son of the living God." (Matthew xvi, 13-18; Mark viii, 27-29; Luke ix, 18-20.) That's when Jesus told him that his name would henceforth be Peter. In the Aramaic tongue which Jesus and his disciples spoke, the word was kepha, meaning rock. Jesus concluded with the prophetic words, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock shall be built My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
I'm referring to Peter, a fellow employee who sits in a nearby cube, and whom I've seen from time to time at the noon Mass at St. Kathryn's Church down the road from our office building. Standing in the cafeteria lunch line, we asked one another how things were going.
"I'm so busy," I said. "How about you?"
"Well, I'm still employed," Peter responded. "I'm grateful for that."
"Yes," I continued. "Me too. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? I try to stay focused on today."
"That's good," he said, and with a look in his eye knowing I would understand what he said next, added, "It's all we got."
May 4, 2006
Human Trafficking Crisis
In February of this year I attended a conference on Human Trafficking. I had little knowledge of human trafficking crime prior to that day. I was astounded to learn how widespread this international and domestic problem is becoming. The sponsor asked me to write an article about the conference to help raise public awareness. The article - posted below for the same purpose - was published in the New England news periodical, The Eagle Tribune, on April 11, 2006.
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Fighting flourishing modern slave trade is vital
D.L. Paul
They may look like the boy or girl next door, but they could very well be victims of modern-day slavery--the illegal trade of humans into prostitution and involuntary servitude--say outreach groups and victim service organizations from Boston, Washington D.C. and Florida. They along with local, state, and federal agencies such as the FBI and Immigration Customs Enforcement, attended the 2006 Boston Human Trafficking Conference last month in Devens, Mass.
After drug dealing, human trafficking is tied with illegal arms trade as the second largest criminal industry in the world today, and it's the fastest growing, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The federal government estimates between 14,500 and 17,500 of the nearly 800,000 victims internationally are trafficked into the U.S.
"This crime is far more commonplace than the public might think," Assistant U.S. Attorney in the district of New Hampshire Mark S. Zuckerman said. Attorney Zuckerman prosecuted the state's first slavery case involving a tree-cutting business in Litchfield in 2004. The company owners were convicted of forced-labor offenses and are serving prison terms.
Zuckerman who spoke at the Boston Conference in February says the public should also know there are laws specifically designed to address these crimes that are often hidden, conducted in the shadows through underground criminal enterprises. Nevertheless, often the public will pick up on some of the telltale signs: a domestic servant who rarely leaves his or her employer's house, appears depressed, and is verbally mistreated in public by his or her employer.
What must be done to stop this crime?
"On a global scale, raising awareness of human rights is the likely the most effective technique to thwart human trafficking," Zuckerman explains. "However, the issue is complex. Ultimately, traffickers are motivated by greed. Therefore, waging a human rights campaign in 'source countries' and 'destination countries' is a critical component of combating human trafficking, but without effective law enforcement and other means of addressing the economic interests at stake--making the slave trade too costly for the traffickers--efforts to eradicate human trafficking will not succeed. On a local level, stepped up training for law enforcement and aggressive and creative investigations and prosecutions are also key components."
Ann Marie Aiesi, currently a doctorate candidate of the Intercultural Human Rights J.S.D. Program at St. Thomas University, Miami, Florida, who sponsored the 2006 Boston Human Trafficking Conference, agrees.
"While every case is different," Aiesi says, "social service providers and other community outreach professionals are often the first point of contact for victims. There have been many grassroots efforts to raise awareness of human trafficking in the community. The Department of Health and Human Services campaign, 'Rescue and Restore,' has helped social service providers and law enforcement by supplying them with various anti-human trafficking training tools, often in a number of foreign languages. Training professionals is the key to identification of trafficking victims. There are many cultural and linguistic barriers to human trafficking intervention. Training will help law enforcement to identify potential victims, and to understand particular trafficking issues, such as the immense fear and psychological trauma victims are said to experience. They also need to know about protective services available to victims under the law."
Aiesi also wants more done to facilitate state prosecutions of trafficking criminals.
"I suggest the Justice Department policy, 'The Model State Anti-Trafficking Criminal Statute.' If implemented into state law, and in addition to existing federal laws, the statute could help facilitate the adjudication process. Victims would not have to endure the usual long-tedious investigation/prosecution process and could instead, concentrate on healing and rebuilding their lives. However, while some state laws on human trafficking, such as Florida's new anti-trafficking statute 787.06 are very similar to the federal anti-trafficking statute (TVPA), their penalties are not as severe. For this reason, federal prosecutors prefer to use the TVPA."
The public plays an important part in identifying this crime.
"Educating the public is so important," Aiesi said. "Too often victims do not realize they have rights. Even illegal aliens. The corruption that results from human trafficking crime undermines the rule of law, and may become a security problem. But it also posits a major health risk to this country. Regardless of the way one feels about the current state of immigration in the U.S., combating the indignity of human slavery must become a priority."
If you think you have come in contact with a victim of human trafficking, call the federal hotline at 1-888-3737-888. For more information, visit
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/.
Updated June 3, 2006 |
Read more Letters in our archives.
March, 2007
Dear Visitors,
Based on your feedback, we announced Heartworks Stories in November, 2005.
We invite you to share a special memory from your unique journey. Perhaps it's a tale of an unexpected miracle or angel encounter. Maybe you've experienced a challenge in your life that will inspire and encourage others enduring a similar challenge to move to prayer, peace, and comfort.
Simply send us email (info@immaculateheartworks.com). Include your story (max 750 words) along with a statement of permission to use it on our web site. Please note that we have limited editing resources; therefore, stories will be selected based on their preparedness.
We look forward to reading your stories.
Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum.
D.L. Paul, Director
Immaculate Heartworks
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