Today, I woke up. Amidst the constant torrent of things
striving to grab my attention, I woke up to reality. What is reality? Reality
is defined as, "the world or the state of things as they actually exist,
as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them." Reality is millions
are dying around the world, whether it be by abortion, hunger or war, and the
top trending article in my news feed is #penisgate. The top abortion provider
has come under serious scrutiny for detestable practices-even detestable to
those who think abortion is a necessary evil. Me? I am enjoying of the fruits of my prosperity, whether that
be eating one of the 164 food options in my fridge and cabinets, watching one
of the countless shows Netflix streaming has to offer, or simply walking safely
to my mailbox to check the mail. Prosperity makes me contented. In fact my comfort
level is so high, I have become callous. I am out of touch with what true
suffering looks and feels like. Why should I care? I have everything I need and
most of what I want. Well maybe not everything- I still need those pair of Ray
bans.
Historians have long conjectured over how the German
population during WWII could turn a blind eye to the atrocities happening
directly, for some whose very city housed a heinous concentration camp, under
their noses. For the people whose ideals lined up with that of the Third Reich,
it's obvious- everything that was going on was the fulfillment of their hopes
and dreams- the decimation of the Jewish race. This leads us to our first
vocabulary word of the day and one in which we all need to familiarize
ourselves: eugenics. Eugenics is a set of beliefs and practices
which aims at improving the genetic quality of the human population by
promotion of sexual reproduction for people with desired traits (positive
eugenics) or reduction, by sterilization, forced abortion or simply killing,
people with undesirable traits (negative eugenics). Eugenics is an application
of Charles Darwin's "survival of the fittest" theory in the realm of
human genetics to which Hitler was a devoted follower.
The second category of people were those who enjoyed their amenities
while millions were led to their death. These are the people with whom I can sorrowfully
identify. It helps, or perhaps makes matters worse, to set the stage of their
passivity. You see, the years leading up to the reign of the Third Reich were
particularly hard for the German people. They had just been dealt a tremendous
defeat in WWI. The state was forced to pay large reparations and to deal with
hyperinflation. This coupled with a general depressed post-war economy and morale made life difficult. In walks Adolf Hitler. He brought prosperity and hope for
comfort back to the life of the German. Just don't pay attention to what he is
doing on the side, in your own backyard.
Some say he seduced a yielding population who was suffering under their
own inability to see past their contentedness. Some just did not ask questions.
Some just could not comprehend the violence, and some just couldn't stomach it.
They said, "let's eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die."
Thirdly, there were the people who served as the opposition.
Who saw violence for what it was- murder is taking place and we will not stand
idly by. They were the ones who did something. They were the ones who did not
suffer from the cynicism that even if they protested it wouldn't matter. They
never succumbed to the belief that they were too small to make a difference.
They were the ones who could not go about their daily activity, go on their
vacations, eat, drink and be merry without being brokenhearted for the oppressed. They couldn't turn off their
sentiment. Their neighbors were being tagged worthless and evacuated before
their very eyes. This group was extremely few. This group they estimate to be
around 70,000 out of the 80 million that resided in Germany in 1939 and 65
million in 1946. In percentages, that's a mere 0.09% who didn't let the distractions of life make them numb to evil.
Why is it that abortion in and of itself does not singularly
cause outrage? Why did the pro-life groups have to put out videos of even worse
atrocities than abortion itself? Because the United States is languishing in
their comforts. Pro-lifers including myself have been too otherwise employed or
just having too much fun to fight this violence. I think these pro-life
activists are working to not only wake up the fence riders of the population,
but also the ones who claim to be adamantly in opposition of abortion. But what
can we do, you ask? Don't look away. Don't succumb to social pressures to stop talking about it.
Don't stop praying about it! Don't let the images of the last week out of your
mind. Ever! Vote for pro-life representatives, congressmen, presidents. Don't
let any other political issue rank above taking innocent life. Don't stop being
disgusted. Don't stop being outraged. Do NOT, for the sake of 1 million babies per
year, go back to sleep!
