I am watching “The Book Thief”.

If you’ve seen it, you know it is narrated by “Death”.

If you haven’t seen it, you know that now.

I can’t help but be reminded of the world in which we live. The majority along for the ride. Fitting in.

In WW II Germany, they burned books so they would not see.  Controlling thought. And by doing so, behavior.

But today no need to burn books.

For thought has long since been replaced by sound bites and sloganeering: choice; women’s rights; termination; products of conception, ad nauseam. Semanics greasing the skids of a world-wide killing machine which, in scope and sheer brutality, would have been the envy of the Fuhrer.

No need to burn books because real thought and decency have long since been hijacked. As has been the will to resist among those of us who know better. Lulled to sleep by the drip, drip, drip of the propaganda machine. And our own collective tepid response, fueling the sense of helplessness that grips us. Such that upon learning that there is at least one (Gianna Jessen) who managed to survive the un-survivable, we simply fit that living contradiction into our daily schedule. Like we do the local abortion mill that we rarely (ever?) darken with our shadow.

After all we are simply too busy to set aside an evening (May 1st in St. Louis) to honor this voice of “LIFE overcoming the narrator.”

One has to wonder have we become the crowd in the book, gathered around the bonfire of truth, own sense of decency long since drowned out by the “Grim……narrator”?

We have to end this madness.

One thing we can say for sure on the front lines of the abortion holocaust: God is not dead.

Goodness is dead among those who perpetuate this terrible bloodletting.

But not God.

At the same time it is clear on the front lines that fascism is alive and well.

As abortionists and their co-conspirators wage a war on reality itself.

A war on decency.

A war on humanity.

Like racists, those who support what an abortionist does to a human being are blinded by their own hardened hearts.

Their reasoning powers long since atrophied.

Having had many conversations with deathscorts and abortionists (and for that matter- moms, dads and grandparents such as those at Planned Barrenhood this morning). I now know exactly what it was like to reason with members of the Klan. Or for that matter Nazis.

No pun- abortionists’ preconceived beliefs allow them to suspend reality to perpetuate a holocaust.

Then, after piecing back together the head, torso, and limbs of a human being they just murdered, they step outside their mill and protest that our images of that brutality are in poor taste or manufactured. They use bedding sheets (how appropriate), Facebook posts, or what the heck- the media, to control…..THOUGHT.

And what of those who dare to think differently?

Ask Brenden Eich (out at Firefox). Bob Casey (censored by his own Democrat Party). The Little Sisters of the Poor. Joe Scheidler. The Walgreen pharmacists.

Of course we’ve all had experiences with some in our own families self-censoring themselves from our thoughts. Been defriended lately?

In this world of thought control words mean what the fascists want them to mean.

I had a conversation with a co-worker years ago. He bragged about how he was an “ex-priest” who wrote an op-ed against the Catholic Bishops and went about giving talks on homosexuality. He offered me a copy of his treatise. Upon reading it I pointed out that he had completely misrepresented the Church’s position. “Words” he said, dismissing me, “just words.”

So how to communicate with those who just make it up as they go along? I knew that as long as my co-worker clung to his abuse of basic human reasoning, communication was futile. I decided the best I could do was to pray for him. And redouble my efforts to restore some sense of sanity to a world seeped in self-deception.

The fact of the beginning of a human being’s life interferes with the “contraceptive” agenda?  Just re-invent the beginning. Bingo. IUD’s and “the pill” no longer act as abortifacients. Meanwhile these very same pseudo-scientists, when it serves their purpose, brag about creating “human life” in test tubes and petri dishes.

So which is it? Inception or implantation?

“It depends.”

Somebody pinch me.

These modern-day alchemists seamlessly morph their study of the natural world with philosophy and pragmatism, and insist the resultant intellectual elixir is “science”. They hawk this pseudo-science at our universities. Medical schools. Pharmaceutical companies. And now from the bench of the Supreme Court.

Fascism is indeed alive and well. Perpetuated by totalitarians who are intolerant for the sake of “tolerance”. Never letting “inconvenient truths” get in the way.

In closing, a word of caution for those who take solace in dodging this bullet. These fascists have long since been at it on the other end of life as well. The murder of Teri Schaivo was but the tip of that iceberg.

We have to end this madness.

OK family and friends, here’s the official invitation to the upcoming Gianna Jessen opportunity in St. Louis.

The Nettles clan have jumped out to a sizable lead (thanks Maureen, Jessie, Jackie and Josh), but the Rapps are out of the box (Monica, Shannon and Danny) with Shane toying with the longest drive award (250 miles). The Ryans are holding our own (thanks to Linda, Beth and yours truly). “Friends” are ahead of everybody as they’re approaching 2 tables.

As to my many other family members? It’s time to step up to the plate.

I told my medical team at work about Gianna. No reaction. Really? This woman survived an un-survivable attempt on her life. She is one of only a handful of the 67 MILLION attacked by abortionists to live, much less speak about it.

So why no shock?

Ask yourself what your reaction was the first time you learned about Gianna?

Were you shocked?

Did it raise the hair on the back of your neck?

If you’re like most of the people I’ve told about her…..

Not so much.

Most show interest of course, but NO ONE, not one person I’ve told has responded with shock.

“SURVIVE AN ABORTION?! THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE! HOW CAN THAT BE? SURVIVE AN ABORTION? SHE HAD TO HAVE INJURIES! IS SHE DEAF? CAN SHE WALK? MISSING LIMBS? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!”

None of that.

I spoke with Joe Scheidler about that today. He’s noticed a similar phenomenon among those who know better. Those of us who seek to live the Gospel of Life. We agreed that over the years WE’VE gotten used to what an abortionist does to a human being. We’ve managed to work our daily lives around it.  We’ve been affected by living amongst the culture of death for over 4 decades. And we’ve been affected by our collectively tepid response to this horror of unimaginable magnitude.

So in addition to a need to be there to honor Gianna for doing the impossible and the suffering she’s continued to endure from the abortionist’s attempt on her life…….

we need to be there FOR US.

We have to get over being USED to this horror. We will never end this madness as long as we continue to allow ourselves to be as used to abortion as the abortionists are.

Perhaps that’s why as you read this you’re thinking ‘We’ll never end this anyway, so let’s just cut our losses and make the best of it.’

Wrong. You seriously want to pass this mess on to yet another generation?

You think you have no more  responsibility as a survivor of this holocaust?

So do yourself a favor and overrule all those very legitimate reasons in your life why you can’t be there on May 1st, and show up.

Set aside all the significant inconveniences that coming to the dinner will entail. It’s totally impractical. I have no doubt.

Be there anyway.

Find a babysitter if you have to.

Reschedule or flat out miss those other responsibilities that are tugging at you that night. Do the ridiculous. The unexpected. And be there.

You owe it to….YOURSELF….YOUR KIDS….and the rest of us as we help each other become “un-used” to the unthinkable.

Love you guys, or I wouldn’t be such a nuisance about this.

Uncle/Papa John aka Dad

Life in the shadow of Babel.

Only today we use the same words but change the meaning to speak different languages.

And not just at abortion mills.

I’ve spoken to many doctors who invoke “do no harm” to explain their decision to not feed or hydrate a human being diagnosed with dementia. And so they do just that. “Harmful” now means to keep alive a human being with dementia. Why? Because their life is not considered worth living. A notion that undoubtedly has Hippocrates spinning in his grave. Of course the cause of death is listed  as “complications of dementia.”

How is it that we devolved to the point that It’s now considered malpractice to provide the accepted medical standard of care to certain human beings? Considered wasting “limited resources” such as food and water on the “useless eaters” of today.

The Nazis are despised for what they did. Doctors of today are(?)…reimbursed by insurance companies.

Today It’s crazy to stand outside an abortion mill and offer to help solve the problems of those who come there,  But perfectly sane to stand on the parking lot of the self-same mill, wearing a “pro-choice” vest in order to prevent mom’s from learning about help that’s available.

Analogies can be tricky when it comes to abortion. After all there is nothing, in the history of the world, that compares to the horror of what an abortionist does to a human being. In either brutality or scope.  Nothing. And yet in our Babel, over 67 million innocent human beings crushed, dismembered, beheaded, poisoned and otherwise killed is not a holocaust.

The unimaginable horror I just described is perfectly “legal“. Standing between the intended victim and her waiting assassin? A federal crime.

What an abortionist does to a human being is celebrated, but showing pictures of that which is celebrated is considered…… offensive.

Those who abuse children are perpetrators and universally despised but those who abuse children to death are simply called providers.

And the accepted words to describe the place where innocent human beings are tortured to death by abortionists include “facility” or “clinic”,but most certainly not mill.

That’s reserved for puppies.

We have to end this madness.

I cannot say this better than the amazing people in this video. All I’ll add is that EVERYONE needs to take the time to listen and watch. Amen?

Years ago I overheard a conversation. A co-worker had the misfortune of using the expression “Don’t beat a dead horse” at which point he received a thorough tongue-lashing from a fellow co-worker who identified herself as a horse lover. It wasn’t pretty.

So at a safe distance, both in terms of time and space, I want to go on record  that the title of this post is just an expression!

And once again I wade into the subject of the language of “the culture of death” as used by the people of the “Gospel of Life”. For language not only informs us, it forms us. And that formation is the catalyst for how we act. Including in this respect our behavior in response to the social injustice of what an abortionist does to a human being.

Today, I had a conversation about abortion and language with a co-worker who self-identified as a pro-lifer.

And she most certainly is.

But she said while she abhors abortion, that is not her passion.

She also  worried about using “inflammatory words”, voiced her concern about “condemning” language, noting such language might “incite.” In order to satisfy this concern however she ended up  using words like “perform”  and “clinic” as well as “procedures.” She also cautioned to beware that the purpose of such language might be to satisfy a need to “be right”. She had not read, but could have written the editorial I responded to in my previous post. In fact the words that concern me are used in many pro-life publications and by many I know. They are all good people. But it needs to stop.

Now I readily admit that I like to be right. But 41 years of being right is no consolation. Particularly with a body count of well over 57 million and counting.

No, my concern about language is being accurate. And most importantly to not betray the victims of the abortion holocaust by using the language of their oppressors.

My co-worker worried out loud that the word oppressors sounded “inciting” as well. She thought likewise of my use of the word “commit” (i.e. abortionists commit abortions). I suggested that my language would come better into focus if she assumed the perspective of the intended victim. Of the Gianna Jessens of today.  She said she wold ponder that one.

I also pointed out that using minimalist language also changes us, and more importantly shapes our response (or lack of the same). I pointed out how ridiculous, I would say scandalous, it is that we rarely even PRAY about what an abortionist does to a human being. At least in Church.

I want to scream at the top of my lungs, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Not even pray about it?

There are actually conversations in Church rectories, among liturgical committees about whether our Worship should include prayers about what abortionists do to human beings? Really?That’s up for debate? Am I the only one who finds that stunning?

Actually I suspect it’s even worse than that. I wonder if, after 41 years, the conversations even occur. That we’ve gotten so used to abortion (as our individual “language of choice” shapes our perception of the word abortion) that it doesn’t even occur to us to do something about it. Abortion is the scandal of the “Christian” church, in that for over four decades, it’s been committed right under our collective noses. That it’s occurred because of what we’ve done as well as what we’ve failed to do.

But we don’t want our children exposed to “abortion” we’re told.

Then end it.

In the meantime, since we didn’t do that in the past, our children have already been exposed to abortion. They are all survivors of a holocaust that took the lives of a third of their peers.

So whenever and wherever they gather our children (actually everyone under the age of 41 plus) live among a despairing version of “It’s A Wonderful Life”: absent all the “George Baily’s” of their generations. in our world, George’s brother drowns in the ice…the troop carrier sinks…his children are never born…..

We do not shelter such survivors when we massage our language to be inoffensive; rather we condition them (and ourselves) to tolerate an injustice of unimaginable magnitude, and dishonor the memory of their peers. We not only failed to protect their peers from abortionists, we now seek to keep what happened to their peers from interfering with our daily lives. And generations experience an unidentified EMPTINESS.

My co-workers concern is shared by many whom I respect: that we might be offensive. So how do you inoffensively describe the most offensive act imaginable? And if you do find such a way, what exactly are you then describing?

Keep in mind, from the beginning abortionists also sought to describe what an abortionist does to a human beings in an inoffensive manner.

That’s how they came up with “pro-choice”. They used other inoffensive words like “clinic”, “procedure”, “perform” and “providers”.

Sound familiar?

How is it even remotely possible that the people of the Gospel of Life use the language of the “culture of death”? Of the oppressors? Share with those who dismember, decapitate, poison and otherwise kill innocent human beings a common language with a common goal to be inoffensive?

The irony is that we’re told we need to use such inoffensive language in order to maintain “our credibility.” The real question is: what credibility can we claim when we use the language of the perpetrators and end up doing less  about what an abortionist does to a human being?

And finally, what exactly are we being “faithful” to….

if we can’t even manage a public prayer…

about the very public scandal of abortion in America?

I maintain if we discipline ourselves to talk (dare I say pray) about what an abortionist does in a way that truly represents the horror being perpetrated, then being on the front lines standing in the breach will no longer seem radical.

It will become the norm.

Then we can truly begin to protect our children from the horror of abortion.

We have to end this madness.

Now!