Through A Baby’s Tears, God Speaks
After sitting through newscasts leading up to the commencement and watching protesters get arrested who attempted to get onto campus grounds over the weekend and earlier last week, I came to the conclusion that people willingly toss principles aside to jump on a band wagon and in turn become lemmings of a cause or particular individual.
It’s incredibly sad and disheartening that a college that is rooted in Catholic principles could throw away the very tenants on which the school stands. The invitation of the most pro-abortion candidate, who has gone so far as to vote for infanticide, is probably one of the most despicable slaps in the face yet, to the Catholic faith.
I’m not Catholic and don’t feel it completely right to get into detail or opine on the matter, however, I can see where Catholics and ardent pro-life advocates would feel heart broken and devastated that a prestigious Catholic school would stoop to this level when they could have avoided the controversy all together. I personally feel that if Obama were more moderate on the issue, which his record shows anything but, we would not be having this outcry.
Prominent Catholic priests (Father Norman Weslin), politicians (Keyes), and abortion figures (Norma McCorvey a.k.a Jane Roe), all came to protest and support life. They protested in a peaceful manner only to be carted away by police throughout the weekend. Over 40 people were arrested and both Father Weslin and Alan Keyes were arrested twice. Those who were incarcerated with Keyes and Father Weslin said it was the best moment of their lives – they were able to hear two of the most principled national figures speak on the issue in the holding cell – when bail was made for the individuals, nobody wanted to leave – they wanted to continue listening…
I spoke with some moderate friends of mine (pro-choice) on Sunday in regards to the speech and all were in agreement, to my chagrin, that Notre Dame was in the wrong, mainly because it professes to be a religious school and acted against its founding principles.
I watched the speech that Obama gave and listened to his words. If I were a graduating senior and that was the speech given at my commencement, although I didn’t pay money for it, I would at least attempt to get a refund for the 45 minutes of my life that were wasted listening to another campaign speech, pontifications about public policy, and the story of Obama’s life. It’s my understanding that commencement speeches are directed at a graduating class, at their future, and what awaits them. Obama’s speech started out in that manner, but quickly turned into his usual hollow rhetoric.
The most poignant and heart wrenching part of his speech came during his discussion of abortion. It was not what Obama said regarding the issue, but rather a baby in the audience crying the moment he began talking about abortion rights – it even made him stumble and pause when he began his talking points. The baby, over everything else in that convocation center, could be heard. It was something that only God could enact; that baby’s cry was the single best argument against abortion.
That moment, of all others, made my otherwise waste of listening to his empty lecture, all the more worth it. Sure there were protesters and hecklers who were thrown out during his speech and who also made him stumble, but there is nothing as mind changing as the most innocent among us.
