Regardless of our opinions about Barack Obama as a politician, or even as a man, we all share a profound similarity with this eloquent senator from Illinois: he, like us, had a mother.
Of course, not all of us are so fortunate, nor so grateful, as Senator Obama has revealed himself to be. Not everyone harbors such deep and sincere admiration for the character, the sacrifices, and the love of their mother. But, I daresay, most of us do. Motherhood by its very nature is so generous, so selfless, and so essential that only a lack of gratitude on our part, or a perversion of behavior on the part of one’s mother, could prevent us from appreciating her and wholeheartedly rejoicing with Obama as he shares the triumphant stories of his own mother’s momentous influence on his life.
Who among us doesn’t feel a warmth stirring in our hearts when we see the pictures of young Barack wrapped securely in the sturdy arms of his mom? Who doesn’t smile at the now familiar tales of her confident encouragement and her unabashed promotion of her children’s many gifts and talents? And who does not feel a pang of sorrow when we hear of the all-too-common fate of this indomitable woman who, at last, could not overpower the creeping cancer that finally claimed her body as its own?
Yet, for all this, we must ask why Obama has failed to notice, or perhaps simply failed to acknowledge, the most fundamental gift his mother ever gave him: the gift of life. Here stands a glaring and obvious irony. It is only because she gave the fetus in her womb a chance to live that Barack Obama can aspire to become the next President of the United States of America. It is only because this single mom, pregnant before her brief marriage to Obama’s father, chose life that her son is now free to oppose it. Had Barack Obama been aborted — a fate so many in his precarious position have since suffered — he could not stand before us today so boldly professing a woman’s “right” to end the life of her child.
Alas. Herein lays the definition of political discrimination: a group of people that is not at risk condemn a group of people that is. Obama survived. He made it. Thanks to his mother’s choice to nurture him for nine months in her own body and finally introduce him to the world through her maternal labor, he’s safe. He’s no longer at risk of being aborted. His support of the laws and decrees against the right to life will never affect him.
No. It will be the unborn, powerless, innocent sons and daughters of so many frightened single mothers in need of our support who will suffer at the hands of this man. Only those who can neither speak for themselves nor offer anything in the way of self-defense will be (and have already been) jeopardized by his pro-abortion voting record. It will be the future Barney Smith’s and Monica Early’s of the world, the future presidents and pet-store owners, whose stories may never have the chance to be proclaimed on big screens in a Denver football stadium if Barack Obama has his way.
As we continue to witness the effective campaign tactic of appealing to the universal soft-spot we have for our moms, let us bear in mind that this man’s appreciation for his amazing mother disregards the greatest contribution she ever made to his welfare and his existence. She gave him life.
