by Thomas P. Johnson
With last month's passing of the one-year anniversary of the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001, perhaps America's collective consciousness will discern how to stop terrorism from happening again. Perhaps the war against terrorism will come to include all forms of terrorism and not just the type that brings planes crashing into buildings.
As horrible and painful as the September 11, 2001, events were, relatively few people in this nation stop to consider the 1.5 million babies killed annually in this country through legal abortions. This means 4,109 lives are lost every day through this abhorrent practice a death toll that eclipses that at the WTC on 9-11-01.
This also means that we Americans legally sanction a September 11, 2001-sized slaughter of innocent life every day of every year for the past 30 years. The difference, of course, is that the unborn killed via abortion never have a chance to experience this life. They never have the opportunity to love or the pleasure of growing and learning. They never have the chance to bend their knee in worship or even simply to play.
One wonders where the television shows are commemorating the aborted children in this nation. Or where the banners fly expressing our national grief for such horrible losses. Where is the national debate about building an elaborate federal memorial for the millions lost through abortion? Where are the calls to wage a war against this particularly virulent form of domestic terrorism that seemingly has no end in sight?
We collectively and rightfully gather in grief, fear and pain over the loss of our fellow countrymen at the hands of evil terrorists. But, tragically, we appear to have little ability to recognize the horrors of our own daily practices.
We Americans like to trumpet our love and respect for human life. Yet we plainly and obviously lack true love and respect for the lives of our unborn brothers and sisters, who constitute the most vulnerable and unprotected groups of humans in our midst.
One can only hope and pray that with the events of September 11 seared in our consciousness, we Americans will more readily be able to recongize the terrorism we commit regularly against the unborn.
As Catholic Christians we know that Jesus reflected a special love for the young and issued a clear mandate to allow the children to come to Him (Mark 10:13-17). Yet with every abortion we prevent those innocent unborn children from experiencing the joys of “coming to the Lord.”
Let us collectively pray that we will become a nation that willingly bestows unconditional love and respect upon all human life, not just upon the lucky, the strong, or those we deem worthy.
Thomas P. Johnson is freelance writer, husband and father of four children. He has written two novels and a non-fiction Catholic spiritual guidance book. You can email him at thomasj317@earthlink.net.