America is Sleeping

MARCH FOR LIFE JANUARY 22, 2012

So much has been happening both personally (my baby girl turned one) and nationally, that I have not had time to sit down and write.  On January 22nd, approximately 400,000 people descended upon our nation's capitol to walk in protest over the Roe v Wade decision that tragically and drastically changed the face of our nation these last 39 years.  The media barely covered it, of course...which always seems to astound me every year.  How is it that news agencies all over the U.S. do not seem to find half a million people from 50 states congregating in one spot to march for a beloved cause "newsworthy"?  How is that even possible?  Is it just that they turn a blind eye because the March for Life occurs every year - kind of a "yawn, there go the right wingers again"?  Or is it they turn their backs because they march for LIFE?  Is the topic too controversial or is it abhorrent?  Evil works best in the dark, so it is not a stretch of one's imagination to believe that pro-aborts are "in the dark".

The topic of evil leads me to my next topic, which is the decision by the Obama administration to impose their idea of health on every person in the US, regardless of how one's faith might dictate his/her view of health.  Kathleen Sebelius (a supposed Catholic from the heartland of America), her department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and President Obama have just mandated that contraception and sterilization be covered 100% by all insurances starting in 2013.  Of course as Catholics, we cannot live with this decision.  We will not abandon God's rules for our nation's.

This is no different than mandating that all Jews must begin eating bacon, and all Jewish employers must cover the cost of the bacon for every one of their employees. When we step back and look at that example, it sounds ridiculous.  It would be a ridiculous request and if mandated, there would be very loud protests in the streets by people of all faiths standing up for our Jewish brethren.  What if the government began mandating that all "environmentalists" must begin paying for the destruction of our forests because we needed the wood for building supplies and the land for construction.  It wouldn't matter where the forests were and ALL U.S. citizens would have to pay for the cutting down of our precious trees and forest habitats - regardless of your beliefs. Again, that is a ridiculous example because we all know the kind of protests that would ensue over that one!  These examples are actually nothing in comparison to how we Catholics feel about the mandate from Kathleen Sebelius and President Obama.  They cannot make us pay for abortions, sterilization, or contraception - which can lead to cancers, sterilization, and abortion.  We Catholics stand for LIFE.  We will not take part in the destruction of life.

On the White House's blog page, one can find a blog written February 1 by Cecilia Munoz, regarding this issue.  In her blog, she states that there has been some confusion and she wants to clarify, so she states some "facts".  There are two of these seven "facts" which stood out to me.  The first one is that she says according to a study by Guttmacher, 98% of Catholic women "have used contraception".  There is no follow up to that sentence...just that "fact".  That is an IDIOTIC statement.  First of all, even if 100% of Catholic women have used contraception, it does not mean they are still currently using contraception and don't regret it.  Once you find out the harmful effects oral contraceptives can do to a woman's body, you run from them - not walk.  Secondly, even if 100% of Catholic women are currently using contraception and love it, it doesn't make it right....and it doesn't mean the Church should compromise its principles and tell its precious women they will begin paying for something that has the potential to kill them and any potential babies.  It's like saying, well, all Catholics sin, so they shouldn't go to church anymore.  IDIOTIC!

The second point in Ms. Munoz's blog which more than irritated me (it is a terrifying statement) is the following statement:

"Contraception coverage reduces costs: While the monthly cost of contraception for women ranges from $30 to $50, insurers and experts agree that savings more than offset the cost.  The National Business Group on Health estimated that it would cost employers 15 to 17 percent more not to provide contraceptive coverage than to provide such coverage, after accounting for both the direct medical costs of potentially unintended and unhealthy pregnancy and indirect costs such as employee absence and reduced productivity."


This, my friends, is government-mandated population control.  She outright says that it will be cheaper in the long run for these things to be covered 100% in healthcare by employers because the cost of pregnancy, birth, and time away from the job after birth is more expensive.  I don't remember "we the people" giving the government the right to tell us when we should be having babies and how many we should have.  The fact that this woman blatantly writes this on the White House's blog shows you this administration's audacity to force its views down the American people's throats.

I have a friend who recently immigrated from South America.  She said to me, "America is sleeping."  It doesn't get any more serious than that.  AMERICA WAKE UP!  If the President can get away with this, he will not stop with Catholics.  He has already proven time and again he is no friend of Israel.  We are a Christian nation built on the principle that we are one nation "under God" - meaning God is at the top.  God is first.  We also adhere to separation of church and state - meaning the government cannot overstep its bounds and ask its people to abandon their beliefs (so long as they are not breaking laws).  The government has overstepped its bounds.  They are asking Catholics to abandon their faith.  They are asking Catholics to disobey God outright.  It will not happen.  Thankfully, the American bishops are fighting!  I have faith this will get shot down by the Supreme Court, which leads me to...why in the world did they do this anyway?  I have a few reasons - starting with Obama's arrogance - but I will digress.

On a happy note, my baby girl turned one today.  I can't believe it's already been one year - one year since I first held my daughter's tiny hand, stared into her blue eyes, smelled her pink skin, and nursed her in my arms.  She is a miracle I prayed for my entire life. I promised God that if I had a girl I would protect her.  I would protect her innocence and her self-respect.  I have done that and I will continue doing that.  Life is precious and it can be fleeting.  As we mover farther away from the twentieth century, I am wondering just how "left" will we move as a nation before we come back to center?  How far do we have to sail off-course before America finds its wind again to sail on a straight path and lead the fleet?  I am hoping this next election brings change - not the kind of change Obama promised - but a shift in our society to begin seeing and reaching for truth.  We must always strive to be what our forefathers wanted us to be.  They put so much careful thought and planning into the founding documents of this nation - documents we must all be familiar with so that our rights aren't completely trampled on as they are being trampled on by this latest HHS decision.

As I stated before, evil lurks in the dark, so keeping people in the dark is its greatest line of offense.  America, COME OUT OF THE DARK, STOP SLEEPING, AND WAKE UP!  This is not a dream.  We are living through a crucial time in our history.  I will not allow this administration to strip away my daughter's basic right to protect her own body, to cherish her body as the feminine life-giving vessel it was intended to be!