The Breakdown of Society

I wrote this in a pocket notebook late at night on Friday, but since I didn't have access to my computer, I am just now posting it. I also have added a couple things to what I wrote Friday at the end:

Friday 4/3/09: Today was a very tragic day. As I am sure you are aware, a gunman killed 13 and himself in Binghamton, NY. This hit close to home for me. I have been in Binghamton numerous times since it is only about a 40 minute drive from my home. I have numerous friends living in and going to school in Binghamton. When I found out about the shooting, I was waiting to talk to my professor about my resume...for an internship in Binghamton. So yes...it has been a tragedy that has struck a chord within me.

This afternoon, I was listening to the radio so I could hear the initial press conference. Its start was delayed over 30 minutes. While we all waited, the radio station took calls from people around the area. There were many speculations on how such a horror could happen and what to do to prevent future events. One caller, and the comments of the host that followed, really hit the nail on the head though.

Look at our society. This, according to a news source, is the FIFTH mass-murder in a MONTH. I admittedly was only aware of two others (the nursing home murders in North Carolina and the police killings in Oakland(?)) since I have scaled back the amount I read the news. But, regardless, this is becoming way too common of an event.

My peers and I have grown up in a different time...we are the product of the Columbine Era. I was in 4th grade when that atrocity occurred, and it has never left my mind. It, along with other school shootings since, affects me even still, dictating where I like to sit in a class room and making me nervous of lecture halls.

Why are these things happening? What is the cause? It is as if American society itself is breaking down. Well, perhaps it is. And, as I heard on the radio earlier, our attitude towards human life may very well be at the center of that. As a society, the only human life we care about is our own.

As I watched the news early in the afternoon, the analysts and talking heads could predict the situation with frightening accuracy. They suspected the killer had probably lost his job, or was upset with something to do with a person at the Civil Center or the Civil Center itself. Though not confirmed to my knowledge as I write this (again..this was Friday...), it is reported that the killer had worked for IBM and recently lost his job. The thing with these mass-murders is that the killers jump right to the extreme and start shooting. If there is no respect for human life, why not?

When a society loses respect for life, these are the kind of things that happen...what else should we expect? Life is the most precious gift a person has. I mean...come on...with out it, nothing else material matters! So if society doesn't respect that most basic of building blocks, what will they respect? Nothing, not even themselves. It is, in the truest senses, a break down of society.

Could I be going too far in saying our culture does not respect life? I don't think so!! Abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem-cell research, cloning, human-animal hybrids, contraception...all of these things that are becoming or already have been embraced by western culture. This is especially true of the Obama administration, which has nominated one radically pro-abortion candidate for his Cabinet after another. Not even three months in, and Obama has certainly lived up to his feared reputation as a strong support of the culture of death. And I really fear that unless something changes, things will only get worse.

What can we do? Before anything, we need to help those already hurt by the horrors. Pray fo the victims...pray for their families...and the killer's family and friends, a group that I think often gets overlooked, but likely needs the most prayers. Can you imagine being in their shoes? Pray pray pray for them, and I pray you never have to go through something that horrid. After that though, we as a society need to rethink our values and what is REALLY important. We need to stand up for Life! For some of us, that simply means leading by example. For others though, we are called to battle, especially on behalf of those who cannot fight for themselves: the unborn and comatose that are murdered for whatever reason, be it money, convenience, or simply being a burden.

Especially of Obama keeps up with his first months in office, this is a war that MUST be fought. Get on an action alert email list,which notifies you of petitions to sign and makes sending your representatives your thoughts as easy as a couple of clicks. Find a pro-life group and get involved. If you can't find one, start one. I am doing that here at college, and it really is not that hard. There are websites available to help with that. Be a witness to others. Speak up to those who are unsure of their position on these topics...educate them! It is amazing how a few small words can impact someone. And if you don't think you can, remember Mark 13:11 ("...do not worry beforehand about what you are to say. But say whatever will be given to you at that hour. For it will not be you who are speaking but the holy Spirit.") and take courage. And most of all, pray!

Additions made Sunday 4/5/09: At Mass this morning, our priest started his homily by telling us that he was in Binghamton Friday. When he heard of the shootings just a few blocks from where he was, he went to one of the hospitals, where he spent many years as a chaplain. He told us there was a victim there who had been shot in the leg, and who had no religion (coming from a communist country, that is no surprise.) However, when they told him that they were praying to Jesus for him, he cried. Later, he was sent to the place where the families and friends of the possible victims were gathered. He had a Buddhist woman come up to him and ask him to pray "the Mother of God" prayer...better known as the Hail Mary. He basically said that, even though he had never been in such a place with such shock and grief...that he could feel grace at work there. He then went onto say that, even though this is a tragedy and a manifestation of evil, it is not cause to despair. Next week, we celebrate Easter, the Resurrection of Christ...the triumph over sin and death!

Yes....we have a battle to fight...and it very badly needs to be fought, that is clear. And it will be a tough battle, but we can not give up and can not despair. Remember, this battle has already been won for us, when Jesus died on the cross and rose triumphantly three days later. And as we enter into Holy Week, what better of a thing to keep in mind than that!

Links of Interest:
Students for Life: creating a group: http://www.studentsforlife.org/index.php/resources/start-a-group/
National Right to Life: http://www.nrlc.org/
CatholicVote.com: http://www.catholicvote.com/
Susan B. Anthony List: http://www.sba-list.org/
National Committee for a Human Life Amendment: http://www.nchla.org/index.asp
Abort73: http://abort73.com/

Please let me know of other links I should add here by posting a comment! Please forward this along to your friends and family...it is a great first step is getting involved.

Time is short...

It has now been a little over a week since Election Day. Last week, after the election, I blogged about keeping hope in the growing darkness. Keep that blog in mind as I reflect on the events that have occurred since. The purpose of this entry is to help you realize what we are up against in the coming times. I am not really surprised that the events I am about to describe are taking place...but I am surprised that they are happening so fast and so soon. Take a look:

First off, we start in California. Proposition 8, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman, was passed in last week's vote. Gay rights activists have been in an uproar since. Over the weekend, an elderly lady went to one of the protests to show her support of Proposition 8. She carried a cross with her. When a local TV station tried to interview her, this is what happened. The end of the video in particular is disturbing.



One last comment on this story. The news anchor at the end says there was 'a lot of hate on both sides.' What is he talking about?? A little old lady carrying a cross is hate?? If that her actions are on the same level as the actions of her attackers, then America is perhaps in an even darker state that even I realized.

Next, we go to Michigan. Again, the 'tolerant, equality driven' gay agenda lashes out. Instead of me trying to describe the chaos that was created at a Church in Michigan, I will just let you read:

http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2008/11/10/13335/904

This is not an isolated event either. Churches nationwide have been vandalized for opposing gay marriage.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=315392
http://spiritdaily.com/whipsawtimes.htm (third paragraph)

No, of course it is not every protester and gay rights activist that is doing this. Of course they are not all full of hate. But, the fact of the matter is, these news stories aren't making headlines in the liberal media. That is just part of how this culture is primed for this kind of persecution. The extreme liberalism that was voted into office and into law last week has only empowered the extreme left and embolden them to act in such ways....and this is just one short week later.

This isn't limited to the gay marriage debate either. High profile Pro-life leaders and priests have begun to receive death threats for their stand against things such as the Freedom of Choice Act, which the US Conference of Catholic Bishops just yesterday said would "deprive the American people in all 50 states of the freedom they now have to enact modest restraints and regulations on the abortion industry.", and "would coerce all Americans into subsidizing and promoting abortion with their tax dollars." Furthermore, they say the FOCA may have a "destructive effect on the freedom of conscience of doctors, nurses and health care workers whose personal convictions do not permit them to cooperate in the private killing of unborn children." They call the Freedom of Choice Act 'evil' and rightly so. Pray hard about this, as well as embryonic stem cell research, an area that is too often overlooked. Obama has indicated that he will overturn restrictions on embryonic stem cell research right away. The Vatican has called ESCR 'worthless' and the simple fact of the matter is a human life is destroyed in the process. Why do we need to have this when there are other stem cells that, unlike embryonic stem cells, actually have yielded results, but do not kill a human in the process? It is an evil practice that should be outlawed...yet our president elect is about to forge full steam ahead with it.

A couple days ago, the phrase 'time is short' jumped out at me and has kinda stuck with me since. The escalation of violence, intolerance and hatred against Christians and the most innocent forms of human life is disturbing and just goes to prove what I was saying last week. War is upon us. Only God knows what the future, both short term, and long term, may hold. But, time may in fact be short before these types of events become much more widespread and dangerous. So prepare yourself for the fight now. Prayer is our best weapon. Pray for this country. Pray for those who are persecuting the Church. Pray for Obama! That is immensely important! And pray that you will have the strength to do God's will. Take a moment and ask yourself, 'What will I give and sacrifice for God'? Will you risk being persecuted as our brothers and sisters already have been? Will you make a stand and fight for the unborn....for the preservation of the family and the sanctity of marriage, knowing full well that it may very well put you at risk as well? How far will you go for your God? We have death threats being made against priests...would you die for your God? After all...He did die for us.

Simply a Quote...nothing more

"When the time comes as it surely will, when we face that awesome moment, the final judgment, I’ve often thought, as Fulton Sheen wrote, that it is a terrible moment of loneliness. You have no advocates, you are there alone standing before God - and a terror will rip through your soul like nothing you can imagine. But I really think that those in the pro-life movement will not be alone. I think there will be a chorus of voices that have never been heard in this world but are heard beautifully and clearly in the next world - and they will plead for everyone who has been in this movement. They will say to God, ‘Spare him because he loved us,’ - and God will look at you and say not, ‘Did you succeed?’ but ‘Did you try?’"
~ Illinois Rep. Henry Hyde who passed away in November 2007

Day of Prater and Fasting

I will let this story speak for itself. I hope will join me in this.

http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=79281

Guest Blogger: Election Thoughts

Tonight I bring you a blog that one of my friends here at school wrote. I thought it was very good and hit a lot of the points I would hit if I were to type up a full fledged attack on Obama. Take a look...his post is in red. I add a couple things at the end.

"I am a recently-turned staunch Republican who feels there are a few things you need to know about who some of you may be voting for, and how news about him has been skewed.

With each passing day, I am more shocked and flabbergasted at the wild-eyed liberal far LEFT leanings of the media in this country. I don't know about you, but I am far more taken aback by Obama's planned $2,000,000+ victory party in Chicago than the $150,000 that the REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE, not even McCain's campaign bought Palin! So, $150,000 of RNC money spent on Palin's clothes is extravagance, but a $2 MILLION victory party in Chicago paid for by Obama's campaign, which still hasn't and hopefully won't happen, isn't? GIVE ME A BREAK! Obama certainly is trying to buy the presidency, spending $600,000,000 dollars on his campaign, more than SIX TIMES that of McCain. What happens if he God forbid, gets into the White House? Well, he's already proven he is VERY good at spending money, but instead of that money being donations, voluntarily given to him from both public and private sources, it will be YOUR tax dollars. The PRESIDENCY is NOT something that should be bought! Vote based on the issues, not on how much money has been spent! Speaking of issues, here are a few important ones, given to you from the other side.

1. Staying with the economy, Obama talks a lot of rhetoric about not taxing or offering tax cuts to those making less than $250,000 per year. Well, hold on! Obama's ad just tonight (10/29/08) changed that to $200,000. Biden in a recent interview lowered it to $150,000 per year, showing not only that they cannot make up their minds, but that they probably aren't going to lower taxes for anybody. That's bold. Why do I say that? Obama's voting record in Congress! How many times has Obama voted to lower taxes? NONE. How many times has Obama voted against lowering taxes or raising them? NINETY-FOUR TIMES. Don't believe me? LOOK IT UP! Actions speak louder than words Obama, and while your words, admittedly, sound really good, your actions spell out a COMPLETELY different story. You aren't fooling this voter. So, what has Obama done in Congress? One of the 94 times he has voted to raise taxes was to RAISE taxes on those making as little as $42,000 per year. Obama is claiming he will lower taxes on those making somewhere between $150,000 and $250,000 per year, but in the past he has voted to raise taxes on those making $42,000. Hmmm...

Obama is a Socialist, by it's dictionary definition. That is " Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, and the creation of an egalitarian society. Socialists mainly share the belief that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth among a small segment of society that controls capital and creates an unequal society." We all heard what Obama said to Joe the Plumber. He wants to redistribute the wealth. Well, there you go! Last time I checked, the above defnition is redistribution of wealth. What did they say in defense? Biden claimed the redistribution of wealth was lowering taxes on the middle class. Hate to break it to you Biden but if you are lowering taxes, you are keeping hard-earned money in the people's pockets, which is quite a concept! That is not redistribution of wealth, that is allowing people to keep their wealth. Redistribution of wealth by definition is TAKING the wealth of those who EARNED it, and DISTRIBUTING it AGAIN to those who DID NOT earn it! <--- = SOCIALISM.

What about something as simple as human life? Surely Obama supports life! WRONG!!!! Obama is the worst pro-choice person I have seen in a very long time. He has voted time and time again to retain abortion rights. Sorry. ABORTION is NOT a right! You are KILLING off AMERICA'S YOUTH! It does NOT get any LESS American than that. Ok, sure maybe I am an extremist pro-lifer, well, when it comes to basic human rights, I'm fine with that. One of the first official documents of the United States was the Declaration of Independence, which states. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS." The first RIGHT of all Americans is the RIGHT TO LIFE! Killing off the unborn is denying an American the right to life! Ok. I'll play devil's advocate. I personally could NEVER believe this, but what if I believed that the unborn are not people, and therefore not Americans. GUESS WHAT? OBAMA STILL wants to kill you if you unfortunate enough to be a baby born from a failed abortion. Obama surprised even the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) by voting AGAINST helping care for those babies BORN ALIVE as a result of a failed abortion. Sorry, I definitely COULD NOT make this stuff up.

In this case, National Security follows very closely to the argument for life, loosely. Obama plans on cutting defense spending by at least 25%. In these dangerous times, that is suicide. If there is one thing I know about the international community, it's that there is NO shortage of people who HATE America. Al Qaeda, led by Osama Bin Laden, ATTACKED us in New York City and Washington D.C. just a little over seven years ago, and with insane people like that on the loose and with potential connections to nuclear weapons, he wants to DECREASE defense spending? Is he insane? Don't answer that. Speaking in all seriousness, I will not feel safe living in the Washington D.C. area if Barack Obama is less than 25 miles away in the Oval Office, knowing he wants to decrease defense spending and give insane international leaders such as Amadinijad, leader of Iran, the chance to convince him that they are looking our for our best interests. Iran is a tiny threat? Most certainly not.
What happened when Russia invaded Georgia? Many innocent Georgian lives were lost in that blatent display of military aggression. What did Barack Obama suggest Georgia do? He encouraged them to be reasonable! To take it without fighting back! So what's to say he wont suggest that we Americans also just take it if we are attacked again! DON'T GIVE OBAMA THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THAT MISTAKE THAT COULD COST THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN LIVES!

Now, I've already blogged a couple of times on abortion...so I won't beat that horse again...let me say something on Obama's redistribution of wealth. Obama and many democrats are under the belief that those on the top of the economic ladder should be brought down by taking their moeny and giving it to those on the bottom of the economic ladder. Perhaps in theory this sounds like a 'nice' thing to do, but lets take a look at just what that is. It sounds very much like a form of communism to me. Guess what....communism doesn't work. Period the end. Furthermore, it really bugs me is when teachers and professors toot their horn about this communism in disguise. If these educators are so gung ho about taking from those at the top and giving to those at the bottom, then why are their classrooms not run like that? Lets say in a class room of 20 students, 5 get and F, 5 get and A, and 10 get a C+. By the theory of redistribution of wealth, those who got A's, whether by hard work, supurior intellect or a better situation, should get a C+. Those extra points that they earned should then be given to those who either tried and struggled, gave up, or simply didn't show up so that they can be given a C+ as well. That is outrageous. Why is the economy any different? I know of people who, for whatever reason, just don't seem to care. They spend money on video game systems and televisions....money they don't have, while they don't even try to go get a job to support their family or get out of debt. Should they be given money that was taken from someone who worked their tail off and rose through a coorporation and worked to get a good salary? No. That is not helping anyone. If that is the case, where is the incentive for anyone to actually work hard? There won't be any incentive! If you think things are bad now with the economy and having nearly everything made in foreign, cheap labor countires....this will only make things so much worse.

Another thing that really upsets me is how Obama can get away being buddy-buddy with racists and terrorists....and no one seems to care. But, this post is already pretty long, so I will leave that for another post tomorrow or this weekend. God bless.

Election Novena

First off, this semester has been too busy for me to post. That doesn't mean I haven't had a lot of thoughts, but just no time to share them.

However, with what we face in just over a week, time needs to be made to post at least something. And so, for my fellow Catholic brothers and sisters, I bring you this, which was passed along to me by a friend.

This is a novena for the election. The link is just one page of text, explaining why this is vital. The priest who initiated this movement does not sugar coat this, and nor should he. Things that have been going on, such as the economy, are NOT coincidence.

Read this...and act how the Holy Spirit directs you.

http://www.fathercorapi.com/PDF/ElectionNovena.pdf

"Catholic" Democrats?

I just read an article on some comments Catholic League President Bill Donahue made on Obama and his Catholic supporters. It brought up to mind something that has really bothered me over the past few months. I simply do not see how Catholics....or ANY Christians...can support Obama or the democratic party in general! It really gets on my nerves to see articles on how the Democratic nominees are "fighting" for the "Catholic" vote. There shouldn't be ANY Catholic vote for the Democrats!

How can these "Catholic" democrats vote for and support candidates who have such a blatant disregard for human life and basic Christian morals? One of the Democratic Parties staunchest platforms is to allow abortions and stem-cell research. The Catholic Church teaches these as intrinsically evil! Would someone please explain to me then how someone can call themselves Catholic, yet support the Democrats?

I think a lot of it has to do with long standing voting traditions. Back in the day, it was the Democrats who were more closely aligned to Catholic teaching....so many people today just vote Democrat because that is what their parents and grandparents did. If that is the case, these people need to wake up and actually look at the issues. And this isn't just for Catholics either...I don't see how any Christian can support this party.

A vote for the Democrats is a vote for the Culture of Death. Which are you going to support come November?

Bill Donahue Article: http://www.lifenews.com/nat3921.html