Many have said that abortion won’t end in America until our hearts and culture change. Many believe that the pro-life issue cannot be just about the laws we pass; it must also be about the messages we speak in everyday life.
Photo credit: Joe Shiabotnik on Flickr
Indeed, one of our main goals in the pro-life movement should be to foster a culture of life. Our personal lives should be lived in a way that values all human life. Our words should be spoken in a way that values all human life. Our attitudes should reflect the value of each and every human being. And our choices should be made based on the intrinsic, infinite value of every person and his or her equal right to protection and life.
Since I can’t help myself, I will also go off on a small but relevant rabbit trail and say that laws are equally valuable to the pro-life movement. Regardless of the culture, or rather, while we are working to change the culture, we must also pass laws.
We can agree that our culture is certainly anti-murder (minus abortion), anti-rape, and anti-robbery, and yet we still have laws against those crimes. And I doubt that we took a survey before we made laws against murder, rape, and robbery. Those things are just plain wrong, no matter what society thinks. Abortion is no different. Therefore, the cultural temperature should have no effect on the laws that need to be passed to protect the most innocent among us.
That said, the need to work at developing a culture of life cannot be stressed enough. Hearts and culture change when the truth is talked about openly and beautifully. And truth can be equally broadcasted in a speech focused on the pro-life issue and in a TV commercial that demonstrates the equal value and right to protection of every human life.
Take, for example, the two commercials below. The first is a fairly new ad put together by Nissan entitled “The Value of Zero.” If I explained the pro-life message inherent in this commercial, I’d give it away. You need to see it for yourself. But just see if you don’t get goosebumps when you see the picture that Nissan focuses on when it explains the true value of “zero.”
Here is another, somewhat older commercial that broadcasts a beautiful pro-life message. Indeed, every baby – planned or not – is a miracle that deserves protection. Wow, did Pampers really just say that? Yes, they did! Watch for yourself. (Notice that they also refer to the baby on the ultrasound as “he,” as in a baby – not as “it,” as in clump of cells or some type of non-living entity. I mean, come on, folks – after all, it’s moving, and it is clearly a living baby.)
OK, now that you’ve seen the commercials, share your thoughts. Do you think commercials like this will help foster a culture of life? How do you think they affect the people watching them, even subconsciously? What do these commercials make you think about the value of life?
