By Susan Ciancio
A popular series of commercials for the University of Notre Dame asks “What would you fight for?” Now numbering more than 100 episodes, these brief commercials spotlight members of the ND family who work to do things such as help people with disabilities, improve trauma care, protect our country, and even cure food allergies.
As we approach the March for Life on Friday, I can’t help but think about that slogan and wonder what the majority of people in our country are fighting for. We know that hundreds of thousands of people will gather in Washington, DC, to fight for preborn babies. They will speak up for the vulnerable and voiceless as they tell the world about the humanity of the tiniest members of the human family.
We know that these pro-lifers fight against abortion every day. We write articles, we help moms and babies, we volunteer at pregnancy resource centers, we pray in front of abortion facilities. We do all this out of love and with a desire to show the value of every single person.
Yet for some, the word value seems to have lost its meaning. And we see that they fight for unimportant and even ludicrous things. Take, for example, the recent furor over the Stanley drinking cup. It has become such a wanted item that some people are willing to literally fight for it.
For a cup!
This kind of behavior shows where our priorities are as a society. How is it that people can value a cup but they cannot value a human being?
It comes down to education. It comes down to family. How we raise our children, what we talk about in our homes, and what we prioritize in our lives has a huge effect on our children. We know of course that children will not always follow in our footsteps and may not remain faithful to our beliefs and the Church. But though that breaks our hearts as parents, we cannot let that stop us from continually educating—even our adult children.
Our secular world wants people to adopt the “you do you” mentality. It wants to teach people to follow their feelings rather than morality.
But we often get in trouble—emotionally, physically, and spiritually—when we allow our feelings to guide our actions.
So as many in our country prepare to march for preborn babies and give them a voice, let us all take this chance to ask ourselves “What will I fight for?”
Will I fight for the souls of my children and my family? Will I fight for the right to life of those who cannot speak for themselves? Or will I fight for material things that make no difference after our death and that may actually lead us further from our Father who came here to save us?
Building a culture of life here on earth starts with each one of us. And it starts at home.
Allow the March for Life events of this week to spur conversations in your house. Talk about the importance of caring for the vulnerable. Help your children understand that all people—born and preborn—matter and that what we do with our bodies matters.
We lead by example. Let us show our children and the world what is truly worth fighting for.
Lessons from the Culture of Life Studies Program can help you start these conversations. Our standalone lessons are not just for schools and can be used at home to help you build a culture of life where every human being is cherished and protected.
