By Laura Kizior
It comes as no surprise that the culture of death continues to target children with immoral propaganda. A recent episode of Doc McStuffins—an animated Disney show aimed at preschoolers—recently featured in its storyline two lesbian moms and two children portrayed as a family. In the show, the women demonstrate safety procedures during an emergency and teach the importance of having an emergency plan. Although the show itself seems innocent, the aftereffects of the imposed ideology are just the beginning of the culture of death’s attempts to undermine the family in society.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives us a very clear picture of what makes a family: “A man and a woman united in marriage, together with their children, form a family. This institution is prior to any recognition by public authority, which has an obligation to recognize it. It should be considered the normal reference point by which the different forms of family relationship are to be evaluated.”
Furthermore, studies show that children thrive with both a mother and father. Because of unfortunate circumstances like death, divorce, or abandonment, sometimes children grow up with only one of their parents, but that is not what God originally intended. It is also a reality that some children are being raised by either one or two homosexual parents. This is also not part of God’s design for the family.
Many families in our world are hurting and many children are unable to live with both of their married, biological parents. But this does not mean that society should change the definition of a family. Shows like Doc McStuffins or films like Star Trek: Beyond attempt to redefine the family and normalize abnormal situations in order to desensitize innocent children into believing that there is no such thing as a “normal” or “ideal” family situation.
In the heated debate over “gay marriage” and the definition of a family, who is most likely to be affected and hurt? The children. Young children are the most vulnerable people in any of these situations, yet they are the ones frequently under attack. Make no mistake: the architects of the culture of death understand how to convert a Godly society into one that accepts anything as normal and healthy. They start with the children so that an entire generation grows up oblivious to the truth about love, marriage, and God’s plan for the family. Let’s take a look at their strategy and at what we can do to build a culture of life in our homes and families.
Unlock the power of education
In order for a person to completely espouse the culture of death, he must be indoctrinated with its principles. Planned Parenthood understands the power of education to change a society, which is why this organization has aggressively targeted schools with its toxic sex education agenda since 1970. In addition, media moguls like Disney understand how education and subtle messaging can change cultural attitudes and beliefs about certain topics.
If we want to reverse the damage done by the culture of death, we must start with education. Where the culture of death sows lies, the culture of life instills basic truths. For example, CLSP’s Defend Life: Marriage and Family succinctly lays out the purpose and meaning of the holy sacrament of matrimony for 7th and 8th graders. This 4-class lesson uses the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the examples of saintly married couples to teach God’s plan for the family.
You can’t expect your children and students to learn the ability to respond to the lies of the culture of death unless they have been shown how. Lessons like Defend Life give students the tools they need to answer arguments against the family and to build a culture of life in their own communities.
Start young
We can see all too clearly the damage that the culture of death is wreaking on young people. Why does the culture of death target students? Simple. At such a young age, children can easily be taught that having “two mommies” is normal. Any glance at the children’s section of the library will show you that the culture of death has been indoctrinating children for years with innocent-looking picture books—such as Tango Makes Three and Heather Has Two Mommies—that have become required reading in schools. We must fight back with an education of our own that teaches children how to live the gospel courageously.
It is never too early to start teaching students about the dignity of the human person. Not only does this knowledge help guard students against the snares of the culture of death, but it also gives them principles to live by for the rest of their lives. A student who has learned from a very young age the science of a preborn baby’s development will be able to refute a friend’s comment about preborn babies being just a “clumps of cells.” If we wait until kids are in high school to begin teaching them how to be pro-life, we will have missed a great opportunity to ensure that they remain pro-life throughout their lives.
Begin slowly
Do you remember the story of the frog and the pot of boiling water? Just like the frog has no idea he’s slowly boiling to death, the culture of death begins its indoctrination slowly and stealthily so that people barely know what’s happening. This indoctrination does not begin with lengthy political discussions about “gay rights” or “gay marriage.” Rather, as we can see from the recent Disney show, this indoctrination starts with images of simple situations that normalize an agenda that undermines traditional family values. With this foundation and visualization of “family,” the culture of death can continue to turn up the proverbial heat as kids get older because their natural inclinations have been attacked since they were very young.
With pro-life education, our goal is not to scare young people into following God’s plan for their lives. Our goal is to inspire the next generation with the beauty, dignity, and value of every human being’s life. That’s why the Culture of Life Studies Program is very careful to start with the beauty of human development in the youngest grades with our unit study Life Is Precious.
Students at that age are in awe of the complex stages of a human’s development. They don’t need to be shocked by the horror of abortion in kindergarten, but they do need to understand that every human being—from the very first moment he was created by God—is a person who is greatly loved and cherished by God. Children need to see the wondrous images of preborn babies and understand that they, too, were once that small and precious.
When faced with the seemingly insurmountable evil of the culture of death, what can you do?
Pray
Prayer should be the first weapon we turn to in fighting the culture of death. Without God’s help, we cannot hope to win this battle. When you pray, be specific. Pray for people in your family, in your social circle, and in your community. Pray for the strangers whom you meet in the grocery store who ask you about your pro-life T-shirt. Pray for the electrician who confides that he is recently divorced.
Educate
Build a culture of life in your home and classroom through education. As Christians, we understand that our faith journey doesn’t start and end at baptism. We must continually learn about God through formal and informal study. The same is true of being pro-life. Students need a foundation in the culture of life. They need the inspiration of pro-life saints and heroes. And they need to practice pro-life arguments and logic so that when their beliefs are challenged they know how to respond with the truth.
Take action
The culture of life needs valiant warriors to take up the fight against the culture of death in their own communities. Planned Parenthood has entrenched itself and its poisonous ideology in schools. Take action in your local community by getting Planned Parenthood out of your neighborhood and schools. To learn how to do this and to devise an action plan, visit STOPP’s website at stopp.org/plan.
We see the culture of death everywhere in our society, but we must never let ourselves be overwhelmed by the evil around us. We can defeat the culture of death and build a culture of life. Let’s start with protecting and arming the next generation.
Laura Kizior is a content developer for American Life League’s Culture of Life Studies Program, which stresses the culture of life as an integral part of every academic discipline. CLSP is dedicated to helping students become effective communicators of the pro-life message. Sign up for our e-mail newsletter to see how we can help you foster a culture of life at home and in school.