THE CULTURE OF LIFE
Sunday, April 3, 2005
I heard on Fox News that while Pope John Paul II and President George W. Bush had their differences on a number of occasions, one thing certain [with a special emphasis on the word "certain"] was that the two of them shared "the culture of life".
Like in the Schiavo case. "The culture of life" in a coma, in lieu of the culture of Eternal Life. The reverence for life with feeding tubes attached, while bombs are dropping on Fallujah, children starving in Darfur, and prisoners being tortured in Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Haiti's Pénitencier National, etc.
Get a grip! Do you believe in the culture of life that you preach, Mr. President???
But Fox News set me to reflect even more about that culture of life.
The culture of life when more prisoners on death row were executed in the State of Texas under a certain governor than all other States of the Union combined.
The culture of life when a policy of first strike and pre-emptive war is signed on the dotted line by an incoming president long before the first plane strikes WTC.
The culture of life when Iraqi lives are selected for termination, because "Iraq offers better targets than Afghanistan".
The culture of life when innocent citizen lives are dismissed as "collateral damage".
The culture of life when 55 are portrayed on a special deck of cards. Poker anyone?
The culture of life, that becomes transparent in "Dead or Alive" and "Bring them on!"
The culture of life, when war is r-u-s-h-e-d at breakneck speed, and before some basic protections could even be secured for the troops.
The culture of life when their coffins are not to be seen on television, and none of their funerals attended by the Chief of State.
The culture of life when tactical nuclear bomb programs are getting funded, while hundreds of billions are being spent in the service of war -- and support for the poor is getting axed, blow by agonizing blow.
The culture of life whose vulnerabilities are expertly studied and exploited at the School of the Americas, by whatever name it chooses.
The culture of life when millions of Africans are dying of AIDS, while effective measures for prevention are deemed morally objectionable and the cost of treatment is not lowered as that would hurt some financial statements.
The culture of life that would only support you if you happen to be in a coma for fifteen years or so. Or if you happen to be an unused egg from a fertility clinic. The culture of life will then spare you from the horrors of stem cell research, while you are safely discarded to oblivion.
"Il faut que les choses changent." Thank you for your wisdom, John Paul II, even though your teachings were at times too dogmatic. Indeed things must change, and not just in Haiti.
That culture of life, by way of the U.S. is killing us. From up there or wherever you are, will you please promote a true culture of life, for those of us caught somewhere in between "unused egg" and "comatose state" ?
Guy S. Antoine (Mission accomplished, said he, with a happy smile and with "God on his side")
Those who appreciate our current " culture of life " are invited to offer their insights...
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