“The Creator will not hold us guiltless if we turn a deaf ear to the cries of His innocent babies.” – James Dobson - from an interview of Mr. Dobson regarding his suit against the federal government.
A Denver court has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the enforcement of the contraception aspects of the Affordable Care Act. The judge stated that the Affordable Care Act mandate to provide contraception violates the religious beliefs of the Dobson’s Colorado Springs-based ministry, Family Talk.
The US Supreme Court is already considering this very issue in the Hobby Lobby case and should render a decision sometime in the next couple of months.
Although I am not an evangelist, a Pentecostal or anything near what anyone would consider an extremely religious person I like many Americans have drawn the line on what we am going to accept from our government. The self proclaimed progressives that seem to be in control are gaining in aggressiveness and are pushing their agenda to the max. In part this line has been created by those very people attempting to impose the most left leaning policies on an otherwise very centrist country. Ultimately their strategy looks like divide and conquer. From the President down the psychology seems to be “We won, you lost, too bad.” The bully pulpit, once used by Presidents to press for important changes of universal benefit is now more of an actual “bully” platform from which those in the opposition are castigated, mocked, marginalized and disregarded. I believe that the coming outcome will be that the country has had enough of such talk and actions. We are not to be ignored. We are not to be cast as the enemy of all that is good.
The seriousness of abortion cannot be downplayed. In spite of the many lame and inaccurate assertions about it being a women’s health issue, it has always been, and is today, a matter of the termination of the lives of otherwise viable babies. The tally is now over 57 million abortions, an incredibly sad number.
If you add “All that is necessary for evil to prevail is that good people do nothing” to Mr. Dobson’s statement you have a powerful motivator to embark on an effort to change the conversation across the country.
I have never been one for in your face confrontations or dialogue filled with vitriol and harshness. I do believe that strongly held positions can be communicated in a sophisticated and soft toned manner. Picture a debate club in college. In those duels you are not allowed to shout over each other or berate and belittle your opponent. You must always speak with facts, good judgment and strong arguments. All the while closing the loop holes in your statements that allow the opponent to retaliate or refute against your position. It takes patience, skill and understanding of the opposing arguments.
You cannot go to into combat without ammunition so be prepared with facts, not hyperbole, but pointed rejoinders that close off weaker positions. The better you prepare you better your success. Yet even prepared you will hit the wall of an opposition that cannot change their position. It is what they breathe and live for. Your voice is a voice you have to find for yourself. It matters not if you don’t change anyone’s mind. It only matters that you spoke up for you beliefs.
Whether the Family Talk suit brought by James Dobson is successful or not, as important as that is, the more important fact is that he is speaking up for not only his beliefs but those of his ministry. We should all learn a lesson here.