January 28, 2009 10:05 PM
Purcellville Gazette - my 1/23 column
This ran the day after the March for Life. I usually publish every other week in the Purcellville Gazette - an opportunity for which I continue to be very grateful.
Next column 2/6
Close to Home By Barbara CurtisWhy I March for Life
When it comes to walking a mile in someone else's shoes, I'm qualified indeed. In fact, I've walked thousands of miles in all different kinds - from Birkenstocks to strappy high heels, from lumberjack boots to sequin-covered flats. I've done a lot of walking barefoot too!
But over the years, my slogan's changed from "Life's too short for ugly shoes" to "Life's too long for painful shoes." I've grown up. I've changed.
Which is why you will find me lacing up my snow boots every January 22 and heading into Washington DC for the March for Life.
Now you need to know that DC and demonstrations are a major part of my history. As a leftist, my credentials were impeccable - unfolding from antiwar activism to Second Wave feminism. I fought for abortion rights and after I'd moved to San Francisco even had one of my own.
But after 30 years in the Bay Area I returned home a different woman, a woman walking in shoes I had never been even remotely interested in trying on. Had you told me way back when that those shoes would be pro-life, things might have even gotten physical. My politics then were powerful and proud - based on MY needs, MY logic, MY rights.
But life's about growth and change. Life's about making mistakes, admitting them, and moving on. It's about learning that it's not about you.
Which is why once a year I now return to my old stomping ground.
The March for Life is probably the most under-reported demonstration in Washington. It's hard to find out who spoke and about what. It's hard to find out how big the crowd is (200,000 each of the past two years) and who was there. And so I take my camera - because every picture tells a story and all those stories add up to the truth.
The truth is that there are hundreds of thousands of people there who have come to believe - or who've always believed - that an unborn baby is not a piece of property, but a person. What would surprise those who've bought the stereotype of pro-lifers as middle-aged, white, and mean is that 75% of the crowd is under 21. It's a true rainbow coalition. And it's full of vitality and joy.
In fact, the younger generation is becoming increasingly pro-life. Why? Because they see it differently than the grown-ups do. I'll never forget the day Matt came home from school and said, "Mom, I looked around my class today and realized that a quarter of us were missing." Or the day Sophia responded to an article about parents "balancing" their families through gender engineering with: "How's that supposed to make us feel?"
Good question. Kids alive today certainly know they're here because their parents chose not to abort them. And while some Boomers may think that might give them a warm, cozy feeling, some kids don't feel that way at all.
Think about it. Take off your own shoes and put yourself in theirs.
Posted in Current Affairs, My life, Pro-Life Issues | Permalink
Comments
Hi Barbara,
I've been reading your blog for a few months now- I actually picked it up through the Yahoo News Editorial page of all places! Thank you for speaking up about life issues and your conversion experience. It's such a relief and a great source of encouragement to know there are more of us out there that have made the switch.
About your comments on kids "knowing they are here because their parents chose not to abort them," well I'm one such survivor from such a family. My mother chose to abort two of my siblings when she found she was pregnant as a senior in highschool and again when she was in college. She was a leading member of the first wave of post-Roe feminists taking advantage of their "rights." I am still coming to terms with this and working through the hurt and anger that pops up frequently in my relationship with her.
Too often the pro-choice left ignores the after effects of their decisions and the consequences that has with the "survivors." My mother informed us at the ages of 12-14 of her "choices" in her youth as inspiration to us to use birth control and be "liberated and courageous" enough to take such a drastic measure to "protect our future." Looking back on our teenage years with the insecurities, depression, eating disorders and constant need for my sisters and I to "justify" our existences, we grew up with our various searches for love and acceptance and came to much more harm than was likely necessary.
I can only account for the detours we took in one of two ways. Either our struggles with self-worth were the direct result of survivor guilt from our two older siblings death in the womb, or we were just raised to view life in general as not inherently valuable. In either case, you end up feeling like you have to be of "value" to society and not a "lazy, degenerate" like the women with "too many babies" that are a drain on our system. Interesting since my own mother was raised in a wealthy family of five children.
In the end, if your family does not value all life, it ultimately teaches your children not to value their own.
Thank you for opening these dialogues and allowing us room to share our stories too.
Posted by: Sarah | January 29, 2009 4:05 PM
