“Why Didn’t Somebody do Something?”

By Dave Andrusko

Some years ago pro-life former Arkansas Governor and GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee spoke at the National Right to Life Convention. I remember like it was yesterday as he told the story of his daughter Sarah and their 1994 tour of Yad Vashem, a memorial to those who died in the Holocaust. (Sarah was eleven at the time.)

As it happens I ran across a reference to that gripping story today on a site that was encouraging people to get involved.  Let me quote from Huckabee’s story, the power of which I vividly remember all these years later.

“As we gazed upon the pictures of Dachau and Auschwitz, she was introduced to the horrors and the thousands of bodies stacked on top of one another like lumber. Her grip on my hand tightened as we went through each stage of Yad Vashem. All during our visit I hoped the experience would not be overly traumatic, but powerful enough that she would never forget how important it is for people to stand up and speak out for those being victimized by evil people abusing their power.

“As we approached the exit of Yad Vashem, a guest book placed by the door caught her attention. She stared at it for a moment, realizing it was there so visitors could write their names and addresses and any comments they might have about the experience. She had not said a word in quite some time, just gripped my hand more and more tightly as we walked through the experience.

“At the guest book, she reached up into my pocket, took my pen, and without a word began to scribble her name and address. I leaned over and watched her, curious as to what she might write in the comment section. I thought perhaps what she wrote would give me an indication as to whether or not she ‘got it.’ My eleven-year-old daughter in her childish scrawl, wrote simple words that I will never forget: ‘Why didn’t somebody do something?’”

Huckabee went on from there to provide more insights, but the most important sentence was the next one: “That is all she wrote, but with those words I knew she ‘got it.’”

Even though there are people who access National Right to Life News Today via the Internet and who are not necessarily pro-life, by and large I am preaching to the choir.

I am writing to people whose consciences will not allow them to be uninvolved.

I am writing to men and women who can’t imagine sitting on the sidelines, who would haunted if one day a child plaintively asked them, “Why didn’t someone do something?”

I am writing to pro-life champions who do not know how to give in–who never get too elated when things go well, or too low when they turn out poorly—who just keep on keeping on. That is why in season and out, our Movement grows and grows and grows. That is our hope; that is what keeps pro-abortionists up nights.

There are 48 days until November 6. I know that each and every one of you will do whatever you can until that very important day arrives. I am confident on November 7 that none of you need worry that someone will ask you, “Why didn’t somebody do something?”