By Dave Andrusko
Not surprisingly the first NRL News Today post for Tuesday is a joyful alert that Oklahoma had joined Kansas in passing the Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act. For those who may be tuning in late, this legislation bans dismemberment abortions–abortions that kill the baby literally by tearing her apart. These are huge victories and a sign of things to come.
Equally unsurprising, the New York Times ran a tiny Associated Press story–108 words, to be exact. But to be fair, the AP story accurately describes what is proscribed: “The measure prohibits doctors from using forceps, clamps, scissors or similar instruments on a live fetus to remove it from the womb in pieces.”
For those who appreciate irony, consider this. On the Times’ webpage, directly underneath the link to the AP story, is “Most Popular on NYTimes.com.” The very first citation is “OP-ED COLUMNIST” [in this case, David Brooks] who recently wrote “The Moral Bucket List.”
Let me be clear. Brooks is not with us and this column, while (in my opinion) exquisite in parts, is decidedly less so in other sections. Having said that, there is the illuminating distinction between what Brooks is talking about (“generosity of spirit,” or “depth of character”) and its very opposite–what we (not Brooks) know is part and parcel of the practice of dismemberment abortion.
Let me hone in on one consideration that is particularly relevant to pro-lifers, those who fight every day to put an end to the slaughter of unborn children. (You can read the essay in which Brooks develops his argument at length at www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/opinion/sunday/david-brooks-the-moral-bucket-list.html.)
It occurred to Brooks that he wanted to be more like the people who exude that kind of goodness, who are dedicated to morally good action. To do so, he came to realize, “I was going to have to have the sort of moral adventures that produce that kind of goodness.”
Brooks then contrasts two kinds of virtues:
the résumé virtues and the eulogy virtues. The résumé virtues are the skills you bring to the marketplace. The eulogy virtues are the ones that are talked about at your funeral — whether you were kind, brave, honest or faithful. Were you capable of deep love?
There are plenty of pro-lifers who have a laundry list of résumé virtues that can and do lead to career success. But what they all have, in my experience, are the eulogy virtues–which to Christian ears are reminiscent of the fruits of the Spirit which Paul writes about in Galatians.
Not that he would agree but pro-lifers are perfect examples of what Brooks describes as the kind of “incandescent souls you sometimes meet.” Unlike so many in our culture, we do not lack what Brooks calls a “moral vocabulary.”
He writes
People on this road [to character] see life as a process of commitment making. Character is defined by how deeply rooted you are. Have you developed deep connections that hold you up in times of challenge and push you toward the good? In the realm of the intellect, a person of character has achieved a settled philosophy about fundamental things. In the realm of emotion, she is embedded in a web of unconditional loves. In the realm of action, she is committed to tasks that can’t be completed in a single lifetime
Sound familiar? It ought to. It is a description of you and I and the life-long commitment we have voluntarily assumed to turning the ship of state around, to returning to port where the unborn baby is not only legally protected but also “embedded in a web of unconditional loves.”
You and I are on a great moral adventure–reconciling America with all her unborn children.
What a privilege!
What a blessing!