Ignorance is Bliss

I have a vivid memory of one summer’s day when I was had graduated from Grade 4 (I think they only let me pass because I was a teacher’s kid). My grandmother was staying with us because my mother was going to have her eighth child in ten years. It was about 2 in the afternoon. I was playing outside and my grandmother opened the screen door and said, “Your mother has gone to have the baby”. I thought about it for a half a minute and then said, “What’s she going to make for supper?”

I think that when it comes to being obtuse, I should win a prize. However, I don’t think I am alone in this. This week’s comic page delves into the pain of the loss of an unborn child. Whether a woman has an abortion or a miscarriage, there’s got to be some pain there. However, it's not visible and society is saying, “Hey, what’s for supper, honey?”

While there definitely is that societal response, there fortunately are those women who like Mary, visit Elizabeth. There are those like my grandmother who crossed an ocean each time my mother was having a baby. There have always been those women who rally around to support one of their own. God bless them. I think it is especially needed in the case of a miscarriage. Out of sight can so easily be out of mind.

Today there are somewhat fringe trends (can a fringe be a trend? Nowadays, yes). There are the “Shout your abortion” gals. Then there are some pro-life activists who go the route of “Shout your abortion right back at you”. They do this with some pretty graphic visual aids that are hard to miss. I disagree with this. Today, in any crowd there are going to be some wounded post-abortive women. To get them to listen, don’t crank up the volume. Raising your voice at a woman is ignorant and it doesn’t work. Think more of Mary visiting Elizabeth or Rachel weeping for her children.

I guess the idea behind it is you can't un-see an image but your target should be the heart rather than the head. But few people are as obtuse as I was as a grade 4 graduate. People don't need fresh info in their heads, they need fresh info in their hearts.